Chinese dictionary

A Chinese dictionary is a reference work for the Chinese language. There are two main types of Chinese dictionaries: zidian ("character dictionaries"), which list individual Chinese characters and their definitions, and cidian ("word/phrase dictionaries"), which list words (many of which use multiple characters) and short phrases along with their meanings. Because written Chinese consists of tens of thousands of characters, over time editors of Chinese dictionaries have developed a number of ways to organize them for convenient reference.

Chinese dictionaries have been published for over two millennia, beginning in the Han dynasty. This is the longest lexicographical history of any language. In addition to works for Mandarin Chinese, beginning with the 1st century CE Fangyan dictionaries also been created for the many varieties of Chinese. One of the most influential Chinese dictionaries ever published was the Kangxi Dictionary, finished in 1716 during the Qing dynasty. The list of 214 "Kangxi radicals"^[a] that it collated are still widely used.
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