Tuttle Learning Chinese Characters, Vol. 1: A Revolutionary New Way to Learn and Remember the 800 Most Basic Chinese Characters
by Alison Matthews, Laurence Matthews
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Book Summary Information
Author: Alison Matthews, Laurence MatthewsEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-08-15
ISBN: 080483816X
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780804838160
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of Tuttle Learning Chinese Characters, Vol. 1: A Revolutionary New Way to Learn and Remember the 800 Most Basic Chinese Characters
Book Review: Without question the best method of learning Chinese characters for adult foreigners
Summary: 5 Stars
Like another reviewer, I started out with James Heisig's "Remembering the Kanji". This book in and of itself was revolutionary. It taught characters in an evolving method, focusing on creating a story in your mind to help remember the characters. This approach was great, and I learned about 500 characters in that method.
However, I began to realize that I wanted to learn Chinese instead of Japanese (the characters are fundamentally the same), and I also began to realize most of the characters in the first half of Heisig's book were not the most common characters - some were quite obscure - and may not even have the exact meaning of the keyword put forth. I commend James Heisig for pioneering that incredible method, but refinement was needed.
Then I found this gem. "Learning Chinese Characters" combines everything you need to know to remember and pronounce the most common Chinese characters. It uses a combination of pictographic representations and plot nmemonics. It does cover pronunciation and tone fully, including them in the story.
A basic character that cannot be dissected into any more parts is shown with a pictograph, simply so you can remember how character looks, which usually has something to do with the meaning (for example, the character for "eight" has an octopus drawn over it).
More complex characters that are composed of other characters - the majority - are not represented by pictures, but instead by mnemonic stories, contrived using the elements that make up the character as actors (for example, an OCTOPUS ("eight") cutting a pizza with a KNIFE is the story for "division", which is composed of the elements for "eight" and "knife"). Pictures do indeed accompany these characters, but only to help you visualize the *story* (maybe it would show the octopus with a pizza cutter and a chef's hat). Most characters also include a secondary, related story to help you remember the pronunciation. In the end, you will know the pronunciation (including tone), the writing, and the meaning of every character in HSK A.
I realize this might be confusing for someone that doesn't understand the Chinese writing system. If that is you, let me just say this: "it's easy!" Every character in HSK A is included, and even some other characters are included in a limited fashion in order to explain compounds including them. Most characters have:
* A listing of the equation of elements (ie "eight+knife=division"), complete with cross-references to elements used and the page number on which they are more fully described.
* A list of some words using this character.
* A story to cement the meaning and pronunciation of the character in your mind.
* A stroke-by-stroke guide.
* Comments on the usage of the character.
* The corresponding Traditional Chinese character (if the given character is Simplified) - the book is optimized for Simplified, but the Traditional character is always there if you'd like to learn them too. If you don't know what Simplified/Traditional is, you probably want to choose to study the Simplified characters (they are more common)... check out Wikipedia.
* The radical of the character, which is commonly used for dictionary lookup.
In my opinion, this method is best paired with using the Leitner system of flashcards (a quick Googling will find what I mean), so you can be sure you do really remember the characters.
Simply, this is bar-none the best way to learn Chinese characters as a foreign adult - as long as you *concentrate on the story!* Don't just read without thinking. Everything you need to know about every character in the book is right there on the page, but you must concentrate. Etymology, the history of each character, might be a good tool to remember characters once you learn a lot of them, but this is by far the easiest, most painless way to learn the characters and *remember* them. One thing, however; it won't teach you grammar. You need to find another course to learn how to assemble characters into meaningful patterns. This book just teaches you how to write and remember those individual characters.
On another note, I was in contact with the publisher and saw that they are not planning to publish a Volume 2 of this great book. This is sad news. This is a great format, and if you like it, I'd recommend emailing the publisher to let them know we want to see more like this!
More Tuttle Learning Chinese Characters, Vol. 1: A Revolutionary New Way to Learn and Remember the 800 Most Basic Chinese Characters reviews:
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Summary of Tuttle Learning Chinese Characters, Vol. 1: A Revolutionary New Way to Learn and Remember the 800 Most Basic Chinese Characters
Aimed at helping students of Chinese learn and remember Chinese characters, including the pronunciation of characters, fast and effectively, Learning Chinese Characters Volume 1 is a systematic study aid to this difficult language.
Designed specifically to ease students into the daunting process of learning Chinese characters, Learning Chinese Characters Volume 1 incorporates the key principle of visual imagery. A book for serious learners of Chinese, it can be used alongside (or after, or even before) a course in the Chinese language. Concise, clear and appealing, this practical guide is well designed and includes an easy-to-use index.
Designed specifically to ease students into the daunting process of learning Chinese characters, Learning Chinese Characters Volume 1 incorporates the key principle of visual imagery. A book for serious learners of Chinese, it can be used alongside (or after, or even before) a course in the Chinese language. Concise, clear and appealing, this practical guide is well designed and includes an easy-to-use index.
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