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Some Tips on Learning

Mandarin Chinese Characters

Look at the nature surrounding you, the mountains, the rivers, the trees, the flowers, the animals and the people. All have different shapes and different voices. Ancient Chinese people living within this beautiful world found a unique way for humans to communicate with each other. They created Chinese characters!

From oracle-bone script to bronze inscriptions, from seal script to clerical script, from regular script to simplified Chinese characters, centuries upon centuries have passed by and those square shaped figures are still being used by a vast population today.

Chinese characters from past to present

There are two other ancient writing systems known to man, the Sumerian cuneiform and the Egyptian hieroglyphs. Of the three, the Chinese character writing system is the only ancient writing system still being used today. Credit for this goes to several distinct features that make Chinese characters unique.

Three Basic Elements of the Chinese Character: Form, Sound and Meaning

汉字的三个基本要素: 形,音,义

Chinese characters are known as square shaped characters. Each character is made up of three basic elements: form, sound and meaning. For example,

“我” is the form.

“wǒ” is the sound.

“I” is the meaning.

Over time, there have been many changes in the phonetics of Chinese characters. The composition and meanings, however, have remained somewhat the same. As a result, many Chinese speaking people today can read ancient texts without much difficulty.

Before the inception of Chinese characters, communication was difficult within China due to the number of vastly different dialects being spoken. Chinese characters gave people a common ground for understanding.

One Syllable and Single Characters

单音节和独体字

Chinese characters are single characters with one syllable. These characters are created by drawing pictures of objects. Over time the characters have evolved from pictures into symbols. The symbols were standardized, then simplified to make writing easier. This simplified version is very basic in structure. It can’t be divided into components or radicals. For example,

月 yuè means “moon”

木 mù means “tree” or “wood”

山 shān means “mountain”

水 shuǐ means “water”

Many of these types of characters are classified as Chinese “pictograms.”

In addition, there is another small category of characters that are direct iconic illustrations. Examples of these include:

上 shàng for “up” and 下 xià for “down”.

These were originally a dot above and below a line. Single number characters, such as,

一 yī for “one”

二 èr for “two”

三 sān for “three”

are also included in this category.

Composed Characters with New Meanings

具有新义的合体字

In the Chinese language there are many compound characters. Compound characters are made up of two or more single characters. When single characters are joined, the meaning and pronunciation of the character can change dramatically. There are twelve ways to compose Chinese characters. For example,

from top to bottom: 日 + 生 = 星

from left to right: 其 + 月 = 期

from left to middle to right: 言(讠) + 身 + 寸 = 谢 and so on.

Here are two frequently used ways to compose compound characters.

1) Two single characters may be combined to create a new single character with a new meaning.

2) Two single characters may be joined to form a new word. This new word is pronounced by speaking the individual characters, one after the other. The definition of this newly formed word may be similar to the individual original definitions or it may be completely changed. Look carefully at the following examples.

In this book, you will see that many compound characters are composed in these two ways.

Various Radicals

多样化的偏旁部首

A Chinese radical (or “section header”) is sometimes considered a “classifier.” It is a particular component of most compound characters that can be found in various positions within the word. The radical usually gives a clue as to the meaning of the character. It can also help with the pronunciation of a word. Characters with the same radical can be grouped together for the easy of studying or used as a point of reference for indexing. The Chinese dictionary is a great example of this.

As you look through this book, you will find that Chinese characters, such as 吗, 吃, 妈, 她, the口 and 女 are called radicals. You may wonder how or why a single character, such as 口 or 女, can become a radical. The answer is this: When compound characters are composed of two single characters, one of those characters becomes the radical. You can see it here in 吗, 吃, 妈, and 她.

Radicals, such as 口 and 女 keep their original single character form, but their shape may be narrowed or shortened. Many character components are distorted or changed in order to fit within the block shape alongside other characters. Some words or characters may take on a different shape completely. For example,

人 turns to 亻as a radical for 你, 他, and 们.

言 changes to 讠as a radical for 说, 话, and 读.

水 becomes 氵as a radical for 沙, 河, and 湖.

These are only a few examples to give you a general idea.

For many years, Chinese dictionaries have contained more than 200 radicals. You will easily be able to memorize the list of commonly used radicals offered here. They appear often in this book.

Some Commonly Used Chinese Radicals

Chinese radicals appear in various positions within the word or character. Some radicals appear on the left side of the character 你, 他, 们, while other radicals appear on the right side of the character 都, 那, 邓. Some radicals appear at the top of a character 茶, 菜, 花, while other radicals appear at the bottom of a character 名, 合, 右. In general, semantic components tend to appear at the top or on the left side of character, while phonetic components tend to appear at the bottom or on the right side of character. As you learn more Chinese characters, you will learn to recognize the radicals in their various positions. Recognizing the radicals will also help you increase your vocabulary quickly.

The Strokes of Chinese Characters

汉字的笔画

When you use a pencil, pen or brush to draw pictures, you draw lines, circles or curves, one step at a time. When you use a pencil, pen or brush to write Chinese characters, you make lines, dots or hooks, one step at a time. The principles for drawing pictures and writing Chinese characters are very much the same. Far from being complicated, Chinese characters are simple drawings made from simple strokes. There are about thirty strokes in all. Among them are eight basic strokes that form the core and are used most often. All strokes have their own name and particular method of formation.

See the table below containing the eight basic strokes and how to form them.

Eight Basic Strokes and Method of Formation

Learn to recognize and become familiar with each individual stroke, its name, writing direction and correct formation are all important. Whether the character is simple or complex, comprised of just a few strokes or many, the construction of each Chinese character relies heavily upon correct stroke formation. By focusing on the individual strokes, you will also be memorizing the character.

Stroke Order and Rules

笔画顺序规则

Throughout the years, rules have developed for writing Chinese characters. These rules help in learning the correct formation of characters. It doesn’t matter whether you are right handed or left handed. If you follow the rules for stroke order, you will be able to write beautiful Chinese characters.

Here are the main stroke order rules for forming Chinese characters. These general rules will help you to understand more specific stroke order rules later on.

1) Stroke from top to bottom

号	number	page 11
票	ticket	page 101

2) Stroke from left to right

但	but	page 82
眼	eye	page 108

3) Stroke from the horizontal before vertical

正	positive	page 54
报	report	page 99

4) Stroke from the horizontal before the down stroke to the left

左	left	page 45
右	right	page 45

5) Stroke from the down stroke to left before to the right

从	from	page 72
服	clothing	page 56

6) The enclosing strokes first, then the enclosed and finally the sealing stroke

因	cause	page 62
国	country	page 88 (Vol 1)

7) The dot on the top or left first

弟	younger brother	page 18
牛	cow	page 26

8) Inside stroke before side stroke

远	far	page 70
近	near	page 70

Following these simple rules will help you write any character you desire. Just remember to form the strokes correctly and in the right order from the very start. Otherwise you will find yourself repeating the same mistakes without knowing it. Correct stroke formation and stroke order will become more critical as your Chinese characters become more complex.

The Philosophy of Writing Chinese Characters

书写汉字的哲学

What is the philosophy behind writing Chinese characters? The philosophy can be summed up in one simple word: Balance!

Balance means, the writer needs to remain calm in emotion and thought, focused on the character and follow the rules of stroke formation and stroke order. Remember to place the strokes evenly throughout left to right, top to bottom, outside to inside, inside to outside, etc.

Take a look at these characters:

山, 水 and 朋 are balanced from left to right;

早, 果 and 召 are balanced from and top to bottom;

国, 园 and 围 are balanced from outside to inside.

Each character appears to be accurate, well balanced and will look beautiful on paper.

Imagine drawing a person with a big head and small legs. Or a person with one arm longer than the other. The drawing would not look right. It would not look good. It might even look as though the picture could tip over or fall down. In any case, it would not look balanced. In that same way, if you write a character with longer strokes on the left and shorter strokes on the right, it won’t look balanced either. It won’t look accurate. It won’t look good on paper. For example, look at the character 山—shān—“mountain.” The center stroke is the longest, which represents the top of the mountain. Both sides contain vertical strokes which are the same in length. Thus, the character 山 is balanced. It looks accurate. It looks good on paper. If the left vertical stroke were longer than the right vertical stroke, the 山—mountain may appear off center or off balance. It may look as though the mountain could crumble to the ground.

In short, keep this simple word in mind when writing Chinese characters: “Balance!”

Enjoy Your Handwriting

祝你愉快地学写汉字

The same philosophy is true for both daily life and writing Chinese letters. Balance is the key. I kept this in mind while designing this book. This book is for all people everywhere and at all levels. It can be used by youth or students who want to learn and practice writing Chinese characters on their own. It can also be used by people who are preparing to take the HSK Level 2 exam and as a foundation of AP Chinese exam. The characters and composed words are chosen from the HSK Level 2 exam. These characters and words are essential for studying the Chinese language. (The HSK exam is a Chinese Proficiency Test or Chinese Standard Exam for all non-Chinese speakers. The HSK exam is similar to the TOEFL exam for non-English speakers. The difference between the two is, the HSK exam has six test levels.)

Once you begin work in this book, you will find that following the step by step stroke order makes writing Chinese characters simple and easy. Use the space provided to practice writing on your own. In addition to writing individual characters, you will soon be able to write composed words and complete the practice exercises.

Each practice exercise is designed to reinforce, as well as extend, the learner’s knowledge. You will quickly become very familiar with the vast number of Chinese characters offered here. You will know how to form Chinese characters use them properly. There are twelve exercises in all. Each practice exercise is a culmination of material covered. For your convenience, an “Answer Key” is provided in the back of the book.

On each page with a featured Chinese character, you will find step by step stroke order directions which are easy to follow. You will also find three vocabulary words, phrases or idioms which relate to that featured Chinese character. Those phrases, idioms and proverbs are particularly well known in China and used in written, as well as oral language.

An index with English, Chinese characters and Pinyin is also provided in the back of this book. It is arranged in alphabetical order, making it easier for English speakers to search for Chinese characters.

As previously mentioned, all characters in this book are written in the simplified Chinese style. This is due to the fact that most people use this format. Today, Chinese writing is horizontal and moves from left to right, as in English. But in the past, Chinese writing was vertical and went from top to bottom, right to left.