Pocket Mandarin Chinese Langenscheidt [Turtleback]

This dictionary has it all: a Chinese-English section ordered by pronunciation, an English-Chinese section featuring numerous usage examples for many words, an excellent radical index, a guide to common differences between mainland Chinese and the Chinese used in Taiwan, and an overview of numbers in Chinese. I'm especially pleased with the plentiful examples throughout the dictionary, which can eliminate much of the mystery of how to use the words/characters in a colloquial fashion.

All the entries are very clear and readable, and despite their size, the script characters are quite legible. If I had to pick something to complain about (and this is a bit of a stretch), it would be the lack of traditional Chinese characters in this dictionary. In my classes, we learn the traditional characters, but it is not a big deal to learn the simplified versions along the way (especially since out of the 100 or so characters covered each semester, only a handful differ between traditional and simplified Chinese).

What more can I say? This dictionary has it all as far as information goes, and the rubbery cover and excellent binding just scream "durability" to me. I have no doubt that this will be a tool I keep by my side for years to come, both in the classroom and in my travels to China itself. HIGHLY recommended.

The book gives single words, but it also gives common phrases in which that word is used. The radical index is pretty good, though like others have said, it leaves some characters out. Most of the ones I couldn't find were (I discovered) local characters used mostly in the Shanghai area. When I was standing around trying to read signs, I often would consult this book. Since I had a conversation class, I didn't know how to read anything when I arrived. Once I was able to learn how to pick out a radical, though, I was usually able to find out what the word was just by using this dictionary. During class, when I had written an English word on the board and wanted to write the Chinese word, all I had to do was look up the English word in here. You not only will find the Chinese pinyin next to it, but also the character(s) for writing it. When I wanted to find something, I could do the same thing. Even if I didn't say the pinyin right, I could point to the characters in the book, and almost always people would immediately know what it was and would help me get it.

Like others have said, the cover is rubbery, and stands up well to wear and tear. As I accidentally found out, this also means you can cover it with marker writings, or spill coffee and tea on the cover, yet it will wipe away clean. In the back of the book is a quick number section for dealing with all numbers, big and small. It also shows you the characters for writing numbers on checks, which are different than the characters for the regular use of numbers. The book also has the Chinese way of saying a lot of useful in-country phrases, like Communist Party, CCTV, People's Republic of China, and other things like that. It has slang and formal words in it, and covers thousands of words. I cannot believe how many things the dictionary has. I was teaching 13 year-olds, and like most kids that age, they wanted to know how to say some rather weird phrases in English. When they would write the Chinese, I could use the radical chart and look it up. Or, if they spoke it, I could find the pinyin using the Chinese side of the dictionary. I still cannot believe how many seemingly random words were in there. I'd say I could find any word (and I mean ANY word) about 95% of the time (one notable lack I found one day: "caravan" - can't have them all I guess). It is amazing.

I have put this book to the test. The sides of the pages are covered in dirt. The blue L on the front is slowly starting to wear off (not surprising after all I put it through). Physically, as well as language-wise, this book is great. I used it every day, flipping through and referencing it nearly non-stop. It has pulled me through every time. I've never really used another dictionary much, but I've never really had to. This one is great. If you are going to China and need a quick, handy, durable, and travel-friendly dictionary, this is what you want. Believe me, after two intense months of being one of the few English-speakers in a suburb of Shanghai, I know for a fact, this dictionary is good. Get it. You won't be disappointed.