Using a Dictionary
To reference a vocabulary item in the dictionary when you know neither the Hanzi nor the exact English translation you must use Pinyin. This situation may arise when you hear an unfamiliar word from class, on CD, on audio file, on TV, or in a conversation. If you know the exact Pinyin, including tones, you will likely be able to quickly narrow your choices down. Things become more difficult when you misidentify the tone, a consonant or a vowel. 100% accuracy in translating sound to Pinyin can make this language learning task much easier no matter what type of dictionary you are using.
Types of Dictionaries
You are likely to be using one of three general types of bilingual dictionaries when searching for the English meaning of a word. Those types are as follows:
The first type of dictionary is ordered alphabetically by Roman letters, as in English. This type of dictionary ignores tones. While this type of dictionary is easy to use, it works well only if you can accurately identify the Pinyin. A well-respected dictionary that uses this method is the ABC Chinese-English Comprehensive Dictionary, edited by John DeFrancis.
The second type of dictionary is ordered by the Pinyin of the initial character. The first character is 阿 {a1} and the last character is 做 {zuò}. Under each character is an alphabetical listing of those words that use that character as their initial character. A character-based Pinyin dictionary requires accurately producing the Pinyin, including tone, for the first character. Without 100% accuracy in Pinyin, the search for each single dictionary entry could waste 10 minutes of your time or more. This sort of dictionary may be useful when seeking to understand the meaning of the initial character in the word and viewing other, potentially related words. The Chinese section of Pocket Oxford Chinese Dictionary is ordered in this manner.
The last type of dictionary is the computer dictionary, which can be accessed through multiple methods, including Pinyin, English, or characters. Examples include www.cojak.org, zhongwen.com, dict.cn, and mdbg.net.
Problems With Only Knowing Partial Pinyin
Here are a few examples of when a slight change in Pinyin changes the word completely.
Different tones:
桌子 zhuōzi = table
镯子 zhuózi = bracelet
学生 xuésheng = student
血牲 xuèshēng = sacrificial animal
确实 quèshí = definitely true
缺失 quēshī = hiatus
Different vowels:
运动 yùndòng = sports
远东 Yuǎndōng = Far East
口水 kǒushuǐ = saliva
苦水 kǔshuǐ = bile rising to the mouth
Different consonants:
去 qù = go
处 chù = place