词典

词典 (cídiǎn) is the Chinese word for 'dictionary' — a reference book or app that defines words. Literally, 词 means 'word' and 典 means 'canon / standard reference,' so 词典 is the 'standard reference for words.' It can be a physical book or a digital app like Pleco or Youdao. Two notes for English speakers: first, modern Chinese distinguishes 词典 (cídiǎn, defines 词 — multi-character words and phrases) from 字典 (zìdiǎn, defines 字 — individual characters).

现代汉语词典 (the Modern Chinese Dictionary) is a 词典 because it covers compound words; 新华字典 (Xinhua Dictionary) is a 字典 because it covers single characters. For most learners, 词典 is what you actually need. Second, the measure word for a dictionary is 本 (běn) — the same as for any book.