Notable Chinese dictionaries, past and present, include:
| Title | Year | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ABC Chinese-English Dictionary | 1996 | First Chinese dictionary collated in single-sort alphabetical order of pinyin, John DeFrancis | |
| A Chinese-English Dictionary | 1892 | Herbert Allen Giles' bestselling dictionary, 2nd ed. 1912 | |
| A Dictionary of the Chinese Language | 1815–1823 | First Chinese-English, English-Chinese dictionary, Robert Morrison | |
| A Syllabic Dictionary of the Chinese Language | 1874 | First Chinese-English dictionary to include regional pronunciations, Samuel Wells Williams | |
| Cangjiepian | -0220 (Qin) | ||
| 1997–present | Paul Denisowski's text file project modeled on Japanese EDICT dictionary | ||
| CFDICT | 2010–present | David Houstin's text file project modeled on English CEDICT dictionary | |
| Chinese and English Dictionary | 1842 | Walter Henry Medhurst | |
| Cihai | 1938 ... 2009 (ROC, PRC) | Popular modern general-purpose encyclopedic dictionary, 6 editions | |
| Ciyuan | 1915...1984 (ROC, PRC) | First major 20th-century encyclopedic dictionary, 3 editions and 3 supplements | |
| Concise Dictionary of Spoken Chinese | 1947 | Yuen Ren Chao's and Yang Lien-sheng's first Chinese dictionary for spoken language | |
| Dai Kan-Wa Jiten | 1955–1960, 2000 (Japan) | Tetsuji Morohashi's Chinese-Japanese character dictionary, 50,305 entries | |
| Erya | -0250 (Warring States) | Oldest extant Chinese dictionary, semantic field collation, one of the Thirteen Classics | |
| Fangyan | -0015 (Han) | Yang Xiong, first dictionary of Chinese regional varieties | |
| Le Grand Ricci (or Grand dictionnaire Ricci de la langue chinoise) | 2001 - DVD 2010 | 7 volume Chinese-French dictionary, 13,500 characters and about 300,000 entries of terms and expressions. | |
| Ganlu Zishu | 0750 (Tang) | First orthography dictionary of the regular script | |
| Grammata Serica Recensa | 1957 (Sweden) | Bernhard Karlgren's groundbreaking Old and Middle Chinese-English dictionary | |
| Great Dictionary of Modern Chinese Dialects | 2002 (PRC) | Compendium of dictionaries for 42 local varieties of Chinese | |
| Guangya | 0230 (Cao Wei) | Zhang Yi's supplement to the Erya | |
| Guangyun | 1008 (Song) | Rime dictionary expansion of Qieyun, source for reconstruction of Middle Chinese | |
| Han-Han Dae Sajeon | 2008 (South Korea) | Korean hanja-to-hangul dictionary, 53,667 character entries | |
| Hanyu Da Cidian | 1986–1993 (PRC) | Highly respected modern word/phase dictionary, diachronically collated, over 23,000 character entries | |
| Hanyu Da Zidian | 1986–1989, 2010 (PRC) | Highly respected modern character dictionary, 60,370 entries | |
| Jijiupian | -0040 (Han) | Oldest extant orthographic primer, rhymed lines | |
| Jingdian Shiwen | 0580 (Tang) | Lu Deming's exegetical dictionary for Chinese classic texts | |
| Jiyun | 1037 (Song) | Rime dictionary expansion of the Guangyun, 53,525 head characters | |
| Kangxi Dictionary | 1716 (Qing) | Kangxi era character dictionary, 47,000 entries, see also List of 214 Kangxi radicals | |
| Leipian | 1066 (Song) | Sima Guang's expansion of the Yupian, 31,319 character entries, 544 radicals | |
| Longkan Shoujian | 0997 (Liao) | Buddhist dictionary of pronunciations and meanings, 26,000 characters, radical and phonetic indexes | |
| Mathews' Chinese-English Dictionary | 1931 | Robert Henry Mathews, 2nd ed. 1943 | |
| Menggu Ziyun | 1308 (Yuan) | Only example of 'Phags-pa script-Chinese dictionary, 813 entries | |
| Pearl in the Palm | 1048 (Western Xia) | First Chinese-Tangut language bilingual dictionary | |
| Peiwen Yunfu | 1711 (Qing) | Rime dictionary of literary phrases, 10,257 entries arranged by 106 rimes | |
| Pentaglot Dictionary | 1794 (Qing) | 8,671 Manchu entries translated into Tibetan, Mongolian, Chagatai, and Chinese | |
| Piya | 1125 (Song) | Erya supplement of plant and animal names | |
| Qi Lin Bayin | 1650 (Qing) | Rime dictionary of Fuzhou dialect | |
| Qieyun | 0601 (Sui) | Rime dictionary of Classical Chinese, fanqie pronunciation glosses, 2,158 character entries | |
| Qiyin lüe | 1161 (Song) | Rime dictionary resembling Yunjing | |
| Shenglei | 0230 (Cao Wei) | First Chinese rime dictionary, lost work, partially reconstructed | |
| Shiben | -0250 (Warring States) | First Chinese encyclopedic dictionary of origins | |
| Shiming | 0200 (Han) | Expansion of Erya, 1,502 entries, linguistically important Han-era pronunciation glosses | |
| Shizhoupian | -0800 (Zhou) | First recorded Chinese dictionary, Great Seal script, lost work | |
| Shuowen Jiezi | 0121 (Han) | First character dictionary collated by graphic radicals, 9,353 entries, see also List of 540 Shuowen Jiezi radicals | |
| Tangyun | 0732 (Tang) | Rime dictionary revision of Qieyun, lost work | |
| The Five Thousand Dictionary | 1926 (ROC) | Courtenay Hughes Fenn's dictionary of 5,000 commonly used characters | |
| Xiandai Hanyu Cidian | 1978 ... 2012 (PRC) | Authoritative general-purpose dictionary, 6 editions, 69,000 entries | |
| Xiao Erya | -0150 (Han) | "Little Erya" supplement, 374 entries | |
| Xinhua Zidian | 1957...2004 (PRC) | Best-selling Chinese dictionary, world's most popular reference work, 11 editions, 3,300 character entries, 189-radical system | |
| Yiqiejing Yinyi (Huilin) | 0807 (Tang) | Expansion of Yiqiejing yinyi (Xuanying), 31,000 word entries, 100 chapters | |
| Yiqiejing Yinyi (Xuanying) | 0649 (Tang) | ||
| Yunhai jingyuan | 0780 (Tang) | First rime dictionary collated phonetically instead of graphically, lost work | |
| Yunjing | 1161, 1203 (Song) | Oldest extant rime tables, arranged by four tones of Middle Chinese and 23 types of articulation | |
| Yupian | 0543 (Liang) | Character dictionary with 12,158 character entries, 542-radical system, fanqie glosses | |
| Zhengzitong | 1627 (Ming) | Supplement to the Zihui character dictionary, 33,000 entries | |
| Zhongguo Renming Dacidian | 1921 (ROC) | Leading biographical dictionary in China | |
| Zhonghua Da Zidian | 1915 (ROC) | Updated expansion of Kangxi Dictionary, 48,000 entries | |
| Zhonghua Zihai | 1994 (PRC) | Currently the largest character dictionary, 85,568 entries | |
| Zhongwen Da Cidian | 1962–1968 | Chinese revised version of Japanese Dai Kan-Wa Jiten, 49,905 character entries | |
| Zhongyuan Yinyun | 1324 (Yuan) | Rime table, 5,866 characters collated by 19 rime groups, important for historical Chinese phonology | |
| Zihui | 1615 (Ming) | First character dictionary to use the 214-radical system adopted by many later works | |
| Zilin | 0350 (Jin) | Character dictionary with 12,824 entries, 540-radical system, lost work, partially reconstructed | |
| Zitong | 1254 (Southern Song) | Dictionary of orthography, compares seal, clerical, and regular script characters | |
| Ziyuan | 0340 (Eastern Jin) | Character dictionary attributed to Ge Hong, lost work excepting fragments |