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The following question is for NON CHINESE,which means IF YOU ARE CHINESE DON"T ANSWER IT.click to see question

As a foreigner non chinese learning hanzi ( chinese characters) ,what would be an effective way to memorize all those characters as an adult ,what method did help you learn quicker and more efficient if any exists ?

Asked by Cherry on 18:29, 13/08/2008 - 439 views
Learn Chinese(Mandarin) , using English     
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Hi Cherry. I live in Taiwan and have learned to read and write ('type' is probably the better word) over the past couple years. Flashcards are an obvious way, but I didn't learn by flashcards; Basically, I'm too lazy to make/buy them.

I like to see characters in context, because I learn faster that way. The way I learned was to read email (from colleagues at work) and read articles (e.g., blogs) on the internet. It's painfully slow at first, but reading Chinese on the computer has the advantage of easy cut-paste lookup into the dictionary. There are online dictionaries where you can simply paste a whole Chinese sentence, and it will parse out the two/three character terms for translation. You would be amazed how fast one can learn. Personal blogs mostly contain everyday terms, and are thus easier to read.

It helps to practice speaking in parallel, so one can look up terms phonetically too ... but not strictly necessary.
3 months ago
1

Answers (9)

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really i don't know how.it's difficult to memorse how to speak for me. i'm so far for the caracters. sorry. i have an question can you teach me how to speak mandarin?
answered 3 months ago
-3
I think there's no easy way.
I use plecodict and it comes with flashcards, which I think is awesome. I haven't been using it as much recently, but I used to check those on the subway or whenever I was waiting in line.

I think learning characters is all about time and patience. The more time you spend using them, the more likely you'll remember them. So just find ways to integrate more characters into your life. Read articles if you can. Write emails and chat if you can. Read blogs, watch movies with subtitles, etc. etc. I don't think there's one method that works -- I think do everything and just do more of it.
answered 3 months ago
0
Hi Cherry. It looks like you are studying Chinese in the UAE, so I'm guessing you aren't in a Chinese-speaking environment. I've been seriously studying Chinese for a month (after arriving in China), and I've been using Japanese for more than a decade now. Here is how I suggest you approach hanzi: Recognition, reproduction, practical use. Make or buy flashcards and just make sure you know the meaning of the characters. Then work on readings. Then flip them over and see if you can write the character if you know the meaning and pronunciation. Then when you've got those down, see if you can write a simple sentence.
Your question may have been "How can I analyze the elements within the hanzi character so that it becomes meaningful to me." There are entire books on the hanzi elements ("radicals") and there are lots of websites (type into Google the two words "Chinese" and "radicals") that can help you.
And, of course, the great key to learning any language is to have some messages that you absolutely must read IN THAT LANGUAGE. Have someone hide your housekeys and leave instructions for finding them in Chinese. You will make rapid progress. Or conduct a passionate love affair with a Chinese man who writes you lengthy love letters (perhaps also telling you where your housekeys are).
answered 3 months ago
0
hi!!
i'm not learning chinese, but japanese(kanji)..
the way of learning chinese same to japanese..
you have to learn the language first. then the characters.
each character has thier own meaning. Exm: 强(doesn't have any meaning i guess), 壮(zhuang), 的(the)
but if I combine all the characters 强壮的 the meaning is "strong"..
I've know the japanese(kanji) about 1990 characters most of them are same in hanzi.
for me, the best way to memorize is u've to practice write it everyday. 1 day about 10 characters.
30 days, 300 characters!
don't miss to practice even 1 day!
answered 3 months ago
0
Hello Cherry, me again, sorry for my rude, I know I am Chinese, sorry to stick my nose in, however may I know why you want to learn Chinese first, as I think it is very important to decide how you can learn it well, I have some foreign friends, although they always come to China and stay several days eveytime, but they can just speak such as thank you, hello and numbers in Chinese till now, otherwise they always ask us how to say something in Chinese and then they repeat to others, I dont think they want to learn Chinese in depth, just have fun. Just want to help you as you did, so I think your heart lead your way, may I know the reason why you want to learn English? Hope you can understand! Many thanks!
answered 3 months ago
-2
can you help me to learn your languge
answered 3 months ago
-4
hi, i started to learn the chinese characters about 9 months ago, and right now i am able to read pretty much. http://www.yellowbridge.com/chinese/chinese-memory.php helped me a lot, its a game, so it makes fun to use it. try the "Top 1000 Chinese Characters" list, as its the characters you will encounter most... and dont be disappointed in the beginning, it took me several days to finish the top 100 within the "beginners" time limit the first time... appart from that i also use plecodict (mentioned above) and i tried to read books as soon as i thought i knew enough character.... all the new words i encountered went into my plecodict flashcards...
hope, that i helped you...
answered 3 months ago
0
Good day.
For me, it is easy to learn characters in sentences, in that way I can remember them more, and all of them.
But anyways I have to write them many times.
And also, I learn them by keys, like "woman and child is good" and so on, it helps well.
answered 3 months ago
0