Chinese For Dummies Read Online Free PDF

ideographs ): These characters represent more abstract concepts. The characters for shàng 上 (shahng) ( above ) and xià 下 (shyah) ( below ), for example, each have a horizontal line representing the horizon and another stroke leading out above or below the horizon.
    Huì yì 会意 ( 會意 ) (hway ee) ( compound ideographs ): These characters are combinations of simpler characters that together represent more things. For example, by combining the characters for sun ( 日 ) and moon ( 月 ), you get the character 明 míng (meeng), meaning bright.
    Xíngshēng 形声 ( 形聲 ) (sheeng-shuhng) ( phonetic compounds ):These characters are formed by two graphic elements — one hinting at the meaning of the word (called the radical; see the following section), and the other providing a clue to the sound. More than 90 percent of all Chinese characters are phonetic compounds.
    An example of a phonetic compound is the character gÅ« 蛄 (goo). It’s a combination of the radical chóng 虫 (choong) ( insect ) and the sound element of the character gÅ« 古 (goo) ( ancient ). Put them together, and you have the character 蛄 , meaning cricket (the insect, not the sport). It’s pronounced with a first tone (gÅ«) rather than a third tone (gÅ­). So the sound of the word is similar to the term for ancient, even though that term has nothing to do with the meaning of the word. The actual meaning is connected to the radical referring to insects. Table 2-1 summarizes the Six Scripts.

    The Chinese Radical: A Few Clues to a Character’s Meaning
    What a radical idea! Two hundred and fourteen radical ideas, in fact.
    The Chinese written language contains a total of 214 radicals — parts of the character that can help identify what it may signify. For example, if you see two or three dots on the left-hand side of the character, you know the word is something connected to water. Here are some characters with the water radical appearing on the left-hand side:
    å†° bÄ«ng (beeng) ( ice )
    å†² chōng (choong) ( to pour boiling water on something/to rinse or flush )
    æ±— hàn (hahn) ( sweat )
    æ²³ hé (huh) ( river )
    æ¹– hú (hoo) ( lake )
    Another example: The radical meaning wood — 木 mù (moo) — originally represented the shape of a tree with branches and roots). Here are some characters with the wood radical in them (also on the left-hand side):
    æ¿ bǎn (bahn) ( board/plank )
    æž— lín (leen) ( forest )
    æ ‘ ( 樹 ) shù (shoo) ( tree )
    Sometimes you find the radical at the top of the character rather than on the left-hand side. The radical meaning rain — 雨 yú ( yew ) — is one such character. Look for the rain radical at the top these characters. (Hint: It looks slightly squished compared to the actual character for rain by itself.)
    é›¹ bǎo (baow) ( hail )
    é›· léi (lay) ( thunder )
    éœ² lù (loo) ( dew )
    One of the most complicated radicals (number 214, to be precise) is the one that means nose: é¼» bí (bee). It’s so complicated to write, in fact, that only one other character in the whole Chinese language uses it: é¼¾ hān (hahn) ( to snore ).
    Following the Rules of Stroke Order
    If you want to study shÅ« fǎ 书法 ( 書法 ) (shoo-fah) ( calligraphy ) with a traditional Chinese máo bǐ 毛笔 ( 毛筆 ) (maow-bee) ( writing brush ), or even just learn how to write Chinese characters with a plain old ballpoint pen, you need to know which stroke goes before the next. This progression is known as bǐ shùn 笔顺 ( 筆順 ) (bee shwun) ( stroke order ).
    All those complicated-looking Chinese characters are actually created by several individual strokes of the Chinese writing brush. Bǐ shùn follows nine (count ’em) rules, which I lay out in the following sections.
    Nowadays