A Dictionary of Idioms

Author: Wen Duanzheng
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-01-01
Features: Selected approximately 2,000 of the original 4,000 entries from the "Idiom Dictionary of Xiheyu," with more concise definitions and highly detailed sources, making it more suitable for lower-level readers such as elementary school students. Xiheyu is a type of fixed expression, consisting of two parts, often using puns or semantic double meanings to convey meaning. This book includes common xiheyu, meeting general reading needs.
I. Headings. The book contains over 2,000 entries, divided into main entries and "also as" entries. Main entries are the basic forms of xiheyu, with explanations and example sentences provided; "also as" entries are alternative forms of main entries with the same or nearly the same meaning and are not further explained. All entries use original characters, with homophonic characters noted in the explanations. Example sentences remain unchanged from their original form. Commas "," are used uniformly between the two parts of an entry, while commas "," or em dashes "—" in example sentences retain their original formatting.
II. Typography. The fonts used in this book follow the "Total List of Simplified Characters" compiled by the National Language and Character Work Committee and the "List for the Standardization of Variant Characters" jointly issued by the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China and the Committee for the Reform of Chinese Characters.
III. Phonetic Transcription. Obscure characters in entries are transcribed using Pinyin. Characters prone to mispronunciation are annotated with correct pronunciations and common mispronunciations to avoid.
IV. Definitions. The book focuses on revealing the puns (homophonic or semantic) used in xiheyu to explain their original and pragmatic meanings.
V. Example Sentences. Each entry is accompanied by an example sentence to illustrate its meaning and usage. Sources for example sentences are generally noted, with "" (newspaper) or "" (journal) used for brevity when citing from publications.
VI. Arrangement. Entries are arranged in the order of Pinyin. Entries with different first characters are ordered by the sound of the first character. Entries with the same first character are ordered by stroke count, with fewer strokes listed first. Entries with the same first and second characters are ordered by the sound of the third character, and so on.
VII. Index. An index of stroke counts for entry first characters is provided at the end of the book for reference.