The different amounts of success individuals experience when studying Chinese characters depends largely on how they structure their learning. When studying this subject, it is very important that you break everything down into specific components. This article is going to explain three important tips you must follow to enjoy a successful learning experience.

Grasping Radicals

To beginning students, every one of the thousands of Chinese characters seems to be unique and different. That, however, isn\’t the case. A large number of characters are, in fact, compilations of recycled parts, parts that can be identified and simplified. These reoccurring parts are called radicals. Radicals are categories of thought developed by the ancient Chinese to explain the physical world around them. Although some characters are radicals alone, most modern Chinese characters are combinations of radical and phonetic components. According to the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press in Beijing, there are 189 radicals used to organize Chinese Characters, 50 of which are thought to be essential for understanding fundamental communication. Familiarize yourself with these Chinese radicals, and you\’ll open the floodgates of development and understanding.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

This is old news, as they say, in the education field–it doesn\’t make a difference if you are learning Chinese characters or Chilean cooking. This piece of advice warrants repeating here, however, since it is so important, yet so often forgotten. Should you fall into a routine of sitting down, discovering lots of characters, and then putting your book aside for a week or two, you are going to be dissatisfied with your development. Ultimately, you\’ll become discouraged and give up studying entirely. For those who master a few characters every day, on the other hand, without missing days, you\’ll gradually start to see the patterns inherent in Chinese writing. You will begin to see how the radicals work, how they repeat, and how you can use them to group and categorize characters based on their meanings. This kind of knowledge will only come to you if you work slowly and continuously, so do yourself a favor and be the tortoise, not the hare.

Write to Read

As mentioned earlier, Chinese characters are made of individual components, as well as strokes. To be able to understand the meaning of the characters, you need to be capable of identify its elements. Due to this, it really is imperative that you practice writing the characters, even if your objective is to be capable of, for instance, reading a Chinese language newspaper.

To understand how to write Chinese characters, you need to purchase a book; internet products are generally lacking in regards to teaching writing skills. Ensure you obtain a book that explains, in detail, the eight fundamental strokes used to create Chinese characters. Ensure that it also points out the appropriate order in which the strokes must be composed. Lastly, when studying how to compose the characters, work with paper created specifically for the task–it has quadrants that help you writw correctly.

Summary

Studying Chinese characters can be an interesting and enjoyable learning experience, or it can be a lesson in aggravation and failure. To make certain you have a pleasurable and prosperous learning experience, obtain a good understanding of Chinese radicals, learn at a gradual and steady pace, and get lots of writing practice.

Best of luck with this and all of your future learning endeavors.

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Category: Education
Keywords: learn Chinese,study Mandarin, Mandarin Chinese,languages