The Best Way to Learn Chinese Characters: Hanzi in 3 Easy Steps
Article by Danny C. Miller
The different degrees of success people experience when learning Chinese characters depends largely on how they structure their learning. When studying this particular area of interest, it is very important that you break everything down into individual components. This informative article is going to explain three important components you must understand to have a successful learning experience.
Understand Radicals
To beginning learners, each one of the thousands of Chinese characters seems to be unique and different. This, however, is not the truth. A large number of characters are, in fact, compilations of recycled parts, parts that can be identified and simplified. These reoccurring parts are known as radicals. Radicals are categories of thought developed by the ancient Chinese to describe the physical world around them. Although some characters are radicals alone, most contemporary Chinese characters are combinations of radical and phonetic elements. According to the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press in Beijing, there are 189 radicals used to organize Chinese Characters, fifty of which are thought to be essential for understanding basic communication. Become familiar with these Chinese radicals, and you will open the floodgate of success and understanding.
Study a Little Bit Every Day
This is old news, so to speak, in the education field--it doesn't make a difference if you are studying Chinese characters or Chilean cooking. The bit of advice warrants repeating in this article, however, since it is extremely important, yet so frequently ignored. For those who fall into a pattern of sitting down, discovering lots of characters, and then putting your book aside for a week or perhaps a couple, you are going to be dissatisfied with your progress. Ultimately, you are likely to become aggravated and give up studying altogether. For those who master a handful of characters every day, in contrast, without missing days, you'll slowly but surely start to see the pat! terns in herent in Chinese writing. You will begin to see how the radicals function, how they repeat, and how you can use them to group and categorize characters in accordance with their meanings. This kind of awareness will only come to you if you work gradually and consistently, so do yourself a favour and be the tortoise, not the hare.
The Importance of Writing
As explained preceding, Chinese characters are made of individual elements, as well as strokes. In order to understand the meaning of the characters, you need to be able to distinguish its elements. Due to this, it is imperative that you practice writing the characters, even if your objective is to be capable of, for example, read a Chinese language newspaper.
To learn how to write Chinese characters, you have to get a book; online programs are generally deficient with regards to teaching writing skills. Ensure you purchase a book that describes, in detail, the 8 fundamental strokes used to create Chinese characters. Be sure that it also describes the appropriate order in which the strokes have to be penned. Finally, when studying how to compose the characters, use paper created specifically for the task--it has quadrants that help you in writing correctly.
Final Thoughts
Studying Chinese characters can be an interesting and pleasurable learning venture, or it can be a lesson in frustration and failure. To make certain you have a satisfying and productive learning experience, obtain a good understanding of Chinese radicals, learn at a gradual and constant pace, and get a great deal of writing practice.
Best of luck with this and all of your future learning efforts.
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