Chinese Writing System demystified Miss Chiang

Topics Covered Basic Facts Creation of characters Concept of Radicals Stroke Orders

Basic Facts There are more than 50,000 characters in existence.  Literate = know 2,000 – 3,000 characters.

Formation 六書 Basic unit of Chinese writing language is “Character,” which is a meaningful syllable. 6 ways of forming Chinese characters.  「造字法」 - Four creates new characters;  「用字法」 - Two creates new uses/meanings of existing characters.

6 Ways of Forming Characters 1 象形 Xiàng xíngPictographs 2 指事 Zhǐ shìIndicatives 3 會意会意 Huì yìIdeatives 4 形聲形声 Xíng shēng Harmonics 5 轉注转注 Zhuăn zhùDerived/Transmissive 6 假借 jiă jièBorrowed characters

Concept of Radicals 部首 Characters are grouped together by “radicals （部首） ”  Radicals = roots = common components.  214 “Kangxi Radicals”, standardized in  189 “simplified radicals”. Web resource: 214 KangXi Radicals.214 KangXi Radicals

Stroke Order 筆順 / 笔顺 The stroke order of a character gives the order and direction in which the brush strokes, or simply "strokes", are written.

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Tips on learning characters Review and practice frequently. Practice writing a few times every sitting, both in air and on paper. Make flash cards & review sheets. Recognize by meaningful components. Big picture first, then fill in details. And the key is: Write, Write, & Write.