LiveABC’s Illustrated Chinese- English Dictionary is a book designed for all Mandarin learners. Page by page, it covers commonly used Mandarin vocabulary with its English definition and colorful illustrations. Differing from most language learning textbooks, instead of listing a catalog of vocabulary with its literal definition in another language, Illustrated Chinese- English Dictionary takes its learners journey back to the stage when children begin to learn their vernacular tongue through the indication of an object. Such a learning technique should be applied by all second language learners, that we should learn vocabulary by building a perception of illustrations rather than memorizing lifeless word definitions.

While most learning tools for Mandarin simply present Putonghu(普通話) spoken in Mainland, China, to my surprise, Illustrated Chinese- English Dictionary covers a broader literal meaning in Mandarin; it clearly displays pinyin(拼音) along with simplified written characters and zhuyin(注音) with traditional characters in divided columns. Thus, learners are allowed to compare the great similarities and the slight differences between Putonghua(普通話) and Guoyu(國語).

Moreover, Illustrated Chinese- English Dictionary comes with two CD-ROMs; it provides an access to interactive learning with its designed software for its users. This way, learners are encouraged to listen to MP3 track for a more accurate pronunciation in Mandarin.

With all its advantages, Illustrated Chinese- English Dictionary is highly recommended for both beginners and inter-mediate level learners.

I give it 4.5 out of 5 Stars. 

Happy Learning! :)

Peggy Lee