Rating: 
Summary: The best Chinese dictionary I've met so far!
Review: I do not speak Chinese, just use this book to read the legends on old money which I collect. It's also helpful when I have to read the coin catalogs in Chinese. Though I have some other dictionaries, this one is the best.
Easy to use even for a person who does not know Chinese!
This dictionary is great organized for searching the traditional characters, but it also gives simplified form for these characters.
Rating: 
Summary: Lots of effort put in.. but needs just a bit more.
Review: I figured I'd add in a few negative points to the book to counterbalance all the good things. This book does represent a major effort, and a very interesting new approach to presenting the characters. But... The printing quality of the book itself is pretty poor. The paper is ok, but the way the book is put together is somewhat shoddy. The lookup tables for the characters use a small print size that makes it hard to see, the higher stroke count character's strokes all run together. The font used in the presentation of the characters looks very old and inconsistent. It would be better if one of the very clean and standardized bold fonts were used. The lexicographic markings (the things that mark noun, verb, etc) throughout the book are in Chinese, and while there is a chart at the front that explains them, it's a pain to have to look them up everytime. The book is focused mainly on Traditional Characters, though simplified character equivalents are provided. What's NOT provided though, is a way to look up simplified characters. There are no usage examples, as far as I have seen. All in all the book is an interesting approach, but I would not reccomend it for the beginner, perhaps DeFrancis's ABC Dictionary would be better, or one of the basic Oxford or Langenscheidt's dictionaries. If the next version of the book has a bit more attention paid to the above points, then it will indeed deserve the 5 stars that most reviewers give it.
Rating:
Summary: The easiest and the most informative dictionary available
Review: I found this dictionary incredibly helpful in my Chinese studies. It breaks down the character promoting the understanding of the root characters. In my study of Chinese, I found that I was able to decipher words that I have never seen before! What is also great is that one can use many different method to find a word. Thanks for a great dictionary! Keep up the great work!
Rating:
Summary: A useful basic reference tool
Review: I have been a longtime user of Harbaugh's on-line dictionary and was delighted to learn there is now a book version. For Chinese students like me who often confuse similar characters or need all the mnemonic devices we can get, the genealogical approach to grouping characters is very useful and welcome. You won't find obscure character combinations here, but the dictionary amply covers the basics. Chinese students up to the intermediate or advanced intermediate level will get a lot of use out of this dictionary. My only complaint is that the stroke-order index is not well organized. But everything else is done quite well, especially for students who focus on traditional rather than simplified characters.
Rating:
Summary: You will not believe how GREAT this dictionary really is!!
Review: I have used a lot of Chinese dictionaries. Big ones, litle ones, ones from Taiwan, from Beijing, and from the USA, Chinese to English and vice versa, Pinyin/English, ones with characters clear enough to copy, ones that show how the character originated. I have lots of dictionaries. This dictionary has it all. It is small, but large enough that the characters are readable for those learning to write. There are enough ways to locate a word or concept that you just don't go away empty handed. The price is right too! For students and long time speakers of Chinese, I highly recommend this dictionary.
Rating:
Summary: Chinese-English Dictionary Written by an English Speaker
Review: I like the organization of this dictionary. I had used a few other Chinese-English dictionaries before I found this one and I was often frustrated by not being able to find the right Chinese character. If you've had any experience with looking up Chinese characters, you know it can be hit-or-miss -- especially if it's a word you don't know at all. The beauty of this dictionary is that it gives you so many different ways to look up the characters that if you can't find it one way, you can always try a different way. You can even find a word by looking up one that's similar and the one you are looking for will probably be nearby.
Also, I like the fact that Rick Harbaugh is a native English speaker. First, he wrote the dictionary from the point of view of an English speaker learning Chinese, not the other way around. That's why there are so many ways to look up the characters. Second, it's very encouraging to me to see an English speaker become so proficient in Chinese that he can write a dictionary!
Rating:
Summary: Very helpful for beginning to intermediate levels
Review: I live in China and find this book very useful! Pinyin and simplified characters will not get you far in rural China. Having this book has made communication much easier, as well as helping my effort to learn Mandarin. Agree it is not the only dictionary or Chinese book you will need, but it is one that you should definitely have. The size is convenient for travel, and the scope is broad enough to help in any situation.
Rating:
Summary: Incredibly Easy to Use
Review: I LOVE this dictionary! It helps me find any word I want without having to know the radical. I just have to know something that sounds like it or looks like it, and I can find it! It is the best, most useful dictionary I have! If you are looking for a good dictionary, this is the best one I've come across, and at the lowest price I've ever seen for a chinese dictionary!
Rating: 
Summary: Am I the only one that hates this book???
Review: I read all of these reviews and thought I just had to have this book. I thought it was going to be an actual book, not a stupid character list. I would have returned it if I weren't so lazy. Where are the 'brief etymologies' and explanations of the character's history? This book sucks. And I only gave it 1 star because there isn't a no star option.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely the best tool for learning characters!!!!
Review: I started learning Chinese about 2 years ago and during that period I have purchased over 20 books and dictionaries to help out with various aspects of this adventure. While no one book or dictionary can suffice in Chinese, this one comes the closest of any I have seen. I have other books that I use for different purposes, but have found this one to be the indispensible tool in learning characters. I have primarily studied simplified characters, and at first thought this dictionary would be of limited use since it is primarily in traditional characters, however, that opionion rapidly changed. Today I recommend it to everyone. I currently live and study in Beijing where there are no shortage of Chinese reference books, but this is still the most useful one I own.
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