by Amanda N.

Created on: February 14, 2011   Last Updated: February 15, 2011

Chinese characters, best known as hanzi, have a different writing system completely different from English and any other European languages. That explains why many learners find it difficult to learn how to write them. This article will offer some useful tips on writing Chinese characters.

Meaning of Chinese Characters

For many, Chinese characters may look like pictures. In fact, Chinese characters are originally pictures of physical objects. However, the characters have evolved over the past thousands of years, so that the modern Chinese characters little resemble their ancient origins.

Learners, however, can create mental images that represent the Chinese characters to bridge the gap between the actual characters and its meanings. It would be more effective when learners use mental pictures, instead of lines and strokes, to memorize Chinese characters.

Composition of Chinese Characters

Many Chinese characters are composed of more than one component. When different components are grouped, they form a Chinese character. Learners could learn to break a Chinese character into more manageable chunks when writing Chinese characters.

The Writing of Chinese Characters

Each Chinese character occupies the same space regardless of its complexity. And unlike English words, Chinese characters have no space between each other. Even though some characters are put together to form a meaning, they are not grouped together in any way.

Take a Chinese Class

Taking a Chinese class can help learners learn how to write Chinese characters more easily. With the help of teachers, learners can get to know how to write the strokes of Chinese characters in the right order. Better yet, take a Chinese calligraphy class.

Practice at Home

Practice is important to learn any language. To learn how to write Chinese characters correctly, start with the simplest Chinese characters that represent physical objects, such as fire, middle, and moon. Practice a character a few times before moving on to the next one. This can strengthen learners’ memory of individual characters.

Learn Everywhere

Increasing exposure to Chinese characters can also help learners learn more quickly. Visiting Chinese restaurants, reading Chinese story books, and carrying a vocabulary booklet are some methods that learners can try. Even though they may not know or recognize all the Chinese characters, they may notice the recurring components and patterns of the Chinese characters. And it’s helpful for learning the complicated-looking Chinese characters.

Learning how to write Chinese characters may be challenging, but with these tips and some hard work, it won’t be long before you can write fluently in Chinese.  

Reference:
http://hrd.apec.org/index.php/Teaching_Tip:_TCSL-_Ho w_to_Write_Down_Chinese_Characters

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