SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE DICTIONARY
| ⦿ | used for or graphically interchangeable with the following (may be followed by more than one other graph) |
| → | see entry for character that follows; usually indicating same graph but listed under different main pronunciation, sometimes indicates synonymy or near-synonymy of different graph |
| > | leads logically to, meaning extends or expands to |
| < | derived from (usu. to indicate derivation from a foreign word) |
| abb. | abbreviation, abbreviated |
| ADV | adverb(ial) |
| alt. | alternative(ly) |
| ant. | antonym |
| approx. | approximately |
| Arab. | Arabic |
| bn. | binome, 2-syllable word |
| Budd. | Buddhist |
| c. | century |
| ca. | circa, about |
| cf. | compare with |
| cmpd. | compound |
| cog. | cognate |
| Dao. | Daoist, primarily medieval religious Daoist |
| e.g. | exempli gratia, for example |
| equiv. | equivalent to |
| esp. | especially |
| euph. | euphemism |
| gen. | in general, general(ly) |
| Gk. | Greek |
| GP | grammatical particle |
| i.e. | id est, that is |
| incl. | including |
| interr . | interrogative |
| Iran. | Iranian |
| Jpns. | Japanese |
| lit. | literature |
| MC | Middle Chinese |
| med. | medieval |
| mod. | modern |
| N.B. | nota bene, take special note of |
| OBJ | object |
| OC | Old Chinese |
| onom . | onomatopoeic |
| opp. | opposite, opposed to |
| Pers. | Persian |
| prob. | probably |
| rdup. | reduplicated |
| ref. | reference, refers to |
| sgl. | singly or singular |
| Skt. | Sanskrit |
| Sog. | Sogdian |
| SUBJ | subject |
| syn. | synonym(ous) |
| Tib. | Tibetan |
| trns. | translation |
| trsc. | transcription |
| Turk. | Turkic |
| usu. | usually |
| VB | verb, verbal |
| Viet. | Vietnamese |
ORGANIZATION OF THE PRINT EDITION
Entries are arranged in alphabetical sequence, according to each graph’s Pinyin romanization. Graphs with identical pronunciation are placed in order of their signific’s (bushou 部首, or “radical”) sequence in the standard list of 214 significs established in the Kangxi Dictionary 康熙字典.
Graphs with two or more pronunciations are listed under each of them but are given their main entry under one designated pronunciation, cross-referenced to by all of the others.
Within the body of an entry, if reference is made to a different graph which is followed by one pronunciation and then a second in parenthesis, this means the particular meaning in question carries the first pronunciation but this is a secondary pronunciation to be found under the main entry whose pronunciation is the one in parenthesis.