Rime dictionary

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This article is about a unique type of Chinese dictionary. For the type of reference work used in poetry, see Rhyming dictionary.

A rime dictionary, rhyme dictionary, or rime book (translated from Chinese yùnshū 韻書/韵书), is an ancient type of Chinese lexicon. The name "rime dictionary" refers to the internal organization into rime tables (or rhyme tables), which list Chinese characters by their phonological properties. These books were lexicographically more than mere rime tables, however, and functioned as dictionaries, giving other information about characters, for instance, word meanings or alternate pronunciations.

In this context, the spelling “rime” is often used instead of the more common “rhyme” in order to distinguish between “rime” in the sense of the rhyming portion of a syllable as opposed to the concept of poetic rhyme.

Rime dictionary

See also