tự điển

See also: từ điển

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 字典 (“Han character dictionary”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [tɨ˧˨ʔ ɗiən˧˩]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [tɨ˨˩ʔ ɗiəŋ˧˨]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [tɨ˨˩˨ ɗiəŋ˨˩˦]

Noun

tự điển

1. (chiefly academic) a Han character dictionary
2. (by extension) a dictionary

Usage notes

• Even though some Sinologists may proscribe the use of the word in the sense of "generic dictionary", authors of cheap dictionaries may still label their "English-Vietnamese dictionaries" as tự điển. The fine distinction is not widely known outside the realm of Sinology.

Synonyms

• (dictionary): từ điển

Further reading

• "tự điển" in Hồ Ngọc Đức, Free Vietnamese Dictionary Project (details)