Different from synonyms in the common sense, “similar words and expressions” include words and expressions with similar meanings or similar/same forms or pronunciations. The concept is coined in consideration of the reality foreign students face when learning Chinese, thus being of real help to foreign students. The book is characterized by brief and accurate explanations on the distinctions, relevant example sentences, Level 1 words and expressions for speakers of other languages and abundant collocations. The book is a reference for teaching, self-study and HSK preparation.
This book is one of the research findings of a project supported by National Social Science Foundation. It includes over 400 groups of similar words and expressions, more than 800 in total, all of which are Level 1words and expressions for speakers of other languages. Similar in meaning, form or pronunciation, these words and expressions help learners master Chinese vocabulary and put them in use more efficiently and accurately. The similarities and distinctions are analyzed from different aspects, such as meaning, usage and (a large number of) collocations; exercises and answers are provided for every group of words and expressions.
Professor Fang Xujun is a doctoral tutor in the International College of Chinese Studies, Shanghai Normal University, and a member of The International Society for Chinese Language Teaching. Prof. Fang’s works include the book Modern Chinese Notional Words, quite a few textbooks as well as many papers published in Chinese Teaching in the World, Linguistic Sciences, Language Teaching and Linguistic Studies and other journals. Mr. Fang has hosted or participated in projects such as “A Cognitive Study on Foreigners’ Acquisition of Similar Chinese Words” (financed by the National Social Science Fund), “The Development of a National Common Framework of Language Proficiency Scales” (financed by the National Social Science Fund) and “A Study on the Chinese Proficiency Scales” (a project under Shanghai Ministry of Education).