Why are the definitions so different between dictionaries?

[mrsfish]

Hi,

I've just upgraded to the paid set. So I have PLC dictionary and NWP and i added CMT (TCM/ medical dictionary).

When I type the word "mattress", I get totally different translations into Mandarin.

PLC: 床垫[-墊] chuángdiàn
CMT: 褥垫 rùdiàn
NWP: no translation / entry

When I try other words: eg "exclusive", PLC: 独家[獨-]. dújiā. sole; the only one; exclusive.
NWP: A.排他的 páitāde; 除外的 chúwàide; 独有的 dúyǒude
CMT: describes a medical action... (Fair enough).

So, how am I to know which definition/translation is correct to use? Is there a bigger, better dictionary that I should purchase as an add-on. Any recommendations?

Thank you in advance!
Cheers

 

[mikelove]

To be honest, proper diction is one of the hardest problems to solve for translation dictionaries, and there really is no single "best translation" in a lot of cases; usually we recommend deciding on a ranking (which dictionaries' definitions you prefer) and then picking a definition from the best dictionary that covers a particular word. But for any given dictionary (even very new / well-regarded ones) you'll inevitably find some bad translations, particularly since Chinese is such a regionally variable language and a perfectly valid translation in one area might sound dated / awkward in another. Not to mention the wide diversity of opinions among Chinese speakers and Chinese teachers about which words are proper and which are not.

From the fact that you mention individual dictionaries I'm guessing that you're using iOS, correct? We're actually just about to release an update on iOS that attempts to help with this situation by showing you every dictionary's take on a word in the same screen, so that you can more efficiently compare and contrast them - see http://www.plecoforums.com/download/multidictwithflash-png.927/ for a screenshot. It also sorts full-text search results by frequency, so that more common Chinese words will generally come up first. (we already do that in our Android app)

Among our currently available English-Chinese dictionaries other than NWP, if you're outside of mainland China the best bet for English-Chinese is probably the Pocket Oxford; if you're in mainland China then I'd get either the ABC E-C if you need Pinyin or the 21st Century if you're OK with just characters (you can tap on any character you don't recognize to instantly pull up its Pinyin).

 

[mrsfish]

Hi Mike,

Apologies for the delay in replying. Thank you for your detailed answer. Yes, I am using ios. I have an ipad + Pleco. Very pleased with this combination tbh.

I have now trialled both of the dictionaries you suggested. I will buy both actually as I am using Pleco both for study and daily life and they do seem to have different strengths.

A quick word of praise/ shout out: I moved to China recently and Pleco has been a godsend: the image text capture function has been hugely useful. (I went through my new local supermarket and built up a regular foodstuffs shopping list quickly and efficiently. (I prefer to learn words I will encounter daily and Pleco made this process very easy)). Great work, great app. Thank you.

-of course, no app is perfect and on the continued topic of dictionaries, the self-created user dictionary function is a weak spot--- It would be great if we could add custom 'lists' or search flashcards or user dictionary by keywords (English and Chinese). I am creating flashcards of sentences and words that I use all the time/ or which are particularly useful to access quickly (ex: "the building is on fire, where is the exit and please call fire brigade"). It would be better to have these in the customised user dictionary, or personal list, or searchable flashcards. please correct me if i am wrong, but currently user dictionary doesn't allow English word searching & flash cards can't be keyword searched. I know you guys are working on improving the user dictionary function, just giving more examples for you.

I now have the hang of switching amongst all the available dictionaries, sometimes looking into individual characters whenever there's a plethora of options. Chinese is so descriptive as a language, but I am getting the hang of how to identify the best translation. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

Cheers

 

[mikelove]

Thanks!

User dictionaries have actually gotten full-text English search support in the new update; we haven't added a full-fledged flashcard keyword search yet, but we have added an icon next to dictionary entries to indicate that they're included in flashcards and have also added an option in search to sort flashcard vocabulary ahead of all other vocabulary in results, so assuming that all of your flashcards are linked to (user or built-in) dictionary entries you can effectively do a keyword search of flashcards using that.