New Release: Cantonese Practical Dictionary

We're pleased to announce our new Cantonese Practical Dictionary is now available!

Spoken by nearly 60 million people, Cantonese rivals Mandarin as the lingua franca of both south China and of the worldwide Chinese diaspora population. Despite their similarities, Cantonese is not mutually intelligible with Mandarin. Cantonese is an official language of Hong Kong and Macau, and is the most common dialect in the Guangdong province.

Unique among all the Chinese dialects, Cantonese also has a writing system that is distinct from Mandarin Chinese and makes use of characters generally not understood by non-Cantonese speakers. Written Cantonese is commonly found on street signs in Hong Kong as well as in newspapers and novels. The spoken language also exerts a strong cultural influence on East Asia, due to the prominence of Hong Kong’s film and music industries. Our dictionary provides students and travelers with a portable yet comprehensive resource for everyday use.

Includes:

• Intuitive phonetic system and written Cantonese characters

• Over 14,000 entries

• Concise grammar and pronunciation section

You can now order the Cantonese Practical Dictionary online (Amazon, Barnes & Noble) or your local store (Indiebound)!

Also from Hippocrene:



The dictionary is a great companion to our Cantonese Dictionary & Phrasebook. The Cantonese Dictionary & Phrasebook is an indispensable reference for travelers, businesspeople, and students. The phrasebook, along with the 4,000 dictionary entries, includes Cantonese characters and intuitive phonetics. Also includes an easy-to-use guide that directs you through grammar and pronunciation.

Pick it up at your local bookstore or purchase through our website, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble.

New Editions of Popular Chinese Study Guides!

For students studying Chinese and looking for new materials beyond their textbook, we have two updated releases which are profoundly useful: Concise Chinese-English Usage Dictionary and Dictionary of 1,000 Chinese Proverbs: Revised Edition. Mandarin Chinese is the most spoken language in the world, with over two billion speakers worldwide. These books provide informative material that will enrich the student's knowledge of Chinese.

The updated Concise Chinese-English Usage Dictionary by Yong Ho now incorporates new words and usage changes which have occurred in the language since the original (Chinese-English Frequency Dictionary) was published, ten years ago. The dictionary is listed with the pinyin transcription (pronunciation), English translation, and examples of its usage within common Chinese words and phrases. In addition, there are also two indices which list the 500 characters in order of frequency and stroke count. It is meant to serve as a concise dictionary and a study guide, making it helpful for both advanced and beginning students. It is presented in a way that is easy for students to understand recall the characters’ unique spread in meaning by seeing how they are most often used to build Chinese words.

The new edition of Dictionary of 1,000 Chinese Proverbs by Marjorie Lin and Schalk Leonard now includes simplified and traditional character renderings of each proverb, a new introduction from the authors, an English index of key terms, and a key of Chinese characters. This book is a valuable tool for students interested in mastering the Chinese language, as recognizing these common sayings will aid in fluency. A compilation of 1,000 of the most popular Mandarin proverbs are organized alphabetically in pinyin order into English. A knowledge of common sayings will aid in fluency. One can learn proverbs such as:

‘Man does not see his own ugliness, and horses are unaware of the length of their heads,’ and

‘Success is three parts genius and seven parts hard work.’

These great assets are available in bookstores, as well as online through our website, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.

New Release: Cantonese Dictionary & Phrasebook

Although its total number of speakers (60 million) is merely a fraction of its behemoth sibling's, Mandarin (1025 million), Cantonese is still one of the world's most widely-spoken languages. It is an official language in Hong Kong and Macau, as well as a dominant dialect in the Guangdong province of China. It may not have the numbers that Mandarin claims, but Cantonese is nonetheless a major player in south China and among Chinese living abroad.

So where exactly does Cantonese pop up? Seemingly everywhere, if you're reading street signs, newspapers, or novels in Hong Kong. Maybe you're watching a Chinese film or listening to popular Chinese music. More often than not, these Chinese entertainment offerings will have also come out of Hong Kong, spreading spoken Cantonese to viewers and listeners across the globe.

Our new Cantonese Dictionary & Phrasebook serves as an indispensable reference for travelers, businesspeople, students, or anyone else interested in this notable language. Despite their similarities, Cantonese is not mutually intelligible with  Mandarin—it has a writing system all its own and uses characters not generally understood by non-Cantonese speakers.

So we've provided an easy-to-use guide that directs you through grammar and pronunciation. The phrasebook, along with the 4,000 dictionary entries, includes Cantonese characters and intuitive phonetics.

Get the most out of your trip with the newest Cantonese resource available! Pick it up at your local bookstore or purchase through our website, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble.

Updated Logo and Bulgarian Dictionary & Phrasebook

Two great things happening today: we're sharing our updated Hippocrene logo and the new Bulgarian Dictionary & Phrasebook that is now in stock!

Our original logo was inspired by our namesake, the Hippocrene fountain of Greek mythology that sprang forth when Pegasus' hooves hit the ground, and was hand-drawn back in 1971. After just celebrating our 40th year as an independent publisher (no small feat these days!) we decided to update our logo. The elegant redesign by Brittany Hince uses the blue of the water, and we hope to use for the next 40 years!

Bulgarian Dictionary & Phrasebook by Michaela Burilkovova is our newest addition to our growing "D&P" series. Bulgarian is used worldwide by a community of over nine million speakers, and is the originating language of the Cyrillic alphabet. Travelers, students, and business-people will have a concise dictionary and wealth of practical phrases at their disposal. Both the Cyrillic alphabet and Romanization are used so that you can translate signs and documents, if needed.

In addition, readers are provided with basic grammar and pronunciation guides, a short history of Bulgaria, and appendices for numbers and measurements.

Available at your local bookstore, and online at Amazon and our website!

Dictionary of 1,000 Chinese Idioms

We're pleased to announce that Dictionary of 1,000 Chinese Idioms: Revised Edition is now in stock! In this new edition, each entry has both traditional simplified Chinese characters, pinyin transliterations with tone marks, and a new introduction by the authors.


Four-character idioms, or chengyu, are a unique part of the Chinese language, and many incorporate value and myths that have been a part of Chinese culture for over 3,000 years. The revised edition selects the 1,000 most frequently used idioms, and arranges them alphabetically by their pinyin pronunciation. It is a vital book for any student of Chinese who wishes to understand the important nuances of meaning that pervade the language and the culture. 

Marjorie Lin is a graduate of Providence University in Taichung, Taiwan and works as a professional Chinese-English translator. Schalk Leonard is a professional Chinese-English translator. They reside in the Pacific Northwest.

Available on our website, Amazon.com, and at your local bookstore!

New Dictionaries In Stock!

We have three new dictionaries fresh off the presses! 


Bengali (Bangla)-English/ English-Bengali (Bangla) Dictionary & Phrasebook
by Hanne-Ruth Thompson
















Czech-English/English-Czech Practical Dictionary
by Karen Von Kunes

Norwegian-English/English-Norwegian Practical Dictionary
by Laura Ziukaite-Hansen