Chinese Characters with Associations

Some Chinese characters are very simple and are made of just a few strokes, while others are made of other simpler characters, which are called radicals. Radicals are simple characters that combine to create compound Chinese characters. They have various meanings and can usually help you to understand the meaning and the pronunciation of compound characters. There are around 200 radicals in the Chinese language; therefore some people compare those radicals with letters or the roots of words.

This book focuses on the above-mentioned idea. Here, all the characters are broken into radicals to help you perceive Chinese characters as logical compounds, each representing a part of Chinese history, culture, and philosophy. The book will also show you how each character is used in sentences and phrases. Some characters come along with short grammatical explanations and cultural facts. Most of the character associations in this book have no etymological value, that is, they do not show how the character originated. The associations are made by the author for the sole purpose of remembering how to write the characters.

This book is for you if:

• You decided to learn Modern Standard Chinese, called “Mandarin” or Putnghuà.


• You want to start learning Chinese simplified characters.


• You want to pass HSK Level 2, or you want to start learning in a fun way.


• Having the HSK Level 2 vocabulary list, without any explanations, visualizations and grammar points is not enough for you.


• You have Visual Memory, so it is easier for you to remember something with visualizations, associations, and games.


• You love to have fun while learning!

Write Chinese Characters with Associations” is enough if you want to pass the HSK Level 2 exam, but it is advisable that you also use the “New Practical Chinese Reader”-s, which you can find online or in your local Confucius Institute office. Also, each dialogue of that book is recorded by native speakers, and you can find those videos on YouTube. Why? Because simply memorizing Chinese characters is not enough. If you do not read Chinese texts or do not use them frequently, you may easily forget what you have learned.