Chinese Language Study Resources

I appreciate all of the positive feedback on the Chinese legal words cheatsheet.  I can't promise I will get to the pinyin right away, but in the meantime I'd like to point out a couple of resources for those who are learning Chinese. 

There is a fantastic computer dictionary out there called Wenlin.  It has a bigger database than most dictionaries and it has a scroll-over feature.  This means you can paste a chinese language document into it and it will look up words as you go.  It can become a crutch, but it is very helpful when reading complex legal documents.  I have no business relationship with Wenlin, but I'd like one...Wenlin, if you're out there, let's talk.

A good friend of mine devised a system for learning the characters that is the best I have heard.  He studied linguistics at Yale and then studied International Affairs at Peking University.  He also studied Chinese at the Monterrey Institute of International Studies.  His system for learning characters can be found right...about...here.

Comments

[Kwok Ting Lee]

I second the use of Wenlin. When I was reading modern academic analyses of classical Chinese poetry, or history articles as background to the periods I was studying, I relied on Wenlin as a quick way of looking up a character I was somewhat unfamiliar with, or a combination of characters.

[China Law Blog]

Ben --

The final link in this post is blank/dead.

[China Speed]

Thanks Dan, I believe it is fixed now.

[Carolyn Chu]

I have heard great things about Wenlin and have been thinking of getting it myself.

Has anyone ever tried Clavis Sinica (http://www.clavisinica.com/)? It has similar capabilities as Wenlin but is only 1/4 the cost.

But, of course, this may be one of those cases where you get what you pay for...

[Kwok Ting Lee]

I haven't used anything but Wenlin, mostly because my professors (during the early years when I was trying to refresh my memory after not using Mandarin for around ten years) recommended it as a good self study aid.

I'd say, if it's good enough that a number of my professors, who were native Chinese, recommended it to a 'quasi-native speaker' as a way of helping him remember what he's forgotten in the ten years or so of living in a non-Chinese speaking and writing environment, it's worth the price difference.