Growing up in Taiwan, I was surrounded by the beauty of Chinese characters, thanks to my mother, who was a calligrapher. Her passion for the art of writing inspired me to explore this fascinating language. To many people, Chinese might seem as mysterious as the Great Wall of China, but I believe anyone can learn it with the right approach.
Over the years, I’ve thought about how to make learning Chinese easier and faster. Traditionally, learning Chinese involves memorizing thousands of characters. A Chinese scholar might know 20,000 characters, but you only need about 1,000 to read basic texts. In fact, knowing just the top 200 characters can help you understand about 40% of simple literature, like signs, menus, and basic web pages.
Today, I’ll introduce you to eight basic characters, which I call radicals. These are the building blocks for many other characters. Let’s dive in!
First, imagine opening your mouth wide until it’s square-shaped. This represents a person going for a walk. Next, think of a flame with two arms on each side, as if someone is yelling for help. These simple shapes can be interpreted in various ways that make sense to you.
Here are some more characters: a tree, a mountain, the sun, the moon, and a door that looks like saloon doors from the Wild West. These eight radicals are the foundation for creating many more characters.
When someone walks behind another, they are following. As the saying goes, “Two’s company, three’s a crowd.” If a person stretches their arms wide, they might be saying, “It was this big.” A person inside a mouth represents someone trapped, like Jonah in the whale.
One tree is just a tree, but two trees make a wood, and three trees create a forest. If you put a plank under a tree, it becomes a foundation. Two fires together get really hot, and three fires create a lot of flames. If you set fire under two trees, it’s burning. Two songs together represent prosperity, and three symbolize sparkles. The sun and moon shining together mean brightness and also represent tomorrow.
A door with a plank inside is a doorboat. A mouth inside the door asks, “Knock, knock, is anyone home?” A person sneaking out of a door is evading.
On the left, we have a woman; two women together might argue, and three women together could indicate caution, as it may suggest trouble.
We’ve explored almost 30 characters using this method. With the first eight radicals, you can build 32 characters, and the next group of eight will create another 32. With a little effort, you can learn a couple of hundred characters, similar to what a young Chinese student knows.
Once you know the characters, you can start forming phrases. For example, combining the mountain and fire characters gives you “fire mountain,” which means a volcano. Japan is known as the land of the rising sun, represented by the sun and origin characters, as Japan is east of China.
A person behind Japan represents a Japanese person. The character with two mountains stacked on top of each other meant exile in ancient China, as emperors sent political enemies beyond the mountains. Today, it means getting out, with a mouse indicating where to exit.
This reminds me that it’s time to wrap up. Thank you for joining me on this journey to learn Chinese!
Try drawing the eight basic radicals introduced in the article. Use your creativity to come up with your own interpretations of these characters. Share your drawings with the class and explain what each character represents to you.
Create a set of flashcards with the eight radicals on one side and their meanings on the other. Pair up with a classmate and test each other by matching the radicals to their meanings. See who can get the most correct matches in a set time.
Using the eight radicals, try to create new characters by combining them in different ways. Write a short story or sentence using these new characters and share it with the class. Discuss how these combinations can change the meaning of the characters.
Look around your environment or online for examples of Chinese characters that use the radicals you’ve learned. Take pictures or draw them, and bring them to class. Discuss how these characters are used in real-life contexts.
Using the characters you’ve learned, try to create simple phrases or words. For example, combine the mountain and fire characters to form “volcano.” Share your phrases with the class and explain their meanings.
Here’s the sanitized version of the provided YouTube transcript:
—
[Music] Growing up in Taiwan as a daughter of a calligrapher, one of my most memorable experiences was my mother showing me the beauty, shape, and form of Chinese characters. Ever since then, I have been fascinated by this incredible language. However, to an outsider, it can seem as impenetrable as the Great Wall of China.
Over the past few years, I’ve been wondering if I can break down this barrier so that anyone who wants to understand and appreciate the beauty of this sophisticated language can do so. I started thinking about how a new, fast method of learning Chinese might be useful. Since the age of five, I have been learning how to draw every single stroke for each character in the correct sequence. I learn new characters every day, and over the next 15 years, I have accumulated a lot of knowledge.
Since we only have a short time, it’s better that we have a fast and simpler way to learn. A Chinese scholar might understand 20,000 characters, but you only need about 1,000 to achieve basic literacy. Knowing the top 200 characters will allow you to comprehend around 40% of basic literature, enough to read simple signs, restaurant menus, and understand the basic ideas of webpages and newspapers.
Today, I’m going to start with eight characters to show you how this method works. Are you ready?
Open your mouth as wide as possible until it’s square. This represents a person going for a walk. The shape of the fire represents a person with two arms on both sides, as if they were yelling for help. The simple actions originally found in the shape of the flame can be interpreted in various ways, whichever works for you.
This is a tree. This is a mountain. This is the sun. This is the moon. The symbol of the door looks like a pair of saloon doors in the Wild West. I call these eight characters radicals; they are the building blocks for creating many more characters.
If someone walks behind, they are to follow. As the old saying goes, “Two’s company, three’s a crowd.” If a person stretches their arms wide, they are saying, “It was this big.” The person inside the mouth represents someone who is trapped, similar to Jonah inside the whale.
One tree is a tree; two trees together make the woods; three trees together create a forest. If we put a plank underneath the tree, we have a foundation.
Remember fire: two fires together get really hot, and three fires together create a lot of flames. Set the fire underneath the two trees, and it’s burning. For us, the sound is the source of prosperity. Two songs together represent prosperity, and three together symbolize sparkles. The sun and the moon shining together represent brightness and also mean tomorrow, as the sun rises after a day and night.
A door with a plank inside represents a doorboat. The mouth inside the door is asking questions—”Knock, knock, is anyone home?” This person is sneaking out of a door, evading.
On the left, we have a woman; two women together may have an argument, and three women together could indicate caution, as it may suggest adultery.
We have gone through almost 30 characters using this method. The first eight radicals will allow you to build 32 characters, and the next group of eight will build an additional 32. With very little effort, you will be able to learn a couple of hundred characters, which is comparable to what a Chinese eight-year-old knows.
Once we know the characters, we can start building phrases. For example, the mountain and the fire together represent “fire mountain,” which is a volcano. We know Japan is the land of the rising sun; this is the sun combined with the origin, as Japan lies to the east of China.
A person behind Japan represents a Japanese person. The character on the left consists of two mountains stacked on top of each other, which in ancient China meant being in exile, as emperors would send political enemies beyond the mountains. Nowadays, exile has turned into the concept of getting out. A mouse indicates where to exit.
This reminds me that I should stop talking and get off the stage. Thank you!
[Applause] [Music]
—
This version maintains the essence of the original transcript while removing any informal or potentially inappropriate language.
Chinese – The language spoken by the majority of people in China and Taiwan, and one of the major languages of the world. – Many students are interested in learning Chinese to better understand the culture and history of China.
Characters – Symbols used in writing systems, such as those used in Chinese script. – Chinese characters can be challenging to learn, but they are an important part of understanding Chinese literature.
Learning – The process of gaining knowledge or skills through study or experience. – Learning a new language like Chinese can open up many opportunities for students.
Education – The process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at a school or university. – Education in Chinese schools often includes learning about traditional culture and history.
Radicals – Basic components of Chinese characters that often give clues to their meaning or pronunciation. – Understanding radicals can help students decipher the meanings of complex Chinese characters.
Phrases – Groups of words that express a concept and are used as a unit within a sentence. – Learning common Chinese phrases can help students communicate more effectively when visiting China.
Students – Individuals who are studying at a school or other educational institution. – Many students choose to study Chinese as a second language to enhance their future career prospects.
Culture – The ideas, customs, and social behavior of a particular people or society. – Chinese culture is rich with traditions, festivals, and art that have been passed down through generations.
Literature – Written works, especially those considered of superior or lasting artistic merit. – Chinese literature includes classic works like “Journey to the West” and “Dream of the Red Chamber.”
Taiwan – An island in East Asia, known for its vibrant culture and as a place where Mandarin Chinese is widely spoken. – Taiwan is famous for its night markets and is a great place to practice speaking Chinese.
