Here, we’re going to explore some creative tips for learning and<\/em> memorizing Chinese characters.<\/p>\n [fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In each Chinese character, there are often components that have individual meanings, known as “radicals.”<\/p>\n Radicals are basic characters that can’t be simplified any further<\/strong>. They often define a broad category, giving either phonetic or semantic clues, and are also used as an index to look up words (like the first letter of a word in English dictionaries). Radicals can combine to create more complex characters.<\/p>\n Some characters can also be found within a more complex character. These are known as component characters.<\/p>\n Knowing the radicals<\/a> and the meanings behind them will at least give you an element of a character when trying to memorize it.<\/p>\n Some radicals resemble a drawing of the thing they represent because they were originally pictographs. This can make it easier to remember the meanings of these radicals, as well as the meanings of characters that contain those radicals.<\/p>\n Here are three examples:<\/p>\n \u6728\u00a0<\/strong>(m\u00f9) <\/em>\u2014 wood<\/p>\n \u65a4<\/strong> (j\u012bn)<\/em> \u2014 ax head<\/p>\n \u00a0 \u65e5 <\/strong>(r\u00ec) <\/em>\u2014 sun; day<\/p>\n Now, if we combine the first two characters \u6728 and \u65a4, we have a new character: \u6790 <\/strong>(x\u012b)<\/em>, meaning “to separate.”<\/p>\n If you think about “wood” combined with “ax,” it’s easy to see how that can relate to the idea of “separation,” which is one way you could describe chopping wood.<\/p>\n This leads us to the idea of using this imagery to form associations between the characters and their meanings.<\/p>\n Using a component-focused mnemonic technique, we can create a strong association between \u6790\u00a0and its component characters.<\/p>\n In our memories, we can combine this character with the idea of someone hitting the wood with an ax, separating <\/em>pieces of\u00a0wood.<\/p>\n There are also more complex character pairings or words that include this character for “separate.”<\/p>\n For example, there’s \u5206\u6790 <\/strong>(f\u0113n x\u012b)<\/em>, meaning “to analyze.”<\/p>\n The word for “analyze” could be remembered by visualizing a cut tree and the rings inside the tree, which are used to analyze the tree\u2019s characteristics.<\/p>\n Creating imaginative visualizations can lead to more effective learning. The next time you see this character, you’ll be able to break it down and recall its meaning. The more vivid your visualization, the more effective the technique will be.<\/p>\n When you learn a character, you need to know more than its general meaning\u2014you also need to learn how to say it out loud.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Once you understand how tones and sounds work in Mandarin, pinyin<\/a> (or the Chinese pronunciation guide in the Roman alphabet) will provide a guide to pronouncing the syllable.<\/p>\n Luckily, similar mnemonic techniques relating to association and visualization can be applied to remembering pronunciations.<\/p>\n With some imagination, we can also\u00a0associate the pronunciation of the character with the visualizations we have created.<\/p>\n For example:<\/p>\n Sounds kind of silly, right? You would be surprised, but the sillier the story is the better you will remember the pronunciations.<\/p>\n As you continue to study Chinese, you will likely find these mnemonics less and less necessary. You will start to recognize the characters and sounds thanks to hearing and reading them in context repeatedly.<\/p>\n Once you have the basic pronunciation down, you need to make sure you know what tone to use. If you need a primer on this topic, check out this advice on learning Chinese tones<\/a>.<\/p>\n Once you understand the tones themselves, you can start finding ways to memorize the tones of the characters you learn.<\/p>\n There are two methods for remembering the tone of the character.<\/p>\n The first method<\/strong> uses tones as a way to set the mood of the visualization. We start by classifying tones into four major types. Remember that these are arbitrary classifications and are only suggestions. You are welcome to create your own personal associations with each tone.<\/p>\n Let’s test this method with the character \u65a4.<\/p>\n The pinyin for this character is j\u012bn<\/em>, which falls under the first tone. To remember the tone, you can visualize a man named “Jin” taking on the first mood by swinging the ax with a look of inner peace on his face. This helps us remember the pronunciation and tone.<\/p>\n The second method<\/strong> uses colors. Different colors correspond to different tones. These connections are all subjective as well, so go ahead and form your own color associations.<\/p>\n Let’s expand on the visualization of \u6728 as an example. The pinyin for this character is m\u00f9<\/em>, in the fourth tone. Our previous visualization had a talking\u00a0tree\u00a0scaring hikers, but now let the visualization take place on a dark cloudy night without the moon in sight.<\/p>\n Once you start being able to consistently remember radicals like the ones above, you’ll start recognizing them inside other characters. This will help you remember the meaning.<\/p>\n For example, when you look at the character \u6670<\/strong>, you might notice that it’s made up of \u65e5\u00a0and \u6790. In very old literary Chinese, \u6670 means \u201cclear” and, by extension, “easy to understand.” In modern Chinese, it is used in the word \u660e\u6670<\/strong> (m\u00edng x\u012b)<\/em>, meaning “lucid.”<\/p>\n As you learn more Chinese characters, you will start to recognize some patterns. Often, characters with similar components will have similar pinyin structures. Instead of adding pinyin to the visualization, you can just borrow pinyin from other related characters.<\/p>\n For example, we can take the character we discussed previously: \u6790.<\/p>\n \u6670 and \u6790 share the\u00a0same pinyin, x\u012b<\/em>. In this case, we do not have to add to the previous visualization from before. All there is to do is to look at \u6790 and remember that the pinyin is the same. And as you learn more characters, more patterns will start to emerge.<\/p>\n If you are new to using mnemonic techniques for character memorization, here are three additional practice examples to help you become familiar with these strategies.<\/p>\n \u677e<\/strong> (s\u014dng)<\/em> \u2014 pine tree<\/p>\n Radicals: \u6728,<\/strong>\u00a0\u516c<\/strong> (g\u014dng) \u2014 <\/em>public<\/p>\n To remember the meaning of this character, picture a public event with people standing around a large tree.<\/p>\n The tree is a pine tree, and they are singing a song <\/em>(so you can remember the pinyin). In the spirit of the first tone, the mood is peaceful and tranquil. The whole scene is bathed in white (perhaps it’s snowing).<\/p>\n \u00a0 \u95ea\u00a0<\/strong>(sh\u01cen<\/em>)<\/em> \u2014 flash<\/p>\n Radicals: \u95e8<\/strong> (m\u00e9n)<\/em> \u2014 gate, \u4eba<\/strong> (r\u00e9n)<\/em> \u2014\u00a0 man\/person<\/p>\n For this character, picture a man standing in front of a gate. You close your eyes and he is gone in a flash. It turns out he has shanked someone (shanked\u00a0<\/em>helping you to reinforce\u00a0sh\u01cen<\/em>)\u00a0<\/em>and is on the run. As it is the third tone, emotions run high as people try to find this man, and the colors in the scene are plentiful and vibrant.<\/p>\n \u8fea <\/strong>(d\u00ed<\/em>)<\/em> \u2014 enlighten<\/p>\n Radicals: \u8fb6<\/strong>\u00a0(chu\u00f2)<\/em> \u2014 go, \u7531<\/strong> (y\u00f3u)<\/em> \u2014 from<\/p>\n Imagine you are going on an endless path, one you have always been walking on. Then, all of the sudden, you start to wonder where the path came from. Picture yourself looking toward the start of the path. By examining the path, you become enlightened.<\/p>\n For the pinyin, visualize the road going back and back, and the start being Disney World (for the d\u00ed<\/em> sound). Since it’s the second tone, picture yellow light around Disney World, which is situated high in the clouds and is giving warmth and happiness to all.<\/p>\n If creative visualizations don’t work for you, another way to get familiar with Chinese characters and their pronunciation is to watch Chinese media. Mandarin Chinese TV, movies and other videos with Chinese subtitles<\/a> are best since they provide visual and audio cues that make memorization easier.<\/p>\n Because you’ll be watching these TV series and movies with a purpose and not purely for entertainment, feel free to break the videos into sections.<\/strong> It’s pretty intimidating going through an entire movie in one go, especially if you’re not familiar with a lot of characters.<\/p>\n I suggest starting off with a half-hour TV show or short video, pausing at any moment to write down a character or term you don’t recognize and writing their definitions.<\/p>\n Online platforms, like YouTube and other streaming sites, make Chinese videos quite accessible. However, these won\u2019t always come with accurate subtitles.<\/p>\n The FluentU<\/a> program has native Chinese videos with expert-created subtitles and other embedded learning tools. FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n1. Break the characters down into radicals or components<\/h3>\n
![\"learn](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/learn-chinese-characters.jpg\")
<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Learn](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Learn-Chinese-Characters3.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Learn](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Learn-Chinese-Characters5.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n2. Create visualizations to remember characters<\/h3>\n
3. Use pinyin in your creative visualizations<\/h3>\n
\n
4. Learn the tones and associate them with moods or colors<\/h3>\n
\n
\n
5. Rely on familiar characters and build from previous knowledge<\/strong><\/h3>\n
6. Keep practicing mnemonic techniques with new characters<\/h3>\n
![\"learn](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/learn-chinese-characters..jpg\")
<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"Learn](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Learn-Chinese-Characters6.jpg\")
<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n7. Watch authentic videos with Chinese subtitles<\/h3>\n
![\"FluentU](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/NativeAd-Chinese.jpg\")
\r\n