![]() ![]() How Can I Type Hanzi on a Computer Keyboard? If you’re a beginner, I do recommend that you write Chinese characters with the pinyin (including tones) above or below them in your notes. What is pinyin? Pinyin is the international transcription of Mandarin into the Latin alphabet. So how do you know what they sound like? In addition to memorizing each character, you’ll also have to learn its pronunciation. ![]() Not so tricky, is it?Īs we just saw, Chinese characters reflect meaning more than pronunciation. They’re all liquids! If you see other characters that contain this radical, you can pretty safely assume that they have something to do with liquid or water. And it’s not a coincidence that these four characters contain this radical: They all contain this series of strokes → 氵! This shared element is the radical that signifies water (also, those three strokes kind of look like drips of water!). These four Chinese characters have one element in common – can you tell what it is? Let’s look at a very concrete example: 河, 湖, 汁, 酒. If you know a sinograph’s radical, then you can make an educated guess at its meaning, and also memorize it faster. Radicals are very useful! In addition to being a classification tool, they also provide clues about the character’s meaning. In all, there are 214 radicals, but only about 100 of them are necessary for writing most hanzi. This is a graphic element that allows the character to be classified in a dictionary. RadicalsĪs I was saying before, there is a certain logic behind the construction of Chinese characters. It will help your writing be more legible and closer to a native speaker’s. I definitely recommend that you pay attention to this, even as you’re just starting out. ![]() If you have a textbook, the stroke order is typically provided for each sinograph. It’s important to respect these different rules when you’re first learning to write Chinese characters.
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