No. 1 Top Rated Best Chinese Dictionary: Mandarin Chinese in the world: Chinese Characters: A Genealogy and Dictionary
I have been studying Mandarin Chinese since 1995. Back when I first started learning the language I was lucky enough to have met the author of the very best dictionary for learning Mandarin Chinese in the world: Chinese Characters: A Genealogy and Dictionary, by Rick Harbaugh.
Best Website for learning about Chinese Characters
Actually, after having used the dictionary for many years in the mid-1990s when the Internet was still young I discovered that Rick made the dictionary into a website: ZhongWen.com. Now, each and every time I need to look up a Chinese character. The reason that I like Rick’s dictionary and site so much are that it gives a geneological breakdown and analysis of the entire Chinese character system. And, by just recognizing a portion of the characters I’m able to find the meaning of the entire character in usually less than one minute. Also, in addition to serving as a dictionary, this book and website also makes for hours of pleasurable reading as I discover more about the Chinese language.