好好说好/ Different uses of 好

:-) more shopping!

thanks,I will. :)

Hi suansuanru

Would you please join this discussion?

http://chinesepod.com/community/conversations/post/9945?page=1#comment-187426

I think so :-) I'm very happy with my bone!

Is there anything you maybe are looking for? I am happy to have a look for you! It seems that this bookstore had quite some interesting books, but it is a little hard for me to judge. Please let me know if you need something and I will keep an eye open for you!

Hi chanelle77

Congratulations! Is that a typical case of "The dog that trots about finds a bone" ? My chubby dog loves this English saying very much, hehe. Fortunately for you, the shopkeeper of the secondhand bookstore is not so "professional", and therefore he ended up selling the hard-to-get dictionary at such a cheap price. Even worse (for him), the person who bought the dictionary was a rich “老外”！ Well done! Keep buying!

Changye, thought I'd let you know that I am still working on your list :-) It was difficult to find 《中华字海》and went to several places and tried to get it, but no luck.

However, today I went to my "secret" little secondhand discount bookstore and found a copy of 《中华字海》. I walked in and immediately saw one copy in the middle of the store, looked like it was just waiting there for me! Even better, I had to pay only a 100 yuan!

They had many other interesting books, but this one was so heavy that I could not buy much more haha! :-)

So far, I liked looking at the "weird" characters on the way home!

Hi chanelle77

There are a lot of books/dictionaries on etymologies/甲骨文 sold at bookstores in China. I recommend you go to the largest bookstore in Nanjing and find some you like (I guess you've already been there many times so far!) You have to get several different kinds of etymology books because etymologies often differ from book to book, which makes learning etymologies more interesting. 《说文解字》 (100 AD) is still sort of Bible of Hanzi etymology, but the ancient dictionary is not regarded to be "omnipotent" anymore after the discovery of oracle bone scripts about one hundred year ago.

《细说汉字》 （精装版） shows you concise explanations on etymologies of about 1,000 characters with beautiful pictures. This book is a classic of this kind.

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=9257314&ref=search-0-A

《汉字王国》 This is the Chinese translation of "China: Empire of living symbols" by Cecilia Lindqvist. It's a good and easy-to-read ABC book of hanzi etymology.

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=9247352&ref=search-1-A

《图说汉字的历史》 You must buy this, hehe. This is the Chinese translation of the Japanese book "図説漢字の歴史" by 阿辻哲次, which is one of the best books on the history of Chinese characters published in Japan. Actually, there are tons of good books on Hanzi sold in Japan!

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=9059918&ref=search-0-A

《甲骨文字趣释》 concise (and a little humorous) explanations on 甲骨文, easy to read, but unfortunately it's sold out. If you find it at a bookstore, please don't hesitate to get it.

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=7430085&ref=search-1-A

《殷墟甲骨学》 The selling point of this book is 甲骨文 dictionary (from 200 to 535 page), which lists about 1,000 oracle bone characters with concise explanations.

http://www.amazon.cn/mn/detailApp/ref=sr_1_2?_encoding=UTF8&s=books&qid=1280843171&asin=B001BV8RPC&sr=1-2

《中英对照:甲骨文今译类检》 I don't want to twist your arm, but if you would like to know what ancient oracles say .......

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=20672927&ref=search-1-D

Changye, one of my main interests are 甲骨文 and would be delighted to hear your suggestions. I am particularly interested in etymology. I feel bad for troubling you so much! :-)

The artwork is amazing and actually you might be right. I know myself, I probably cannot resist learning Arabic if I live there haha! and upon seeing such intruiging characters! Our alphabet is so boring compared to other languages :-)

I think you must have a nice collection of books by now right? How did you find out about all this?

Here is the website of Koichi-Honda (本田孝一), a prominent Japanese Islamic calligrapher, where you can see a lot of beautiful works by him.

http://mphot.exblog.jp/tags/%E6%9C%AC%E7%94%B0%E5%AD%9D%E4%B8%80%E6%B0%8FWeb%E4%BD%9C%E5%93%81%E5%B1%95/

Arabic? That's just great. I can't find any reason not to learn the language and characters, which are very different from English, Chinese, Japanese and so on, while you stay in an Arabic-speaking country. I guess learning Arabic should be rather challenging, but definitely worth trying. I'm sure you would be fascinated by Islamic calligraphy.

http://www.google.com.hk/images?hl=en&q=arabic+calligraphy&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi

Some people, me included, are now discussing "needlessly complicated Chinese characters" in other thread, which just reminds me of a nice Chinese dictionary, 《中华字海》，which boasts that it includes the largest number of Hanzi, more than 85,568 characters, in the world. FYI, 《康熙字典》 contains about 47,000 characters. 《中华字海》 lists not only ordinary Chinese characters used in China, but also ones used in dialects, HK, Macao, Korea, Japan, and so on. I'm afraid I don't have a copy of this extraordinary dictionary as it's long been sold out at all the major online bookstores. The only place where you can get it is probably “孔夫子旧书网”, the largest online second-hand book market in the PRC, and the price there is 900 yuan, which is the seven times of the retail price. Do you feel like getting one?

http://book.kongfz.com/15951/88793943/

Please tell me if you have GREAT interest in 甲骨文. There are some nice books and dictionaries I want to introduce to you. I think you already have some books on oracle bone scripts.

Dear Changye, great additions. The first one I indeed heard about and have that one already in my collection. The rest is in my dangdang cart as we speak! :-)

I do hope that I do not change my mind and start learning Arabic hahaha! (we might move to an Arabic speaking country by the end of the year).

Just kidding, I think Chinese is one of the best "hobbies" ever, you never get bored with it and are set for a lifetime! Wherever, I end up in the world, there will be Chinese around me and will continue!

Don't know how to thank you for your valuable info!

Hi chanelle77

I think you've already heard the name 《康熙字典》 and 《说文解字》 several times here in the forum. They are very well-known/important Chinese character dictionary, which were edited in the 18th and the 1st century respectively. It won't hurt you to get ALL of them while you're in China. You will never regret it, hehe.

《康熙字典》 标点整理版 in modern type -version (very easy to read) (156 yuan)

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=20335456&ref=search-0-A

《康熙字典》 检索版 original version (85 yuan)

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=20772157&ref=search-0-A

《说文解字》 with modern translations, and all in modern type (32 yuan ), it's currently sold out at 当当网.

http://www.amazon.cn/mn/detailApp/ref=sr_1_2?_encoding=UTF8&s=books&qid=1280757744&asin=B0027P8170&sr=8-2

《说文解字》 original version (35 yuan)

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=9181154&ref=search-0-A

Ah I see I get it now :-)

Oh, unfortunately, the secondhand 《荷汉词典》 sold at the website are all 《图书馆复印本》 (photocopy), but not the original dictionary.

Hi chanell77

The secondhand dictionary was published in 1995, and the price is 101 yuan. I recommend you click the link that shows “十品”, which means "very good condition".

《荷兰》 大国崛起系列丛书

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=9231471&ref=search-0-A

This is a book based on well-known TV series 《大国崛起》，which was broadcast a few years ago in the PRC. It might be interesting to read a book on your own country written in Chinese (and from the standpoint of Chinese authorities). There are also DVDs of the series, but I don't know you can watch them in your country (or with a made-in-Dutch DVD player). Below is the link to the video uploaded at 优酷网. 你得空看一看吧！

《大国崛起 荷兰》

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTYyMjQ1MjA=.html

I was just looking at that website :-) I thought that one is 350? The 100 RMB is from 1995, but maybe I am wrong?

Hi chanelle77

Why don't you get the dictionary at 孔夫子网. I bought second-hand books a few times at the website without any problem. You need to remit money in advance, but it's only 100 ～ 120 yuan at the shop.

Oh! Really need that one! :-) Silly me, never thought about books in Dutch / Chinese. Great suggestion! Cannot believe that one is sold out! Maybe Dutch is the "new Chinese".

Hi chanelle77

Do you have this dictionary? 《现代荷汉词典》 Unfortunately, it's sold out at 当当网 and other major online bookstores.

http://www.sinoshu.com/303095/

Below is a major used book shop in China, 《孔夫子旧书网》

http://search.kongfz.com/book.jsp?queryText=%BA%C9%BA%BA%B4%CA%B5%E4&sale=0&query=%25E8%258D%25B7%25E6%25B1%2589%25E8%25AF%258D%25E5%2585%25B8&flag=index

That's good! Looks like the book is well known among foreign students in the PRC!

Changye, that book was also advised by my Nanda teacher and indeed is a very good book! I bought it a few months ago on Amazon :-). But, if anything else comes to mind, I am all ears!

I'm very happy to hear that. Please keep "buying", hehe.

Changye, you did not lie, there really are 24 uses of 好 in that book :-) I went to a special bookshop in Nanjing and they had a copy! Very interesting ! Thanks again!

Glad you are okay! Thanks for letting us know.

Hi Zhen, thank you for your concern!

Hi Changye,

It is not next to our house but still relatively close. Our driver lives within a few 100 meters of the site and his parents and his kid luckily went early to the Suguo, otherwise would have been hurt or worse (the Suguo was badly damaged). The plant is located in the same district where we live. But all is well, just scary :-). Interestingly the government says only 10 people did, I heard a completely different number: around 70 - 80, which makes more sense if I see how many houses are destroyed.

Yes I brought my 2 cats to China, had them quarantined and kept up with the rabies shots. We gave them everything they needed already in Holland. So there should be no major issues to get them out of the country. Of course I do expect many useless visits to many different departments and offices :-)

Here's a link to a WSJ article that mentions the blast. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703977004575394262825550830.html 187 workers die each day in China in work-related accidents! Definitely “不好" no matter the usage!

BTW, the same article, only in Chinese. http://cn.wsj.com/gb/20100729/bch094000.asp?source=whatnews

Hi chanelle77

I saw the news on TV yesterday, but I didn't expect at all the accident site would be so close to your house. Incidentally, are you going to take your cat to the Netherlands? Probably quarantine procedures are rather complicated and would take a long time on both sides.

Oh my god I just saw a brief clip on the news, and wondered how near/far from that you are. It's terrible. I hear there were houses that could not withstand the force from the blast. I'm glad you and cats are fine. Hope none of the patients in the animal hospital got hurt.

Thank you Changye, that is some good news! Cannot wait! Have ordered all your suggestion except the error sentences, that one I had already :-)

Nice to have some good news: have been getting some less good news today. Was drinking coffee when a blast nearly blew our windows out. I thought something was off and was right: http://news.qq.com/a/20100728/002028.htm My cat is currently in the animal hospital (well 5 weeks already, but that is a different story) and one window broke because of the explosion, but he is fine, the glass just missed him! Only in China :-)

Hi chanelle77

Here is a piece of good news for you that I've just seen in the news today. A new Chinese dictionary, 《现代汉语学习词典》 （商务印书馆）, is going to be published next month. This dictionary is aimed at users who want to learn proper Chinese, and it shows not only words and characters, but also grammatical tips and the proper usage of synomyms. Please click on the link below to see a video of the news.

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTkyOTc3NTQ4.html

Changye your replies are much appreciated! Thanks a lot for sharing this. I just ordered the "现代汉语八百词" the other 2 were not available (also checked Amazon.cn).

I might have one of your other suggestions already but will get the other ones for sure. I hate to be outside of China and being unable to buy or paying way too much. I checked prices in Holland and US and you pay easily 10X the price you pay in China, but you know this for sure already.

You are right about the looks, I already have too much antiques anyway :-) It is tempting, but I will go with you recommendation and not the biggest one hahaha. Would look great though :-).

Thanks a lot! :-)

If you'd like to get a recently-edited large Chinese dictionary, I would recommend you consider buying this one. The dictionary contains 127,200 words and 16,000 pictures.

《辞海》 （第六版 彩图本） the sixth edition, 2009, four volumes. 777 yuan

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=20689067&ref=product-0-H

HI chanelle77

Below are some highly-recommended books for learning Chinese.

《图释古汉字》

This wonderful book shows you etymologies and the transition of shapes of about 1,000 Chinese characters. You can see a sample page in the webpage below.

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=9202396&ref=search-1-A

《汉字知识与汉字问题》

This 200-page book gives you comprehensive knowledge about Chinese characters, from its histyory to modern issues surrounding hanzi. Reading this book enables you to become a "know-it-all" of Chinese characters, hehe.

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=20618393&ref=search-1-A

《新华同义词词典》

To use synonyms properly is very impoirtant when speaking/writing in foreign languages. I always find this compact book very useful.

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=9129499&ref=search-1-A

The two books below belong to the category of so-called "frequently made mistakes by foreign learners". I think reading this kind of books is a quick and effective way to understand Chinese grammar. The first one is titled 《日本人学汉语～》, but I'm sure the book is really useful even for Western people.

《日本人学汉语常见语法错误释疑》

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=20420608&ref=search-1-A

《汉语病句辨析九百例》

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=20653501&ref=search-1-A

Hi chanelle77

《汉语大词典》 is really a good buy not for learning Chinese but for decorating your study room, hehe. Joking aside, they can really make a nice decorative, which I think is a good reason (or excuse?) to buy it. If I were you, I would defenitely get it before leaving China. Otherwise, I won't have another chance to get it in the future. It's only 1600 yuan at 当当网.

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=20399475&ref=search-0-A

Please be noted that although the 《汉语大词典》 shown in the webpage was published in 2008, actually it was edited more than twenty years ago, so you can't find a word such as 因特网, for example, in the dictionary. Unfortunately, paper dictionaries can't beat online ones in some ways.

You have anoterh choice. There is three-volume compressed version of 《汉语大词典》, which costs you ONLY 600 yuan. Which do you like better?

http://www.wl.cn/3482355

Lastly, here is the largest Chinese character dictionay in the world, i.e. 《汉语大字典》(nine volumes), and the price is 1400 yuan. It can also make a good decorative in your reception room, which is much better than other ordinary Chinese things such as scrolls and antiques.

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=20833793&ref=search-recobar-dp

Just for your information, actually the largest Chinese dicionary in the world is 《大汉和辞典》, which was edited and published in Japan.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dai_Kan-Wa_jiten

The publication of 《汉语大词典》 was a national project of the PRC, and it was edited by a lot of scholars, who were "mobilized" by the Chinese government, in a short period of time. On the other hand, 《大汉和辞典》 was basically edited by one Japanese scholar, Mr. Morohashi, and it took thirty-five years to edit the first edition of the dictionary, which was published in 1960. Its latest version was published in 2000.

Again thank you Changye, i just ordered them! I agree with you on getting as many material as possible, but it is quite difficult for me to decide and think ahead. I have a lot of study material for HSK and integrated courses from beginner to advanced, but not so much ref. material or literature for example.

We have a container when we move so I can take quite some books with me. Do you think it would be wise to buy the 2008 汉语大词典(套装全22册) ? ( I have a study budget so I do not have to pay everything myself and I will continue studying Chinese wherever I will end up in the world). If you have any other suggestions I would be grateful to hear them.

Thank you for sharing your knwoledge! :-)

That's a Chinese character dictionary titled "汉字源流字典", which shows you an etymology, the original and secondary meanings of about 11,000 characters. I think it's one of the best dictionaries of this kind. The price is only 88 yuan at 当当网.

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=20279091&ref=search-0-A

And don't forget to get a copy of "现代汉语八百词" and "现代汉语词典". They are a sort of Bible for foreign learners of Mandarin. I recommend you get Chinese reference books/dictionaries/study guides AS MANY AS POSSIBLE before you leave China!!!

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=450460&ref=search-1-D

Yes, much more than I expected. Thank you Changye for sharing that one. 24 different uses? You are kidding me!

Would you mind telling me the name of that dictionary? I am still looking for a good Chinese dictionary, mine are pretty basic and "only" has 11 different uses :-).

I might be leaving China by the end of this year so I need to stuck up on study material.

:-) !