《古汉语常用字字典》自出版以来已经过4次改版,它的一再改版说明了自身的不够完善。将第4版和第3版的字头作比照分析,可得出:第4版收选其第3版《难字表》中的字头共1704个,重新增加的字头共514个。第4版收字的原则是:比较常用的先秦文献和两汉文献中的字头一般都收入;虽然频繁使用、但古义和今义一样、而且现代汉语中也经常使用的字头,则不予收录。收录第4版的字头也有不妥之处:一类是收录于字典第3版《难字表》中的字头,大多不常见,字义生僻;一类是现代经常使用并且古义和今义一样的字头。
The Commonly Used Dictionary in Ancient Chinese has been revised for 4 times since publishment, the repeated revision shows its imperfect. After comparing and analyzing version 4 and version 3, it comes to a conclusion that version 4 chooses 1704 hard words from version 3 and adds 514 new words. Of course, the principle of adding words lies here: the commonly used words in Pre-Qin literature and Han literature are included;the commonly used words with the same meaning in both ancient Chinese and contemporary Chinese are not included. Meanwhile, there is imperfection in the included new words in version 4: on the one hand, the hard words chose from version 3 are sometimes unusual with uncommon meanings; on the other hand, some new words are synonym in both ancient Chinese and contemporary Chinese.