There is a strong belief that learning Chinese is extremely difficult or almost impossible. Nevertheless, most linguists and specialists specializing in China agree that knowledge of only 3000 hieroglyphs is enough for full communication, reading major newspapers and even many books.
Each Chinese character is a separate syllable that can be pronounced in one of five tonalities. It is the tones of the Chinese language that represent the greatest difficulty for learning, because, as a rule, there are no analogues in the native language. Nevertheless, after a certain, sometimes short, depending on the student's hearing, the moment comes when the tones begin to be distinguished by ear. For writing Chinese syllables based on tones, there is a Latin-based Pinyin system.
First tone- pronounced high and even, like the squeak of Morse code. It is indicated by a straight line above the letter mā or simply ma1.
Second tone- ascending from medium to high, sounds like a kind of question. It is denoted by má or ma2.
Third tone- low decreasing, and then ascending to the middle level. The tone is more reminiscent of the Russian interjection "Well !?" It is denoted by mă or ma3.
Fourth tone- falling from high to low, sounds like a kind of statement. It is denoted mà or ma4.
Syllable without tone- is not indicated in any way and is pronounced without tonality.
But the specificity of China and its inhabitants is such that the reference pronunciation of syllables is not widespread everywhere, and even after driving 500 kilometers to another point in the country or talking with a representative of Chinese nationality anywhere in the world, you risk being misunderstood. That is why the hieroglyphic notation for the Chinese is of the same importance, both domestically and abroad, as any common language of international communication in the world plays for people from other countries.
To learn Chinese, you need to know 214 key hieroglyphic signs, according to which Chinese and Japanese hieroglyphs are most often located in dictionaries. These 214 keys will help you easily navigate new and unfamiliar hieroglyphs, quickly find their meaning in dictionaries and reference books, and even approximately guess the meaning and pronunciation of hieroglyphs.
Key marks refer to the following areas of expertise:
Several key hieroglyphs.
Why are keys needed?
In order to find a word from European languages in the dictionary, it is enough to arm yourself with a good dictionary and find the desired word by initial letters. We cannot do this with Japanese words because of the hieroglyphic system. The most common dictionaries are key-based dictionaries. What to do in this case? How to find the right one among thousands of squiggles?
The mandatory minimum of kanji that you need to know to live in Japan includes 2,136 kanji. At first glance, it may seem that the hieroglyphs are a chaotic set of sticks and lines, the order of which only an exceptional mind can remember. In fact, everything is not so scary. Each, even the most unimaginable hieroglyph, can be decomposed into several simple symbols. These simple characters are keys, or in Japanese 部首 bushyu. That is, the key is a graphic sign that helps to classify and find the hieroglyph in the dictionary.
Some keys, which are also called radicals, can be independent hieroglyphs, such as the keys “person” 人, “heart” 心 or “hand” 手. Sometimes knowing the meaning of the keys helps you remember the meaning of the kanji. For example, the hieroglyph 休, which means “rest,” “rest,” consists of the keys “man” and “tree”. While working in the field, people rest (where?) Under a tree. Or one more example - the hieroglyph “cheap” 安 consists of the elements “woman” and “roof”. Women under the roof are cheap. But this method is not appropriate in all cases. Sometimes you have to memorize abstract concepts.
Often, without knowing the meaning of the kanji itself, one can guess which area this character may be from. For example, hieroglyphs with the radical “fish” 魚 will most likely mean the names of fish (鮭 salmon, 鯨 whale), with the key “water” 氵 - everything related to water: 泳 (swim) 、 池 (pond). But it is necessary to remember about one peculiarity that sometimes the Chinese character was assigned to the Japanese word “just like that”, it is meaningless, the Japanese also “invented” 70 of their own characters, so it’s still better to clarify the meanings of kanji in the dictionary.
There are 214 keys in total, which are located in the key table. Each key is assigned its own 
room. Many recommend memorizing the number of radicals in order to quickly find the desired hieroglyph. In our opinion, there is no need to sit and cram all 214 keys at once. They will be memorized gradually as you read texts and search for a word in the dictionary. After learning Japanese regularly for a while, you will be able to easily recognize the keys in unfamiliar kanji and count the features.
Hieroglyphs can have one or several keys. In the dictionary, radicals are arranged in ascending order of strokes from one to seventeen.
Keys are divided into strong and weak. If an element is always or almost always a key, then it is a strong key (for example, "fire" 火), and weak keys are often not keys (for example, "inch" 寸).
The rules for determining the key in the hieroglyph.
When looking for a hieroglyph, the most important thing is to determine which element is the key. There are some guidelines for this:
1) First you need to make sure that the hieroglyph itself is not a key by counting the lines. And if kanji is not the key, then you can safely move on to the next points.
2) If a complex hieroglyph consists of two elements, one of which is on the right and the other on the left, then, most likely, the left element will be the key. If you do not find the left element in the key table, then the key will be the right one.
3) If in a hieroglyph, consisting of two elements, one of them covers the other from several sides, then the key is more often the enclosing element.
4) If in a complex hieroglyph, consisting of two elements, one of which is at the top and the other at the bottom, then the top one must be looked for first.
5) After you have found the key, you can start searching for the hieroglyph by the number of lines.
But it should be remembered that at first, finding the keys will take a lot of time, and the correct identification of the key will come with experience. Ideally, you need to know the entire key table in order to find the key quickly and correctly.
How the keys are located in hieroglyphs.
Depending on the position, the keys have their own names. Below we give examples with different key positions.
Nin-ben (human)
亻. 仕、休、代、住、体、作、何、伝
Tsuti-ben (earth)
土. 地、場、塩、増
Onna - hen (woman)
女. 妹、姉、姫、娘、婚、嫁
Gyōnin - ben (walking person)
彳. 役、彼、待、後、徒、得、復
Rissin-ben (heart)
忄. 情、快、怖、性
Te-hen (hand)
扌. 打、持、指、払
Ki-hen (wood)
木. 村、材、松、林、校
Tsukuri
刀. 刊、判、別、利、副
Akubi (slit)
欠. 次、歌、歓
Kanmuri
U- kanmuri (crown)
宀. 守、安、完、宇、宙、定、宝、実、室
Take- kanmuri (bamboo)
竹. 笑、第、筆、等、算
Kusa- kanmuri (grass)
艹. 花、若、英、茶、草
Ashi
Hitoashi (human feet)
儿. 元、兄、先、光、党
Kokoro (heart)
心. 思、急、息、悲、意、悪、感
Tare
Shikabane (flag)
尸. 尼、尾、局、居、届、屋
Ma-dare (dotted cliff)
广. 広、床、底、店、府、度、庫、庭
Nyō
Shin-shyō (road)
辵. 返、近、辺、通、連、週、道
En- nyō (wide step)
Kamae
Kuni-kamae (box)
囗. 困、団、囲、図、国、園
Mongamae (gate)
門. 開、間、関、閉
The order of the outline of the hieroglyphs.
Rules for writing graphic elements:
- when drawing a hieroglyph, you must imagine that you are writing it in a square;
- the hieroglyph must be written from top to bottom and from left to right;
- horizontal lines are written first (always from left to right)
- vertical and oblique are written from top to bottom;
- if the hieroglyph has a central, right and left parts, then the central part must be written first
- the enclosing element is written first
- vertical bars crossing the center of the hieroglyph are written last
- when counting features, it must be remembered that an element written in one piece by hand is taken as one feature, and not the printed form of a hieroglyph. For example, in the key "field" 田 not 6 lines, but 5, since the top and right walls are written in one motion.
List of hieroglyphic keys.
- 一 (い ち) one
2.丨 (ぼ う) rod, rod
3.丶 (て ん) dot
4. 丿 (て ん) NO-kana
5.乙 (お つ) fish hook
6.亅 (は ね ぼ う) thorn, thorn, mustache
- 二 (に) two
8.亠 (な べ ぶ た) cover
9. 人 (ひ と) person
10. 儿 (に ん に ょ う) human feet
11. 入 (い る) enter
12. 八 (は ち が し ら) eight
13. 冂 (ま き が ま え) showcase, counter
14.冖 (わ か ん む り) crown
15. 冫 (に す い) water droplets
16. 几 (つ く え) table
17. 凵 (う け ば こ) open box
18. 刀 (か た な) sword
19. 力 (ち か ら) strength
20. 勹 (つ つ み が ま え) wrap, wrap
21. 匕 (さ じ の ひ) spoon
22. 匚 (は こ が ま え) open-sided box
23. 匸 (か く し が ま え) hide
24. 十 (じ ゅ う) cross
25. 卜 (ぼ く の と) magic wand
26. 卩 (ふ し づ く り) print
27. 厂 (が ん だ れ) cliff
28. 厶 (む) i
29. 又 (ま た) in addition, while
- 口 (く ち) mouth
31. 囗 (く に が ま え) box
32. 土 (つ ち) earth, soil
33. 士 (さ む ら い) samurai
34. 夂 (ふ ゆ が し ら) winter, start
35. 夊 (す い) dragging feet
36. 夕 (ゆ う べ) evening
37. 大 (だ い) large
38. 女 (お ん な) woman
39. 子 (こ) child
40. 宀 (う か ん む り) crown
41. 寸 (す ん) glue
42. 小 (ち い さ い) small
43. 尢 (ま げ あ し) curved "big"
44. 尸 (し か ば ね) flag
45. 屮 (て つ) old grass
46. 山 (や ま) mountain
47. 巛 (ま が り が わ) curved "river"
48. 工 (た く み) skill, worker
49. 己 (お の れ) snake
50. 巾 (は ば) clothes
51. 干 (は す) dry
52. 幺 (い と が し ら) short thread
53. 广 (ま だ れ) cliff with a dot
54. 廴 (い ん に ょ う) wide stride
55. 廾 (に じ ゅ う あ し) twenty
56. 弋 (し き が ま え) ceremony
57. 弓 (ゆ み) bow (weapon)
58. ヨ (け い が し ら) pig head
59. 彡 (さ ん づ く り) bunch
60. 彳 (ぎ ょ う に ん べ ん) walking person
- 心 (り っ し ん べ ん) heart
62. 戈 (か の ほ こ) halberd
63. 戸 (と び ら の と) door
64. 手 (て) hand
65. 支 (し ん よ う) branch
66. 攴 (ぼ く づ く り) folding chair
67. 文 (ぶ ん に ょ う) sentence, phrase
68. 斗 (と ま す) bucket, scoop
69. 斤 (お の) ax
70. 方 (ほ う) side, direction
71. 无 (む に ょ う) curved "paradise"
72. 日 (に ち) sun
73. 曰 (に ち) flat sun
74. 月 (つ き) moon
75. 木 (き) tree
76. 欠 (あ く び) slit, space
77. 止 (と め る) stop
78. 歹 (が つ へ ん) death
79. 殳 (ほ こ つ く り) windy again
80. 毋 (な か れ) mother
81. 比 (く ら べ る ひ) running race
82. 毛 (け) wool
83. 氏 (う じ) clan
84. 气 (き が ま え) spirit
85. 水 (み ず) water
86. 火 (ひ) fire
87. 爪 (つ め) claw
88. 父 (ち ち) father
89. 爻 (め め) double X
90. 爿 (し ょ う へ ん) left side stencil
91. 片 (か た) one-sided stencil
92. 牙 (き ば へ ん) fang
93. 牛 (う し) cow
94. 犬 (い ぬ) dog
96. 王 (お う) king
- 玄 (げ ん) mysterious
96. 玉 (う し) jewel
97. 瓜 (う り) watermelon
98. 瓦 (か わ ら) roof tiles
99. 甘 (あ ま い) sweet
100. 生 (う ま れ る) life
101. 用 (も ち い る) use
102. 田 (た) rice field
103. 疋 (ひ き) strength
104. 疔 (や ま い だ れ) disease
105. 癶 (は つ が し ら) "tent" with dots
106. 白 (し ろ) white
107. 皮 (け が わ) hide
108. 皿 (さ ら) plate
109. 目 (め) eye
110. 矛 (む の ほ こ) halberd
111. 矢 (や) arrow
112. 石 (い し) stone
113. 示 (し め す) show, point
114. 禹 (う の あ し) MU in the box
115. 禾 (の ぎ) a tree with two branches
116. 穴 (あ な) slit, slit
117. 立 (た つ) stand
- 竹 (た け) bamboo
119. 米 (こ め) rice
120.糸 (い と) thread
121. 缶 (ほ と ぎ) can, watering can
122. 网 (あ み が し ら) network
123. 羊 (ひ つ じ) Sheep
124. 羽 (は ね) feathers
125. 老 (お い) old man
126. 而 (し か し て) Rake
127. 耒 (ら い す き) tree with three branches
128. 耳 (み み) ear
129. 聿 (ふ で づ く り) writing brush
130. 肉 (に く) meat
131. 臣 (し ん) vassal
132. 自 (み ず か ら) yourself
133. 至 (い た る) high point, climax
134. 臼 (う す) mortar
135. 舌 (し た) language
136. 舛 (ま す) dance
137. 舟 (ふ ね) ship
138. 艮 (う し と ら) good
139. 色 (い ろ) color
140. 艸 (く さ) grass
141. 虍 (と ら か ん む り) tiger
142. 虫 (む し) insect
143. 血 (ち) blood
144. 行 (ぎ ょ う) go
145. 衣 (こ ろ も) clothes
146. 襾 (に し) west
- 見 (み る) see
148. 角 (つ の) angle, horn
149. 言 (こ と ば) speak
150. 谷 (た に) valley
151. 豆 (ま め) bob
152. 豕 (い の こ) pig
153. 豸 (む じ な) Badger
154. 貝 (か い) seashell
155. 赤 (あ か) red
156. 走 (は し る) run
157. 足 (あ し) leg
158. 身 (み) body
159. 車 (く る ま) wheel
160. 辛 (か ら い) spicy
161. 辰 (し ん の た つ) dragon
162. 辷 (し ん に ゅ う) road
163. 邑 (む ら) village
164. 酉 (ひ よ み の と り) sake
165. 釆 (の ご め) Dice
166. 里 (さ と) village
- 金 (か ね) metal
168. 長 (な が い) long
169. 門 (も ん) gate
170. 阜 (ぎ ふ の ふ) village
171. 隶 (れ い づ く り) slave
172. 隹 (ふ る と り) old bird
173. 雨 (あ め) rain
174. 青 (あ う) green, blue
175. 非 (あ ら ず) injustice
- 面 (め ん) surface
177. 革 (か く の か わ) leather
178. 韋 (な め し が わ) burnt skin
179. 韭 (に ら) leek
180. 音 (お と) sound
181. 頁 (お お が い) head
182. 風 (か ぜ) Wind
183. 飛 (と ぶ) fly
184. 食 (し よ く) food
185. 首 (く び) neck
186. 香 (に お い こ う) smell
- 馬 (う ま) horse
188. 骨 (ほ ね) bone
189. 高 (た か い) high
190. 髟 (か み が し ら) long hair
191. 鬥 (と う が ま え) broken gate
192. 鬯 (ち よ う) aromatic herbs
193. 鬲 (か く) tripod
194. 鬼 (お に) demon
- 魚 (う お) fish
196. 鳥 (と り) bird
197. 鹵 (ろ) salt
198. 鹿 (し か) deer
199. 麥 (む ぎ) wheat
200. 麻 (あ さ) linen
- 黄 (き い ろ) yellow
202. 黍 (き び) millet
203. 黒 (く ろ) black
204. 黹 (ふ つ) sew
205. 黽 (べ ん) green frog
206. 鼎 (か な え) teapot with three legs
207. 鼓 (つ づ み) drum beat
208. 鼠 (ね ず み) Mouse
- 鼻 (は な) nose
210. 齊 (せ い) equal
- 齒 (は) tooth
- 龍 (り ゅ う) dragon
213. 龜 (か め) turtle
- 龠 (や く) flute
How do you learn all these Japanese kanji keys? We invite you to familiarize yourself with ours, and knowledge will help you consolidate our main course.
Simple languages do not exist, each language has its own difficulties and peculiarities. But still, a number of languages can be distinguished that are very difficult to learn. Chinese is one of those.
The first thing that scares beginners to learn Chinese is the sheer number of hieroglyphs. For example, the dictionary "Zhonghua Zihai" contains more than 85 thousand. Incredible!
In fact, it is impossible to answer how many characters the Chinese script contains, since it depends on what is considered them. If you use the method used in China, then their number is potentially infinite.
So how many symbols do you need to know in order to feel comfortable in the Chinese environment, that is, to read street signs, newspapers, web pages?
Statistical studies say that there are 3000 most common hieroglyphs, knowledge will help to understand 99.2% of the text. This is certainly much less than 85 thousand, but still a lot. But what is interesting is a confident knowledge of only 100 characters gives understanding of as much as 42% of the text. Here are the statistics:
100 characters → 42% understanding
200 characters → 55% understanding
500 characters → 75% understanding
1000 characters → 89% understanding
1500 signs → 94% understanding
2000 characters → 97.0% understanding
3000 characters → 99.2% understanding
Chinese culture is permeated with the spirit of mysticism and mystery, and looking at these mysterious signs of Chinese writing, all confidence in one's own strength is lost.
But do not despair, we have selected 30 of the easiest hieroglyphs to memorize, which will be our starting point on such a winding path.
The characters below have the smallest number of strokes. They are easy to learn as they are mostly intuitive.
And so let's get started.
30 easiest Chinese characters to learn
1. - this horizontal bar means the number one. Accordingly, the number two is two lines 二 and three is 三. Pretty simple, isn't it?
For example, "one person" in Chinese is 一个 人.
2. 人 - these two simple strokes denote - a person and resemble a person with legs wide apart. If we put these two characters together - 人人 we get - "all" or "everyone", for example, 人人 都 爱 喝可乐 would mean - everyone loves to drink cola.
3. 日 this rectangle with a line in the middle is nothing but the sun. Of course, you need to have an extraordinary imagination to be able to tie this symbol to our luminary, but in ancient times this hieroglyph was more round.
Once it was a circle with a small dash in the middle, which has transformed over time.
By the way, 日 can also mean the word "day". If you place these signs in a row 日 日, then it will mean "every day."
4. 月 - This hieroglyph stands for the Moon. In ancient times, this hieroglyph really looked like a satellite of our Earth and looked like a crescent moon. Also, this hieroglyph means "month", for example, 1 月 it will be January, and the first of January will be - 1 月 1 日
5. 水 - water, liquid, river, sea, stream. Some argue that in ancient times it was a drawing of a river flow between banks or boulders, and some say that it was a drawing of water ripples.
If we apply the hieroglyph that we have already learned (一), then we can write "one glass of water" 一杯 水
6. 山 - mountains. It also means a mountain range, hill, grave or mound. It is also easy to remember this symbol - the bottom line symbolizes the earth, vertical lines symbolize mountain peaks of different heights. If you combine this sign with other hieroglyphs, you can get many other concepts, for example, in combination with the hieroglyph 水 (water) we get - 山水 (landscape), and 山水画 will mean "landscape" painting. 画 really is a small picture in a frame. This sign 水 is included in many hieroglyphs.
7. 大 - The Chinese character for "big" looks like a person with widely spaced arms and legs. In ancient times it was a drawing of a large, strong man.
If you write 人 (person) next to 大人, then we get 大人 "adult", literally - a big person. Also, this hieroglyph can mean - huge, large, strong, senior, great, respected, etc.
8. 小 - small. It is also used in the meaning - small, young, junior, simple, etc.
Please note that 小 only refers to size. When we talk about small amounts, we say 少
9. 口 - mouth. As you might guess, this hieroglyph means the open mouth of a person. However, it has many meanings: lips, hole, neck (bottles), mouth, harbor, hole, words, speech and many others.
This symbol can often be found in combinations with other signs, for example,
大 口 (dà kǒu) gulp
出口 - exit
人口 - population
山口 - mountain pass
口岸 - "mouth" and "shore" = port, commercial port
口才 - "mouth" and "talent" = eloquence, the gift of beautiful speech, the gift of speaking.
口红 - "mouth" and "red" = lipstick
So, as in Russian, 口 (mouth) can denote a family member, for example, 一家 三口 人 in translation "a family of three human mouths."
It is interesting that the sign "fence" is depicted in the same way as the "mouth", but it is not used independently, only around the other elements of the hieroglyph:
国 - country, state
回 - mouth in the enclosure = to return
回国 - return home
10. 火 - fire. A very simple hieroglyph, if you look closely, it looks like a running man who waves his arms in panic and shouts: "Help, fire!"
In ancient times, this symbol was more like a fire flower.
There are several ways to use this symbol:
大火 large flame and 小 火 small flame, 山火 forest fire, 火山 - volcano. In astronomy, this symbol is used as a designation for the planet Mars.
11. 男 - man. In fact, this is a combination of two signs 田 (field) and 力 (strength). This symbol can be seen on the doors of men's restrooms.
男人 man
男友 boyfriend, friend
12. 女 - woman. 
Chinese cartoonist Tan Huay Peng wrote in his book Fun with Chinese Characters:
“The ancient pictogram depicted a woman bowing, then for ease of writing she was put on her knees, but not for long. The modern hieroglyph depicts a woman who walks widely and freely along with a man. "
美女 - beauty
少女 - girl
女工 - female worker
女士 - mistress, lady, madam
女王 - queen
女主人 - hostess
13. 天 is the sky. 
This hieroglyph looks like a person with widely spaced legs and arms, and on the bottom there is a horizontal line denoting the sky. In ancient China, the Emperor was called the son of heaven, and talented people were called people with a heavenly gift.
Also, this hieroglyph is used in the meaning of "day". If we put two such hieroglyphs 天天 next to each other, we get “every day”.
春天 - spring
夏天 - summer
秋天 - autumn
冬天 - winter
今天 - today
昨天 - yesterday
明天 - tomorrow
14. 牛 - cow or cattle. It can also mean: cattle, bull, buffalo, ox, beef. Initially, they drew the animal's face, horns and ears, later the similarity was lost.
一 头牛 - one cow
小牛 - calf
牛奶 - milk
牛肉 - beef
牛油 - butter
牛仔 - shepherd
15. 马 - horse. This is a simplified hieroglyph, in traditional spelling it looks like 馬
马上 - immediately
人马 - army, army (people and horses)
妈 - mom (woman and horse)
16. 羊 - ram, sheep or small ruminants. This hieroglyph carries a favorable meaning, since in Chinese culture a ram is a kind animal. 羊 is part of the character for "kindness". The goat is designated by the same hieroglyph.
山羊 - mountain goat
17. 木 - a tree as a plant and a tree as a material. Initially, the drawing depicted a trunk, roots and branches.
果木 - fruit tree
木星 - Jupiter (planet)
18. 工 - work, work. There are several versions of the origin of this sign, one of which is horizontal lines - earth and sky, vertical - a person.
工作 - work
工人 - worker
木工 - joiner, carpenter
19. 开 - to open, can also mean "to start".
开刀 - surgery
开工 - start working
开口 - to speak
20. 心 - heart. In ancient times, it was a fairly accurate schematic drawing of the human heart, the modern sign has changed beyond recognition.
The pictogram "heart" is part of many hieroglyphs associated with spiritual qualities and the inner world of a person.
For example, the hieroglyph "thought" consists of two parts "sound" and "heart": that is, "voice in the heart." And the hieroglyph "to think" consists of "appearance, face" and "heart".
Another hieroglyph 心 is used in the meanings: soul, spirit
chest, chest cavity
mind, intellect, reason, thought
desires, intentions, moods
center, middle, core
will, determination, aspiration
有心人 purposeful person
江心 middle of the river
21. 门 - door. There should be no problems with memorizing this hieroglyph, since it looks like a doorway.
开门 - open the door
22. 不 - no. Although this symbol means no, it is usually not used by itself. Mostly they write 不是 - "no" or 不好 - "bad".
不少 literally translates as “not a little”, or in other words “a lot”.
23. 十 - ten. The ancient drawing depicted the cardinal points. The number ten symbolizes the ten-sided world, which in Buddhism means the four main directions of the compass, the four directions between them, as well as the direction up and down.
In modern Chinese, 十 is used in the meanings: "ten, ten, tenfold", etc., as well as "a lot, everything."
十一 eleven
十二 twelve
十三 thirteen
十四 fourteen
十五 fifteen
20 is 二十 or “two tens”, 30 is 三十 “three tens” 50 is 五十 and so on until you reach 90 九十.
But 100 is not "ten tens", it is just 一百 (one hundred).
In China, hieroglyphs for numbers are rarely used, more often Arabic numbers. It is customary to write price tags in stores in Arabic numerals. But in provincial cities, and especially in small settlements, hieroglyphs can be used.
24. 手 - hand. Initially, this hieroglyph depicted lines on the palm, over time, these lines on the sign aligned.
Nowadays, the hieroglyph 手 is used in the meanings: "hand, hands, hand, palm, helping hand, help", "skill, skill, technique, art", "master, doka, craftsman", etc.
手工 craft
一手 alone, alone
水手 sailor
25. 王 - king, king, emperor, monarch. The hieroglyph consists of three parts: 十 (number ten) and two horizontal lines above and below 一, meaning heaven and earth.
王子 - prince
王 民 - subjects
26. 米 - fig. As we know, rice is a staple food. It is often found in various parts of complex hieroglyphs. It is very similar to the sign 木 (tree), but at the most ancient pictogram denoting rice was completely different and only over time it was transformed and became similar to the hieroglyph "tree".
玉米 (yù mǐ) corn
白米 (bái mǐ) white rice or peeled rice for food
27. 生 - birth
生日 - birthday
一生 - all my life
先生 - lord; For example, 王先生 Mr. Wang
生命 - life
28. 中 - center. This is an important hieroglyph as it is part of the word China.
中国 - China; literally means "central kingdom"
中文 - Chinese
中午 - noon
29. 上 - up or previous. It was originally a horizontal line with a dot above it. Over time, this point stretched into a line, later it became vertical. 爱上 - fall in love
晚上 - in the evening
早上 - in the morning
30. 下 - down. This simple symbol looks like a downward arrow, similar to the inverted hieroglyph 上 (up). Also refers to "going out" or "going out".
下班 - leave work
下课 - leave the class
下车 - get out of the car
Here is a list of simple Chinese characters to start your language journey. We wish you the best in your Chinese study journey.
“Hieroglyphs?!? Oh no! How can you ever remember them! Chinese is not for me! " Olga.
We get this kind of feedback from our readers all the time.
Here's another example: “All my life I wanted to learn Chinese, but hieroglyphs are remembered very badly […] I dropped everything…” Alexey L.
It's a shame when people give up their dreams, simply because they face difficulties that seem insurmountable to them.
Do you have such thoughts? If so, be sure to read on!
Is it easy to learn and memorize hieroglyphs?
Yes, I admit it, hieroglyphs are one of the biggest stumbling blocks in learning Chinese. But think: Over a billion Chinese have mastered them. They use them every day! And believe me, not all of them are seven inches in the forehead. If they can, you can definitely!
I have 2 news for you: one good, the other too.
1. If you use the right approach, the Chinese writing will cease to seem so inaccessible. The main thing understand the basic principles: how hieroglyphs are built, where they get their meaning from and how they are pronounced. Deal with this - half the battle is done.
2. The more hieroglyphs you know, the easier it will be to memorize new ones.
Where to begin?
Ideally, learn the principles of hieroglyphics and, at the same time, gain vocabulary.
And today we will study the first principle on the basis of which many basic hieroglyphs were formed: "The principle of the picture." According to him, the hieroglyph is as similar as possible to the object that it depicts.
And to illustrate this principle, today we will study with you 10 simplest Chinese characters.
They are easy to remember and learn to write, and most importantly, they will often appear in various Chinese texts and will help you master even more hieroglyphs in the future.
1. 一 yī
Which means: It is, without a doubt, the simplest character in the Chinese language. It is not difficult to guess that it means the number "one".
How to remember: in this hieroglyph, the logic is obvious: the Chinese put one stick on the ground, which means one.
Here we add two more obvious hieroglyphs:
Two sticks are two 二 èr;
Three sticks are three 三 sān.
Example: Of course, hieroglyphs by themselves are useless to us if we don't know how to use them. So let's put together a few words and phrases right away and start talking a little.
十一 shí yī eleven (ten + one);
十三 shí sān thirteen;
二十 èr shí twenty (two dozen);
我 要 一个 。wǒ yào yī gè I want one piece (use when shopping).
2.人 rén
Which means: This hieroglyph means human.
How to remember: Imagine that a head is drawn above the hieroglyph, and add 2 feet to the legs, and voila, you get a man.
How do you spell: First write a stroke to the left, and then from its center - to the right. Remember that we write all hieroglyphs from top to bottom.
Example:
一个 人 yī gè rén one person.
他 是 什么 人? tā shì shénme rén - who is he?
3.入 rù
Which means: Very much like a human 人, but in no case should they be confused. 入 rù means enter.
How to remember: This hieroglyph originally had the meaning "outside - inside" and depicted the tip of a knife or arrow blade, which pierced or entered into an object.
How do you spell: First write a small dash to the left, and then, starting just above, write a dash to the right. We write from top to bottom.
Example:
入口 rùkǒu entrance;
入 大学 rù dàxué go to university.
4.日 rì
Which means: This is the Sun. And when we see the sun, what time of day is it? That's right, day. So this is Sun or day.
How to remember: There were times when this hieroglyph was written as a circle, with a dot in the center. With the development of writing, it acquired a modern look and ceased to be so obvious. And yet, we look at the square with a line and see a solar disk with a halo around.
How do you spell: First, write the left vertical bar from top to bottom. Then the top and right line from left to right and down without lifting your hands. The last we write horizontal lines in the center and bottom. Both lines are written from left to right.
Example:
一月 一日 yī yuè yī rì first of January (first month first day).
By the way, how will the third of March be?
5.山 shān
Which means: in its form, this hieroglyph is also similar to what it means: mountain.
How to remember: on the horizon we see three mountain peaks.
How do you spell: First write a short left stroke from top to bottom and continue from bottom to right. Then write the highest line in the middle and the right line slightly lower. All vertical bars are written from top to bottom.
Example:
山口 shānkǒu pass, entrance to the gorge;
上山 shàng shān to climb the mountains.
6.口 kǒu
Which means: This hieroglyph has different meanings, the most common are mouth and entrance.
How to remember: A very simple hieroglyph - like many basic hieroglyphs, it was a direct image of an object, so it's easy to remember. We look at the square, we see an open mouth.
How do you spell: The same as 日 rì, only without a line in the middle. By the way, a little check what is 日？
Example:
大 口 dà kǒu big mouth, large mouth;
出口 chū kǒu exit. By the way, remember how the "entrance" will be? - 入口;
人口 rén kǒu population.
7. 中 zhōng
Which means: This is a hieroglyph center, inside, middle.
How to remember: Its value is indicated by a line that is located exactly in the center.
How do you spell: Same as 口 kǒu, only more rectangular. Why add a middle line from top to bottom.
Example:
中午 zhōngwǔ noon (midday);
中国 人 zhōng guó rén Chinese (a person from the middle state, i.e. from China);
中医 Chinese medicine.
8.火 hǔo
Which means: You may have thought that this is the person who is waving his arms? But no, it is Fire.
How to remember: Remember what a fire looks like made of small logs and with tongues of flame soaring upward? Now look at this hieroglyph - one to one!
How do you spell: First left, then right "tongues of flame", and then as 人 rén.
Example:
大火 dà hǔo fire;
火山 hǔo shān volcano;
火车 hǔo chē train (fire carriage).
9. 女nǚ
Which means: it female.
How to remember: Originally a woman was depicted on her knees. Now we can see in this hieroglyph the head, arms, two legs and an elegant "back" part.
How do you spell: This hieroglyph has 3 features: the first line from the head smoothly passes into the leg to the right, then we write the second leg to the left. And finally, the hands are from left to right.
Example:
女人 nǚ rén woman;
女厕所 nǚ cèsuŏ women's toilet.
10.门 mén
Which means: it a door.
How to remember: This character, especially in the traditional spelling 門, is very similar to a doorway in old Chinese houses. If you don't know what doors looked like in China, then remember the saloon doors in cowboy movies.
And this hieroglyph often becomes phonetic, i.e. helps us learn how to read a hieroglyph without looking into a dictionary (but we'll talk about this in more detail another time).
How do you spell: first a small line-dot in the upper left corner, then a vertical line downward from it, and finally, the third line - horizontally and downward, without taking your hands off.
Example:
门口 mén kǒu entrance, exit, gate;
开门 kāi mén open the door;
入门 rù mén to enter the door (and can also be used in a figurative sense: start, make an initiative).
Successful practice!
Svetlana Khludneva
P.S. Take care of yourself!
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Chinese writing is hieroglyphic. There are hieroglyphs in other languages influenced by China - Japanese and, to a lesser extent, Korean. In Vietnamese, hieroglyphic writing was used until the 20th century. The question of how many hieroglyphs you need to know, how to memorize them and, most importantly, not to forget, is especially acute for those studying these languages.
Hieroglyph in classical written language wenyan文言 usually meant a whole word. In modern Chinese, words for the most part consist of one or two, less often three or more hieroglyphs. Therefore, there are a lot of hieroglyphs.
In 1994, the dictionary "Sea of Chinese Characters" was published Zhonghua Zihai中華 字 海, which has 85,568 characters! True, the overwhelming majority of them can be found only a few times in classical literary works. Ordinary bilingual dictionaries contain about 6-8 thousand hieroglyphs, among which there are also many rare ones. More complete explanatory dictionaries have about 10-20 thousand characters.
It is believed that for understanding 80% of modern ordinary Chinese text it is enough to know the 500 most frequent hieroglyphs, knowledge of 1000 hieroglyphs gives an understanding of about 91% of the text, and 2500 hieroglyphs - 99% of the text. In order to pass the exam for foreigners on the knowledge of the highest level of Chinese HSK 6, you need to know a little less than 3000 characters. To read special scientific or classical literature, you need to understand more hieroglyphs.
However, one must bear in mind that even if all the hieroglyphs in the text are familiar to you, you will not always absolutely understand the meaning of what is written. You also need to know the words - various word combinations of hieroglyphs. In the Chinese language, quite a few abbreviations are used, when stable phrases of several characters are shortened to shorter ones.
For example, the phrase "Peking University" 北京大学 Běijīng dàxué shortens to 北大 Běidà which literally means "northern big". Another complication of the Chinese language is the use of chengyu 成语 is an idiom usually made up of four characters. With a literal translation of each of the signs, the meaning of what was said may be incomprehensible. There are special dictionaries of the Chenyuev, as well as collections of stories, where the meaning of the most famous idioms is explained. Chengyu translations can also be found in dictionaries.
V Japanese there is a mandatory list of hieroglyphs Joyo kanji常用 漢字, accepted by the Japanese Ministry of Education as sufficient in everyday use. It consists of 2136 kanji(hieroglyphs) and includes 1006 kyoiku kanji which pupils study in 6-year elementary school and 1130 kanji who are taught in high school.
Hieroglyph structure
At first glance, a hieroglyph seems like a chaotic collection of various features and points. However, it is not. There are several basic elements that make up a hieroglyph. First of all, these are the traits that make up graphemes. Graphemes, in turn, form a more complex sign.
Traits
Any hieroglyph consists of a certain set of features. By themselves, traits have no lexical meaning or reading. In total, there are four types of traits and more than two dozen of their varieties:
- Simple (basic) features: horizontal, vertical, inclined left and right, folding left and right, special points.
- Hook traits: horizontal, vertical (can be with a hook to the left or a hook to the right), folding to the right.
- Broken features: the line changes direction one or more times, has a complex configuration.
- Broken lines with a hook.
There are also slightly different classifications of traits, but this does not change the general essence. Traits in hieroglyphs are written in a strictly defined sequence: "First horizontal, then vertical, first folding to the left, then folding to the right, first upper, then lower, first to the left, then to the right, first in the middle, then on both sides of it, first we go inside, then we close the door".
In the past, hieroglyphs consisted of a large number of features, and it was not easy to remember them. Therefore, one of the goals of the writing reform implemented by the Chinese government in the 60s of the XX century was to simplify the characters by reducing the number of features.
A similar simplification of hieroglyphs was carried out in Japan. However, simplified Japanese characters do not always correspond to Chinese characters, although by knowing the complete and simplified versions of Chinese characters, it is usually easy to understand Japanese simplified characters. For example, the word "library" in Simplified Chinese: 图书馆, Full Chinese: 圖書館, and in Japanese: 図 書館. In Chinese, it reads túshūguǎn, in Japanese - toshokan.
In Taiwan, Singapore and some other places, the full version of the hieroglyphs is still used. And in mainland China, you can find texts written in full hieroglyphs. In addition, hieroglyphs with several dozen features have survived to this day. As a rule, they are rarely used and therefore have not been simplified.
The most difficult to write is the hieroglyph biáng (byan), which consists of more than 60 lines. It means a type of noodle popular in Shaanxi Province. Outside the region, this hieroglyph is practically not used, and therefore it is absent in dictionaries and in computer fonts.
The hieroglyph "byan" is considered the most difficult to write. It is said that students at one of the institutes in Chengdu were systematically late for classes. And the professor, angry with them, told everyone to write the hieroglyph "byan" a thousand times. Not everyone was able to do this. And all tearfully asked for forgiveness, promising not to be late for classes in the future.
Graphemes and keys
From the features are formed graphemes- simple hieroglyphic signs with stable lexical meanings. These are the basic characters of the Chinese hieroglyphic writing that make up the Chinese characters. They are the most ancient and express the basic elements of the surrounding world and man.
Examples of graphemes: human 人 rén, woman 女 nǚ, child 子 zǐ, sun 日 rì, sky 天 tiān, earth (soil) 土 tǔ etc.
In total, there are about 300 graphemes; linguists differ in their estimates regarding their exact number. Most of the graphemes are used in modern Chinese writing as the most common signs. Graphemes make up about 10% of the most common hieroglyphs.
In addition to graphemes, there are the keys... Keys are the main classification marks. The standard list of keys contains 214 characters. It includes many graphemes and some features that do not have a fixed meaning. Thus, not all graphemes are keys and not all keys are graphemes.
For a long time, a list of 214 keys was the so-called hieroglyphic index, according to which the hieroglyphs in Chinese dictionaries were ordered. However, after the simplified hieroglyphic writing was introduced in the PRC, some signs were either partially simplified or structurally changed.
For learners of languages with hieroglyphic writing, knowledge of the key table is a must.
Complex signs
Most hieroglyphs are composed of two or more graphemes. Traditionally, they are divided into two large groups: ideographic signs and phonoideographic signs.
Ideographic signs
Ideographic signs (ideograms) consist of two or more graphemes. In them, the meaning of the hieroglyph is derived from the semantics of the graphemes included in it, but the reading of the hieroglyph is in no way connected with them. In modern Chinese, the share of ideographic characters is about 10%.
Examples of ideograms:
- 好 hǎo(good): 女 nǚ(woman) and 子 zǐ(child)
- 明 míng(understanding, enlightenment): 日 rì(sun) and 月 yuè(moon)
- 休 xiū(rest): 人 rén(person) and 木 mù(wood)
- 众 zhòng(crowd): three people 人 rén
- 森 sēn(forest, thicket, dense): three trees 木 mù
Phonoideographic signs
About 80% of hieroglyphs are so-called phonoideographic signs, or phonoideograms. Hieroglyphs of this type usually consist of two parts. One part is called semantic factor, or hieroglyphic key... It indicates that a hieroglyph belongs to a certain group of semantically related signs and thus suggests an approximate meaning.
Another part of the hieroglyph is called phoneticist and suggests an approximate reading. After the reform of the Chinese writing system, the number of phonoideograms, consisting of two graphemes, increased significantly, which greatly facilitated the memorization of hieroglyphs.
Examples of phonoideograms:
- 妈 mā(mom): 女 nǚ(female - key) and 马 mǎ(horse - phonetic)
- 性 xìng(nature, character, gender): 心 xīn(heart, consciousness - key) and 生 shēng(birth - phonetic)
- 河 hé(river): 水 shuǐ(water, in the hieroglyph "river" the element "water" in the position on the left changes to a flap with two dots - key) and 可 kě(modal verb of opportunity or obligation - phonetic)
However, in the process of development, the reading of many hieroglyphs has changed and at present it is far from always possible to guess even an approximate reading of a hieroglyph. Moreover, when it comes to.
Easy ways to memorize the spelling of hieroglyphs
I think you are convinced that the hieroglyph has a clear structure, there can be no random elements in it. This makes it quite easy to remember the spelling and meaning of the hieroglyphs.
Graphemes go back to pictograms, representing modified, extremely simplified and abstract drawings. On the Internet, you can find many pictures showing how gradually the image became more and more abstract and abstract. This helps with quick memorization.
The most ancient hieroglyphs, from which modern ones descended, date back to the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. These are Yin fortune-telling inscriptions on animal bones and tortoise shells. Gradually, the images became more and more abstract, until they acquired a modern spelling.
- 人 rén human: two legs and a body
- 大 dà large: man spread his arms
- 天 tiān sky: something big over a big man (option: One over a big man)
- 山 shān mountain: three peaks
- 口 kǒu mouth: keep your mouth wider
- 曰 yuē speak: tongue in mouth
- 竹 zhú bamboo: resembles two bamboos
When I first started studying Chinese at university, we first looked at a list of 214 keys. I wrote them down many times, trying to write beautifully, remember the correct order of features, which is strictly fixed. You shouldn't waste your time on this.
Having studied the keys, it is not difficult to memorize complex signs - ideograms and phonoideograms. You can come up with a story that will allow you to forever remember full hieroglyphs with a lot of features.
Memorization examples:
- 妈 mā mom is a woman 女 nǚ that works like a horse 马 mǎ
- 好 hǎo good - when a woman 女 nǚ gives birth to a child 子 zǐ
- 江 jiāng river - water 水 shuǐ that does the job :) gōng(the hieroglyph "river" is an example of a phonoideogram, where the reading of the phonetics "work" has changed over time)
- 仙 xiān holy, immortal - human 人 rén who lives in the mountains 山 shān
- 怕 pà to be afraid is the heart 心 xīn turned white 白 bái because of fear
- 休 xiū rest - person 人 rén lay down to rest under a tree 木 mù
- 难 nán difficult - difficult with the right hand (again) 又 yòu catch a short-tailed bird 隹 zhuī
- 国 guó state - ruler with a spear 玉 yù(jade, symbol of imperial power) outside the fence 囗 (no reading).
The main thing is to give free rein to imagination. Over time it will become a habit and to memorize a hieroglyph, it will be enough just to remember the names of the graphemes that make up it.
And here is an example of memorizing the full spelling of the hieroglyph "love" 愛 ài... If you break it down into its constituent elements, add a little joke, you get the following phrase: "the claws have sunk into the heart, the legs buckled, and then the lid has come."
Or here's how to memorize a hieroglyph 腻 nì... Its dictionary meanings are "grease, dirt, glossy, glossy, smooth." It consists of the graphemes "moon" (very similar to it - "meat"), "shell", "shoot a bow" and "two". You can think of a story: a man shot a game with an onion (shiny meat, fatty, shiny, with a lot of bacon), and sold it for two shells (in ancient times - money) to a Japanese. Just in Japanese, "two" reads nor.
The more funny, ridiculous the story turns out, the easier you will remember the hieroglyphs.
In addition, very often such an analysis of hieroglyphs helps to clarify deeper the meaning of the most complex and ambiguous categories of Chinese philosophy and culture. In my lectures on Chinese philosophy, I often use this method of explanation.
- path, road, tract; track, road; on the way, on the way
- path, route; tract; asters path of a celestial body, orbit; anat., honey. tract
- ways, direction of activity; way, way, method; an approach; means; usually custom
- technology, art; trick, cunning; trick
- idea, thought; teaching; doctrine; dogma
- reason, foundation; rightness; true, true
- philosopher... Tao, true path, supreme principle, perfection
- Taoism, the teachings of the Taoists; Taoist monk, Taoist
- Buddhist teaching.
And these are not all the meanings! However, if you break the hieroglyph into graphemes included in it, then all the meanings will become intuitive. First grapheme - 首 shǒu, "Head, crown, beginning, main, main, essence." The second is to "move forward." That is, Tao is something basic that moves forward, is in motion.
Or, another example, the most important 仁 rén- philanthropy, humanity... The hieroglyph consists of two graphemes: person 人 rén and two 二 èr... And it reads the same as "man". That is, philanthropy is a relationship between people that is built on the basis of justice. As he said, "Only one who has philanthropy can love people and hate people" ("Lunyu", IV, 3).
One of the favorite activities of the Chinese is to write hieroglyphs with a brush dipped in water. And here, in addition, the hieroglyphs are written in mirror image!
How to remember reading hieroglyphs
Although in the Chinese language most of the hieroglyphs belong to the category of phonoideograms, nevertheless, the hieroglyph does not contain a direct indication of reading, like phonetic languages. Another difficulty of the Chinese language lies in the wide spread of the phenomenon of homophony: due to the limited number of syllables (a little more than 400), different characters can be read in the same way, which creates certain difficulties in understanding oral speech. However, it is very convenient to memorize a number of hieroglyphs that have the same reading.
At the beginning of my study of the Chinese language, I usually memorized the tone by some line: a horizontal line in the upper part of a hieroglyph meant the first tone, a slant to the left - a second tone, a horizontal line at the bottom - a third tone, an oblique or folding to the right - a fourth tone. Although there were hieroglyphs where the desired feature was not found.
A completely different situation develops in the Japanese language, where there are two types of reading hieroglyphs: onnoe which comes from the Chinese language, and kunnoe, traditional Japanese. Thus, one hieroglyph can have up to 5 or more different readings! In different phrases, hieroglyphs can be read in different ways.
For example, in Japanese, the words "yesterday" 昨日 and "tomorrow" 明日, which have the same sign 日 (day, sun), are read completely differently: kino: and ashita respectively. In the phrase "every day", "daily" 毎 日 would be read mainichi, "Third number", "three days" 三 日 - mikka... Although, in theory, all four words should end in the same way.
That's why the only effective way in both Chinese and Japanese to memorize the reading of hieroglyphs is by cramming: repeat them to yourself and out loud many times, try to remember the melody. In Chinese, it is easier to do this, in my opinion, due to the presence of phonoideograms and the general repetition of syllables, in Japanese it is a little more difficult.
Is it easy to learn Japanese characters after Chinese?
For those who speak Chinese, Japanese seems to be easier from the outside, at least in terms of hieroglyphics. Indeed, a significant portion of Japanese characters are spelled the same or very similar to Chinese. Especially if you know the full spelling of Chinese characters. However, as always, the devil is in the details. I'll tell you what I discovered in the early stages of my Japanese language studies.
