Chinese word

百科全书

Pronunciation

Pinyinbǎi kē quán shū

Meaning

nounencyclopedia

Example

学生们常常用百科全书查资料。xué shēng men cháng cháng yòng bǎi kē quán shū chá zī liào

Students often use an encyclopedia to look up information.

More examples

他们正在编纂一部新的百科全书。tā men zhèng zài biān zuǎn yí bù xīn de bǎi kē quán shū

They are compiling a new encyclopedia.

Core concept

A single reference work that connects knowledge from many fields into an organized overview.

Common phrases

编纂百科全书biān zuǎn bǎi kē quán shū
compile an encyclopedia
出版百科全书chū bǎn bǎi kē quán shū
publish an encyclopedia

Similar words

词典cí diǎn: A book that explains words and phrases, including their pronunciation and common usage.
工具书gōng jù shū: A book for looking up information through tools such as listings, indexes, and references.
参考书cān kǎo shū: A book that provides information and explanations to help with study or research.

Definition in Chinese

收录多个学科条目，按主题或字序排列以便查询，提供概述与背景信息的综合性参考书。shōu lù duō gè xué kē tiáo mù àn zhǔ tí huò zì xù pái liè yǐ biàn chá xún tí gōng gài shù yǔ bèi jǐng xìn xī de zōng hé xìng cān kǎo shū

Word origin

百 (bǎi, "hundred") + 科 (kē, "field of study") + 全书 (quánshū, "complete book") presents the idea of one complete book covering a wide range of knowledge.

Usage tips

The word names the reference source itself, while verbs such as consult or search describe what a person does with it.