Thesaurus Dictionary -- Cihai Version (New Edition)

Author: Fan Xiao, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-07-01
Features: Synonyms refer to words that have the same or similar meanings. There are a large number of synonyms in modern Chinese, which is a very important factor contributing to the richness of the vocabulary. Among synonyms, some have identical meanings and are called absolute synonyms or complete synonyms. These words are mostly nouns, such as "daytime and daylight" or "descendants and successors." Due to their nearly identical meanings, such synonyms are often not included or included minimally in general synonym dictionaries. The majority of synonyms are verbs or adjectives, and they belong to a category of similar meanings. In terms of morphological form, some have entirely different morphemes, such as "beautiful and pretty," "roar and howl," or "path and road." Others have one identical and one different morpheme, such as "defend and safeguard," "implement and execute," "twinkle and shine," or "dispose of and handle."
Synonyms arise from changes or developments in social production and life. People create a large number of synonyms to reflect reality more finely, accurately, flexibly, and vividly, to convey emotions, and to exchange ideas. The existence of synonyms is a result of long-term development in human thinking and a sign of rich vocabulary. Additionally, the appropriate use of synonyms can make expressions more vivid, accurate, and flexible, avoiding monotony or repetition of words, thereby enhancing the expressive power of language.
In language teaching, synonyms are often analyzed in terms of their meanings. The analysis of synonyms generally starts with the semantic properties and scope of the words, examining differences in semantic weight, emotional connotation, scope, level of generality, and target audience. It can also be based on usage, analyzing collocations, parts of speech, and syntactic functions. Additionally, the stylistic features of words should be considered. It is also necessary to pay attention to the cross-relationships in meaning between certain words and other polysemous words.
Differences in semantic weight refer to variations in the intensity of meaning among related synonyms. For example, "beg" carries a heavier and more solemn connotation than "request"; "appear" emphasizes "emergence," while "present" emphasizes being placed before one's eyes. The scope of meaning can vary, being broader or narrower. For instance, the scope of "publish" is broader than that of "enact"; "superior" has a wider scope of application than "excellent" or "outstanding"; "plan" has a broader meaning range than "plan" or "blueprint"; "praise" has a wider scope of application than "honor"; "frontier" refers to a large area, "border" refers to a line-like zone, and "boundary" often refers to a dividing point.
Different collocations reflect differences in grammatical usage. For example, "fulfill" refers to realizing something through action, involving objects like "plans, contracts, or schemes"; "execute" refers to implementation or practice, involving objects like "policies, laws, plans, or commands"; "suit" often collocates with "personality, characteristics, tastes, or needs"; and "conform" often collocates with "interests, wishes, principles, standards, regulations, or spirit." Differences in collocations also manifest in parts of speech. For example, "obstruct" is a verb and can take a direct object, such as "obstruct traffic"; "obstacle" is a noun and can be the object of a verb, such as "cause an obstacle."
Many synonyms have emotional connotations. When people evaluate things or express emotions, they often carry different attitudes and feelings, which gives words connotations of praise, blame, neutrality, or formal/informal distinctions. For example, "instigate" is derogatory, while "motivate" is neutral; "achievement" is laudatory, while "consequence" is derogatory; "result" is neutral; "care" and "show concern" have different target audiences; "proud," "haughty," and "proud" carry different connotations. Additionally, connotations include regional color, rhetorical color, and stylistic features.
Many synonyms form synonym clusters, where one word corresponds to multiple or multiple words correspond to one another. They differ in meaning, overlap, and contexts of application, scope, collocations, and restrictions. For example, "lose money, suffer losses, lose money, and break even"; "meticulous, careful, delicate, and refined"; "beg, request, plead, and demand"; and "praise, honor, and commend."
This dictionary includes over 4,200 modern Chinese synonym entries. When selecting entries, the compilers have paid special attention to minimizing the inclusion of nouns with absolute synonym relationships. Some idioms also have synonym relationships, but this dictionary does not include four-character synonymous idioms. Words often have multiple meanings, and the entries included in this dictionary only cover those with corresponding synonyms. Entries without corresponding synonyms are not included. For example, "join" has a meaning of "adding something in," as in "add a little salt," but this meaning does not have a corresponding synonym. Therefore, the dictionary does not include this meaning and only includes "becoming a member of," as in "join the drama club," with the corresponding synonym being "participate," as in "participate in the general meeting."
This dictionary places great emphasis on analyzing differences in meaning and applicability. When distinguishing synonyms, it often uses morphological analysis to help readers achieve a more accurate understanding and apply them in practice. The analysis provides brief explanations of the stylistic features, emotional connotations, collocations with other words, or scope of application.