"The very best thing about the program is the instant translation feature. It is fabulous being able to zap through a text and look up all the words you don't know instantly. It's the equivalent of an earthbound snail learning to fly."
—Gesa Walker, Edinburgh


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Textbook Compatibility

Clavis Sinica can be used with any textbook, or, for that matter, with any Chinese text that is available in electronic form (see our Useful Links or the Chinese Text Sampler for some ideas). The program's lexicon of over 25,000 words and phrases will enable you to make your way easily through passages taken from literary works, newspapers, business documents, or other sources. In order to make the program as useful as possible to students in Chinese language courses, the Clavis Sinica dictionary has been carefully checked against the vocabulary lists from the most commonly used textbooks to ensure that the database contains all of the words and phrases they introduce. With the exception of some rarely used proper nouns, the entire vocabulary from the following textbooks is included in the Clavis dictionary:

  • All Things Considered: Advanced Reader of Modern Chinese (Princeton University Press)
  • Beyond the Basics (Cheng & Tsui)
  • Communicating in Chinese (Far Eastern Publications)
  • Integrated Chinese, Levels 1 and 2 (Cheng & Tsui)
  • Intermediate Reader of Modern Chinese (Princeton University Press)
  • Lu Xun Xiao Shuo Ji: Selected Short Stories of Lu Xun (Chinese University Press)
  • Modern China: Life, Language, and Culture (Cornell University)
  • New Text for a Modern China (Cheng & Tsui)
  • Newspaper Chinese ABC: An Introductory Reader (Cheng & Tsui)
  • Practical Chinese Reader, Volumes 1 and 2 (Cheng & Tsui)
  • Speaking Chinese About China, Volumes 1 and 2 (China Books & Periodicals)

If you are enrolled in a second-, third-, or fourth-year college level Chinese language or literature course and are using a commercially available textbook that is not included here, please contact us so that we can incorporate any additional vocabulary from your textbook into the next release of Clavis Sinica.