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THE NEW WAY TO READ CHINESE
by S H AOLA N aj!i\_ with illustrations by NOMA BAR
...,
••
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HARPER DESIGN An Imprint ol Harper CollinsPublisheni
r
r~
For Mulan
caJI)
and MuAn (·~)
On the cover: The character for 'fire', *-.. (Illustration by Noma Bar; art direction by Crispin Jameson; © Chineasy Ltd)
CHINEASY: THE NEW WAY TO READ CHINESE Copyright © 2014 Chineasy Ltd.
The story on pages 159-179 is based on Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf (1936)
Chineasy"" is a trademark of Chineasy Ltd, London
Published by arrangement with Thames & Hudson Ltd. London.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address Harper Design, 10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022.
HarperCollins books may be purchased for educational, business. or sales promotional use. For information please e-mail the Special Markets Department at SPsales@harpercollins.com.
First published in North America in 2014 by Harper Design An Imprint ofHarperColtinsPublishers 10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022 Tel: (212) 207-7000, Fax: (212) 207-7654 harperdesign@harpercollins.com www.harpercollins.com
Distributed in North America by HarperCollinsPublishers 10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022 Fax: (212) 207-7654
Library of Congress Control Number: 2013951753
ISBN 9780062358028 CKF8)
Author and Concept: ShaoLan Hsueh Bi*Ji!. Graphic Design: Brave New World Publishing Ltd Art Director: Crispin Jameson Principal Illustrator: Noma Bar
Digital conversion by booqlab
CONTENTS
1: INTRODUCTION The Calligrapher's Daughter How to Use the Book
2: THE BASICS Building Blocks, Compounds, Phrases Advanced Sentences
STORY Peter and the Wolf
3: REFERENCE Building Block Plates Index of Characters and Phrases Acknowledgments
•
•
8
The Calligrapher's Daughter I was born in Taipei, Taiwan, the daughter of a
Call me optimistic, but I see the melding of these
calligrapher and a ceramic artist, so I grew up
two cultures, East and West, as being instr:ument.al
immersed in art and with a deep appreciation of
in creating a more culturally literate world . I also
the beauty of the Chinese language. Speaking and writing Chinese is an integral part of who I am and
think that the East and West must understand each other in order for global economic growth to
how I see the world. But it was only when I had
be sustainable. There is, however, a giant roadblock
children of my own that I properly understood
preventing the East and West from communicating
what a difficult language Chinese is to learn.
effectively and connecting on a deep, cultural level: the Great Wall of Chinese.
Being of Taiwanese descent while raising my children in the UK has made me acutely aware of
The Chinese language has long been considered
the differences, but also the similarities, between
the most difficult major language to learn, largely
Eastern and Western cultures. The ultimate goal
on account of the vast number and complexity
of Chineasy is to help bridge the cultural gap by
of the characters. When I began to teach my
demystifying the Chinese language, which acts as
British-born children Chinese, I realized just how
a barrier to so many people- my children included!
challenging its characters are for a native English speaker. It was like torture for my children! So
Chineasy is hugely personal to me. I have done
I spent many years looking for a fun and easy
many different things in my life. I consider myself
way to teach them how to read Chinese.
to be part geek, part entrepreneur, part dreamer, and this project is a culmination of all these
After years of searching, I didn't think that any
elements. My experience in technology ventures
of the methods out there were engaging enough.
and my background as an entrepreneur with an
So I did what any entrepreneur would do: I created
artistic upbringing have given me the building
my own method to learn how to read Chinese
blocks to make Chineasy possible, but it is my
characters - Chineasy. And you know what? It works.
childhood and my children that have inspired me to make Chineasy a reality. I am proud to share
Chineasy's goal is to allow people to learn to read
Chineasy with all who want to learn and appreciate
Chinese easily by recognizing characters through
the beauty of the Chinese language.
simple illustrations. The magical power of the Chineasy method is that, by learning one small set of building blocks (see p. 10), students can build
Why Chineasy?
many new characters and phrases. Master a few
China is home to ancient traditions, breathtaking
sets of building blocks, and your learning can be
artwork and what is currently one of the world's
accelerated to a whole new level.
strongest economies. It comes as no surprise to me that recent years have seen a cultural trend
With very little effort, students can quickly learn
of Eastern migration by both young people and
to read several hundred Chinese characters and
business-minded individuals. Everyone is starting
phrases, and gain a deeper understanding of the
to pay more attention to China, Taiwan, Japan,
historical and cultural references of the vocabulary.
South Korea and other Asian countries as they
Even though there are tens of thousands of
become increasingly popular tourist destinations
Chinese characters, only a few hundred are actually
and increasingly important as cultural , financial
necessary to comprehend basic Chinese literature,
and industrial hubs .
and to begin to delve into Chinese culture and art.
......... ....... ...... ... ·-····· ..................................,.
~··························-·············
.........' ............................................................................ ' .....................................-......................... ···-··· ................................. THE CALLIGRAPHER'S DAUGHTER
9
How to Use the Book .. .. ·...
:•····························-~····························· :• : • •
A quick overview
. :
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Each character in this book is introduced in its Chinese form, followed by its English translation and then its pinyin (the approximate sound of the character; see p. 13). Each building block and
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through a series of between roughly 180 and 215 radicals. These radicals are then used to form
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and simplified forms (see opposite) and its pinyin.
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fire (building block)
unillu.strated phrases (e.g. see 'heart' on p. 87)
Chineasy, and provides you with its traditional
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are learning the language. Also included are
that lists every character and phrase taught in
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that will help to expand your vocabulary.
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compound character (these terms are explained
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blazing (phrase)
the characters of the Chinese language. Chineasy has broken down this c:;o llection of characters into their most basic and recurring forms, allowing students to learn fewer and simpler radicals that we have ter:med 'building blocks'. One building block (e.g. the character
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for 'fire',
see p. 28), or a specific compound form of the building block (e.g."" 'fire', see p. 28), cah be combined with one or more other characters to make a compound character (e.g. ~'burning hot', see p. 29). Two or more independent characters can be placed next to one another to make phrases (e.g. ~~'blazing', seep. 30). In compounds, a whole new character is created; in phrases, the placement of characters next to one another gives a new meaning to the collection of characters. This principle of building blocks is what makes Chineasy so easy!
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10
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HOW TO USE THE BOOK
oo •'- ooo o -o o o o.o oo o o o o ooo o-oo oo o o oo o o -oo o.o• oo oo oo ooo ••• ooooo o ...... ooo • o oo oo.o o o oo-o o •• o o oo oo-o oo o oo o o o o-o• o t oo 0'! o o o oo o o •• o ••• 0'!0 o-o o o "" o o oo oo ooooo o o o o t o • o •• o
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Chineasy teaches mainly traditional Chinese, which is the written language of Taiwan and Hong Kong. Simplified Chinese was adopted in mainland China in 1949, after the end of the Chinese Civil War and the establishment of the People's Republic of China. Both traditional and simplified forms still share a great humber of characters. Chineasy
. . .• .•• • •········· .•••• ..• ..•• ..•••• ..• ..•••.
simplified form is used instead of the traditional
traditional and simplified forms of the character are the same.
The evolution of Chinese As in the case of all languages, Chinese has continuously evolved throughout the course of its existence. Political change, geographic expansion and philosophy have all influenced the stylistic
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specifies in the character captions when the form (e.g. 'to follow' ahd 'crowd' on p. 17). Where
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form of Chinese characters. Throughout the book, you will see references to oracle-bone If!~ Jt
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(c. 1400 scE), bronze script ~Jt (c. 1000 scE), seal script
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two or more building blocks were used to form new characters; in this case, one of those building blocks was chosen as the basis for the new character's 4
pronunciation. For example, account/bill ~ (zhang ) on p. 85 comprises the building block for 'shell' (associated with wealth - see p. 130), indicating the meaning of the compound character, and the character for 'length' (chang2 ) , which influences the pronunciation. (See also 'at' on p. 115.)
OO OOO OOOO OOO OO OOO O
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OOO OOOOOO .. OOOOO OOOO·OO O OOOOOO O•OO•ooo OOOOOO OOOO•O OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO•OOO .. OOOOO ~ OOOOOO OOOO•o•o I OOOOOOOO O •OO O"OOO • • • OO 000 OO . . . . . 0000 00.0-4 0 00 OfOOOOOO.O.o-OO . .. . . . . . . . . 1 0 • • • 00 OO -OOO O
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HOW TO USE THE BOOK
11
W riting 101
,............................... ····-·......................... .... : :•. : .. ::: : .. . .. . .... ..· . :: ··..·•. .,.· : .· : .. . .. : .· . •.. -· . ~
Every child who studies Chinese has to go through this exercise when they learn how to write. Each character has to be drawn neatly inside a square. You can see that a single tree fits into a square the same size as the squares used for 'two trees' and 'three trees'. You should see a slight alteration of the shape
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the trees are shorter in order to fit into the square.
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from the original 'tree': in order to fit two trees side by side in the square, you must make thinner trees. When three trees are stacked together, all
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an alternate form that appears only when used
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under the main caption for the building block.
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two trees
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"fi:. ~ on p. 26 and 'fire' j( on p. 28. Such compound forms are indicated by a note
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alternate character form can be seen in 'dog'
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On the right, you can see an example of this in the 'person' A = 1 compound form in the
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as part of a compound. These characters are traditionally known as 'pianpang' 1i5!?
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only the pronunciation of these characters that wi ll differ from one dialect to another- often completely. The 'pinyin' pronunciation guide used in this book corresponds to Mandarin only, which is the most widely used Chinese dialect and counts over 960 million native speakers (out of a total of over 1.2 billion Chinese speakers) - see 'Speaking 101' opposite for more information about pronunciation .
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . · -· · • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • • • • ._• • • • • • 0 0 . · - · 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-00 • • • • • • · · ·-· • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 . 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • •
12
HOW TO USE THE BOOK
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Spacing 101
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building block or a compound, fits within one square. When you see two people squeezed together in a single square, you know it's a character - for example, the simplified character 'to follow'
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characters. Chinese characters rarely appear alone; it is often only in the context of a phrase that the
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construct many new 'words' by combining existing
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phrases is a giant but easy step towards improving
The beauty of the Chineasy method is that you can
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meaning of a character becomes clear. Learning
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squares, then you know it's a phrase - for example,
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to fo llow
A phrase, on the other hand, is spaced across or more characters spread across two or more
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two or more squares. That means, if you see two
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How can you tell if you are reading a character (*)or a phrase (~fi))? A character, whether it's a
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'everyone'
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.1' ..• 1
..•• .••. ..•. ..•
••• l • •• ••••••••••••••••••••••••• • •• •• ••• • •• •• •• ••
. . . . .. .l.
-····················· ·····-···············.... ············.• person
•
•
·······································~························································································
your Chinese study.
everyone
Speaking 101 To teach Mandarin Chinese to non-native speakers, most teachers use pinyin, the only standard phonetic system for transcribing the sound of Chinese characters in the romanized alphabet. Chinese is a tonal language, so the pinyin system uses a series of either numerals or glyphs to represent tone. For instance, the pinyin for 'person' 2
can be written as either ren or ren. Chineasy uses the numerical pinyin system. After every English translation, you will see a word in brackets followed by a number; this acts as a guide to the pronunciation of the character. See, for example, p. 16
A
person (ren
2
).
Tone 1 = high level tone Tone 2 = high rising tone Tone 3 =falling rising tone Tone 4 = falling tone No number = neutral tone •••• •
• • • • • • 0 • • • • • • • • • • 0 • . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . .
~··· . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .-. . . ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . ~-··· . . .. . . . . . . . . ... . . . . ... . . . . . . ~ . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~- . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 . . . . . . . . . ~· • • 0 •
•• 0 .
. .....
~·
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . ... . . . . . . . . ... , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
HOW TO USE TH E BOOK
13
THE BASICS Building Blocks, Compounds, Phrases Advanced Sentences
A
person (ren 2)
Hello. people! Our first building block is 'person'. This building block traditionally depleted a human in profile. Today it looks like the profile of a man walking . .. .
1
............ --··
-
.............
.. .,
,
.,
....
person ( ren 2 )
This character is the form of 'person' that is used as a component in certain compounds (see explanation on p. 12). It is known as ¥A.~. which translates as 'single person side-radical'. See 'group' on p. 29 for an example of th1s character.
....... . ...............................................................-..-.............._........ -.....•..............................................•............................................................................................................ 16
PERSON BU;LD I NG B L OCK
to follow
man
big
M to follow
(cong 2 )
f:A crowd
(zhong 4 )
This character comprises
'Two's company, three's
This character depicts a
'Man' is the compound
two building blocks for 'p erson'. One man leads, the other follows close behind .
a crowd.' Three building blocks for 'person' make a crowd. This is the simplified
man stretching his arms wide. Imagine that he is saying, 'It WC!S this big.'
for 'big' with an extra
This is the simplified form; the traditional form of this
form; the traditional form of this character is ~.
character is ~ .
....... ... .. ... . ...... ...
·-···~·······
............. _........................................................................... '····to········ ................................... '!'" ...................... ' .....
line across the top of the character, like wide shoulders. This line represents the pins in a man 's topknot hairstyle.
04 · · -· · · . . . . . . . . ~· · . . . . . . . . . . ._. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._. . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . ..
PERSO N COMPOUNDS
17
*.A.
adult (da4 ren 2 ) Height doesn't always indicate maturity, but. in simple terms, an adult is just a big person. big + person = adult
l\.f:A
public (da 4 zhong 4 ) The public is made up of a large group of people.
'.•.••..•....•......... .....•••.. ..••••..••..••••••••.•••.•••••..•••.......•....................•....•..........•...••............. ••
big
person
•• •
crowd
l
person
.• .•
'
adult
big + crowd = public
f:AA.
people (zhong 4 ren 2 ) A crowd is made up of many different people. This phrase also means 'everybody'. crowd + person = people
~A madam 1
(fu ren
2
)
l
big
~--·········•*••••········· · ···•··•·••·•••···•••••···•••·••·•••••·· · ···················~··········· ..••...•••.....••.....••.•.:
public
In ancient Ch ina. a woman became her husband's property after marriage; she became her husband's person. man + person =madam
..• crowd ....................... ···.
• ••••••
...... ···········--···----·--···--.......................................... -
people
man person .:•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• .:•
madam
...........................•..•.•..... ···· ········································~···································································································· ..·······~······································································
18
PERSON PHRASES
*. too much (tai
4
)
This compound comprises 'big' and a stroke under the character, suggesting something even bigger. It also means 'extremely' or 'excessively'. 4
*.*. Mrs (t ai tai
4
)
This is a strange phrase. To have double too much means 'Mrs' or 'wife'. Do you t hink th is phrase
t oo much
is accurate? too much +too much = Mrs
*.*.. too big (tai 4 d a 4 ) A straightforward phrase: if something is too big, there is too much of it. too much + big = too big
.
too much
too much
• • 0
•• •
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ._. . . . . . . . . . . .._• • • • • • • • • ._. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . ..
. . . ..
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . <00000 •
..........
.
.••
*..~ doctor
0
•
. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
Mrs
(d ai4 fu) This phrase has two meanings. When pronounced 'da~ + fu', with a neutral and soft tone, it means 'doctor'. 4
When pronounced 'da + fu1', it means 'senior official' . Both are rather archaic . big + man = doctor
• 0
:• • t • ' . . . . . . . .
big
too much 0 • • . . . • • • . . . • • • .... • . . . . • • • • . . . . . . . • ........ . . . . . . . . . . . • • • . . . •
• • • • • • • • •
• •••
•• • ••• ••• ••
...
,.
'
. ......................
0
• •• ~ 0
too big
:• •
big
man
! 0
..•••..•....•.....•...•............•...........•...•.....••......••.....••.•.•••..•••••••••••••.••.••••••.••••..•.•..........•.•
~
doctor
....................................................................... ......... .................................................................................................................. ....... ................................................. ...................... ._
._
~
PERSON PHRASES
19
AA
everyone (ren 2 ren 2 ) person + person = everyone
~A heaven (tian ren 2) sky + person = [literally] sky person = heaven or 1
person
I.•..•.•.............. ................
······•·
person
i
...................................................................................I
everyone
a person with universal 1nsight
~* extremely big (tian 1 da 4 ) What could be a bigger space than the heavens? sky + big = [literally] big as the sky = extremely b1g
~~every day (tian 1 tian 1) As we have already seen :•
sky
person
:•
\,, ............................................................................................................................:
heaven
!
sky
big
i
sky/day
I•
'······-·············. .··············............. -+••·······-··········..···"···-- -··-···-··-··--··-·' extremely big
l•
sky/day
·••·•··•••··•·•··•·•·••·•·· ····· ...... ·· ······· .................................................................................
every day
opposite, the character for 'sky' also means 'day'. day + day = every day
Depending on the size of the building block, this character means either 'mouth' (if it is small) or 'to surround' (if it is large). •• · •••••• •· Oo ·• •t ·
••~o·
.. •••••·• •l · >fttu - uoo•· •••••· ••••" •••• · •••
Q to surround (wei 2) Can you tell the difference between these two characters? It is nearly impossible, but the d ifference is usually made evident by the meaning of the compound . It's useful to remember that 'to surround' never appears alone, so if you see a standalone Q, it is the character for 'mouth' .
......... ..... ......... ····· . ........ . ·············......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... -
22
MOUTH BU ILDING BLOCK
shout
shout
quality
to cause
to return
(xu an 1)
~ quality (pin
3
IBl
)
to return (hu?)
A mouth emits sound.
Imagine that each mouth
This character is a
This character is a
Two mouths emit even more sound! This is a rare character, so use it to show
is an opinion. The quality of something is judged by what people say about it.
combination of 'mouth' and 'big'. It also means 'because of' and 'reason'.
combination of a small 'mouth' and 'to surround'. Imagine that it depicts
off to your Chinese friends!
This character also means 'item', 'product' or 'grade'.
I like to remember it by thinking that a big mouth causes problems (although,
a swirling whirlpool, continuously turning back on itself.
in this case, r::l means 'to surround') .
......... ....... ...... ... ·-····· ..................................,.
~··························-·············
.........' ............................................................................ ' .....................................-......................... ···-··· ................................. MOUTH COMPOUNDS
23
AD
population ( ren 2 kou 3 ) When w e start counting how many mouths we need to feed, we are talking about population. person + mouth = population
A~ morality (ren
2
••
: mouth ..........................person I• •· · ...... ............. ... ' ·••·· ................................................................
p in 3 )
I
...
Remember, it is always
populat ion
wise to judge the quality of a person on the basis of their mora lity. person + quality
= morality
§l A Hui people ( hui 2 ren 2 ) 'Hu i' is used to refer to Chinese speakers of Muslim ancestry. They are one of the fifty-six recognized ethnic groups
! person ·..................... ... ... ........... · ··· ·· ··· ·
in China. to return + person = [literally] returned people = Hui people
........... .•• ..
quality
i
person
:•
··········- ··············· .. . .................:
m orality
A.fl
m ermaid (ren 2 yu 2 ) In ancient China, this phrase referred to the giant sa lamander. Today it means 'mermaid'. person + fish = [l iterally] fish person = mermaid
i•
to return
••••••••••••••••
..
..
-
Hui peop le
l
person
•........................
-
·····-·
fish
m ermaid
•
···-········-··/
i•
··-·······-···-··
................ ... .... ... ...... ....................................... ..........._........................................................................................................................................................................... -
24
PERSON PI IRASES
~fish (yu 2) Traditionally a fish shape in oracle-bone and seal inscriptions, this character originally referred to 'an aquatic vertebrate', but has since been extended to mean ' fish'. Its simplified form is
i!.
· · ····· ················ ····· ········ ······· ····· ·· ··· ··· ······ ··· ······· ··········· ···· ··· ········ · ······ ··· · · ···· ·········· ······· ····· ·· ·· · ···· · ·········· ··········· ·····~· ··· ··· ··4 ······· ········· ·········· ·· ···· ······ ···················· · ············· ....... .
FISH BUILDING BLOCK
25
lC dog (quan 3 ) The regular form of this
*
character is 'big' with an additional dot on the upper right side. The earliest form in oracle-bone inscriptions was a drawing of a dog, with the extra stroke representing its tail. ...... . · ·· ·· ···~····
...•....•................................
~ dog (quan 3 ) This character is the form of 'dog' that is used as a component in certain compounds. See 'to stroll' on p. 113 for an example .
....... ..............................................
26
~.-~..._..
DOG BU IL D ING BLOCK
.................... ......................................................................................................................................................... ..................... ~
to bark
to cry
utensil
This character is a combination of 'mouth' and 'dog'. When a dog opens its mouth to emit a sound, it is barking.
~to cry ( ku )
big .:•··························-······-···-···-····················· ..... ...... to bark loudly ,
to bark -· •· -· ••·- ·
'
:• . .. .,, ......................
This character is a combination of 'dog' and two 'mouth' building blocks. As the crying sound of a human sounds similar to the whine of a dog, this character means 'to cry'.
a utensil (qi
4
)
This character is a combination of 'dog' and four 'mouth' building blocks. It can also mean 'instrument'.
i big to cry l ....................... ..........··················· ...................... ·········'.... .. .... ···················· ''
'
.
..,,
to cry out
:ko}t to
bark loudly
(da 4 fei 4 ) big + to bark = [literally] big bark = to bark loudly
:k~ to cry out (da 4 ku 1) This phrase can also mean 'to burst into tears'. big + to cry = [literally] big cry = to cry out
.•• big utensil ....................... .... ... · ·• -· .. ··············-···· ····achievement/generosity '
.. . -- ...........•...... • •
-
*a achievement/
generosity (da4 q i4 )
This phrase can also mean 'great talent'. big + utensil = [literally] big utensi I
= achievement ············· · ·· · ······ · ·········· · ······ · ··· · · · ··· ·· ··· ·· ······ · ····· ·· ································· · ·············· · ···· ···· ··········· · ···· · · · ·· · ·· · · · · · ········ ··· ···~· · ·· ·· ······· · ····· · ···· · ······················· · ········· · ·····················
DOG COMPOUNDS AND PHRASES
..•.. .. ..•. ..
27
J<
fire (huo 3 )
The building block for 'fire' represents a central flame with a smaller spark on either side. It reminds me of a campfire. I like to remember this character by thinking about a person waving their arms, saying, 'Help! I'm on fire!' ·······················•·············••·····•············•·•·
·"" fire ( hu o
3
)
This character is the form of 'fire' that is used as a component in certain compounds. When you see a compound with this character, it is normally related to fire or something hot. See 'lamb' on p. 41 for an example of this character.
...................
28
...... .... ...................................................................................................................................................................... ................................................................... .
FIRE BUILDING BLOCK
~
burning hot
flames
* burning hot (yan 2) "!K
#f.:k flames (yan 4 )
This compound comprises
The building block for
In ancient China, fires
two 'fire' building blocks
'fire' represents one flame. Multiply that by three and you have a roaring fire.
were used mainly for cooking and for warmth. When people gathered
This character is a combination of 'mouth' and 'fire'. It means 'to eat' or ' mouthful'. Chinese
around the fire, they were considered to be part of the group.
food, especially food from Sichuan Province, can be very spicy, like a fire in
stacked on top of each other. They are burning twice as hot as before. This character also means 'inflammation'.
your mouth as you eat.
......................... ·-····· ..................................,.
~··························-·············
.........' ............................................................................ ' .....................................-......................... ···-··· ................................. FIRE COMPOUNDS
29
*:R."!R.. IJ.L
blazing (yan 2 yan 2 ) A blazing fire burns with incredible heat. You see this character used to describe weather, e.g. 'blazing summer' ~~
;t: S.
I
burning hot +
burning hot = blazing
~~ flames of fire ( yan 4 yan 4 ) This phrase might seem redundant, but there are different types of flame, such as flames of passion.
!
·....
~-····
burning hot
burning hot
1
flames
::
.......................................·············.....................................................................: blazing
flames + flames = flames of fire
*.{X folks (da 4 huo3 ) In ancient China, to light the fire meant that it was time to cook. People who would gather around the fire to eat together were 'partners', 'mates' or 'companions'. big + group = folks
::
flames
• • • • 0 • • • • 0 . 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ···• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • • • • • 0 . .. . . . . . . . . . • • • • ·• . . . . . .... 0 • • • ._ . ......... 0 • • • • 0 • • • • 0 . . . . . . . . . . 0 • • • • 0 • • • • 0 •• ••
flames of fire
... :•
big •·······················•· •...•....
group ,
.•••
......••.•................ ................ ...................••..••••.•••••••••••••••.••••••..•
folks
, · • • • • • • • • • • • • • • · , 0000000000000 . ,
30
000000000000 ooo•oo •••••oooooooooooo•••••~•••••••4ooooooo••••oooo4ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooootoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo••••••o••••••~4ooooooooo•••••••••••••••••••••••~•••••••••••••••••••••oooooooooooooooooo
FIRE PHRASES
A lesson in burning anger!
**angry (huo3 da4)
Fire (X) is one of the five elements in traditional Chinese medicine. Each person is born with a unique composition of all
When a person burns with rage, we can assume that
five elements; it is this unique blend of elements that forms the basis of your personality and constitution. The 'qi' (vital force)
they are angry. This is quite an informal term. fire + big =angry
of the five elements waxes and wanes in daily and seasonal cycles. The theory behind Chinese medicine is that a person becomes sick owing to an imbalance of these elements. Practitioners of traditional medicine believe that when there is an imbalance of the fire element, it results in a person suffering from anxiety, restlessness and insomnia. So the
* * big fire (da4 huo3) A very simple phrase. big + fire = big fire
element of fire is associated with a person's temper. Theoretically, when a person's fire accumulates, so does the person's temper. They become angry!
.l
•••••••••••• 0 •• • •
fire
big
::
• • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 • • • • 0 . . . . . . . . . 04- 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . · - · . . . . . . . 0 • • 0 • • . . . . . . 0 . . . . . . . . . . 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
angry
:•
big
fire
:
••••••••••••••••••••••••• •• ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
big fire
...................................................................... ... ..... .......................................................................................................................................................................................... .._
._
._
FIRE PHRASES
31
The building block for 'tree' represents a tree trunk with hanging branches. When this character is used as an adjective, it refers to a wooden texture. When it is used to describe a person. it means 'clumsy', 'dumb' or 'numb' .
.. . . .. . . . .. . . .... ... ................................................................._............................................................................................................................................................................ .
32
-
, ,,
-
TREE BUILDING BLOCK
woods
forest
foundation
to come
Two trees together mC~ke a wood, which is greater than a single tree. This character is also a common surname, pronounced 'Lin'. It's C!Ctually my mother's
~ forest (sen 1)
~ foundation (ben 3 )
Three trees make a forest,
The foundation of a house is the first step in its construction, and traditionally foundations
which is greater than a tree or a wood. When used as an adjective, this character means 'dense', just like a thick cluster of trees.
surname.
were made of wood. This chC~racter also means 'origin'.
This character is a combination of 'tree' and two 'person' building blocks. In ancient China, 'to come' was represented by a character based on wheat, which had been brought to China from Europe. The simplified form is*·
......................... ·-····· ..................................,.
~··························-·············
......... ' ............................................................................ ' .....................................-......................... ···-··· ................................. TREE COMPOUNDS
33
'**
originally (ben3 lai2) origin + to come = originally
.21-' A one's self
(ben3 ren2)
Remember: a person's origin often influences their sense of self. origin + person = [literally] person's origin = one's self
*A
messenger (lai2 ren2)
!
foundation/origin
to come
l
~--·~······················~·········~·······~................................................................................ .
originally Before the age of electricity, all messages had to be sent by person. This is quite an oldfashioned or poetical phrase. to come + person = messenger
•• •• •
person
foundation/origin
••• • ••
.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 . 0 0 . 0 • • • • • • • 0 • • . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • • • 0 . 0 • • 0 . 0 • • • • 0 • • • • 0 • • _, • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • 0 • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • • • •
one's self
:• .. , 0000000000000000 ..
to come
person
l•
,,. 00000ooooooooo.-.oo-..~ooo.-,.ooo.-.oo•Y""Otoo.-•t•••·••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••ooooooooooooooooooooooooo•••••"
messenger
...............................• ··················································4···············~··························································································~~································~·······································
34
TREE PHRASES
apricot
idiot
not yet
end
~ apricot (xing 4 ) This character is a combination of 'tree' and 'mouth'. I would wait under a tree with my mouth
This character is another
In ancient inscriptions,
It looks as if the topmost
combination of <tree' and 'mouth'. Noth ing is more idiotic that the thought
t his character depicted a realistic tree, with leaves and foliage indicating an
branches of this tree have plateaued, Indicating that it has ended its growth. Make
open to catch an apricot.
of a talking tree! The
ever-growing, living tree.
The character also means 'almond'.
character also means 'du ll'.
The character also means 'future'.
• •• 0. ~ · ••••
36
u
·~ 0 • • • 0'! • • • • • • • • • • ._• • ~··- . . . . . . . . . ~ • • • • · -· . . . . . . . . . . ~·· • • • • • • • • • • • •
TREE COMPOUN D S
u
• • 0'4
• • • · -· . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 • • • • · -· · . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . · -· · • • • •
sure that the upper line is longer than the lower one!
''! . . . . . .. . . . . . . . ' " ' · -· . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0
. . . .._• • • • • , . . . . . . . .
* * future (w ei4 lai2) not yet + to come = future
@] * to come back (hui2 lai2) to return + to come = [literally] to return from •
•
1................................................................................................... not yet to come i ...... ,................ t••·······
future
where you have come = to come back
*@] round trip (lai2 hui2) to come +to return = [literally] to return to where you have come = round trip
~-*' medical
industry ( xing4 lin2)
:.•
to return to come : ........................... ................ ........................................................ ..............····················. •
._
.._
to come back
.. '
to come
0 ••••••• 0 0 •••• 0 ........... 0
Today it is easy t o forget that all m edicine was once derived from nature, and made from products from the forest. such as fruits, herbs and leaves. apricot +woods = source of medicine = medical industry
..• ................ ..-...................•
to return
"* • .-•••.• .-......... .-.-.-.-.......................................' ·••• •
..
0 0 •
...
'
round trip
apricot woods .l•••••••••••••••••••••••••••• .i ••••••••• ••••••••• •••••••••••••••••••••••••••• •••••••••• ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
medical industry
........................................................... ................ ......................................................................,.............................................................................. ..................... ............... -·········· ._
._
TREEPHRASES
37
This character is a combination of 'person' and 'tree'. I like to remember it by imagining a person resting against a tree.
This character is a combination of 'person' and 'foundation'. A person's foundation is their body. This is th e simplified form; the traditional form is
rest
body
person
body
ft.
A -1:* human body
(ren2 t i3)
person + body = human body
*-1* in general
(da4 ti3)
This phrase can be used to mean ' in general', 'more or less' or 'basically'. big + body = in general
.••• •
.....0 .............................0
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • • • • 0 . 0 . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 · -· • • • • • • 0 " . . . . . . . . . . . . -4 • .._• . • • • .._• • • • • 0 • • - - · · 0 • • • • • • • • • 0 0 . . . . . . . . .
.
•• ••
human body
1 •
big body ·············•········· ....... ···-··· ........................................................................................ .1•
in general
·················· ·······································································································································································~······--··························~············································
38
TREE COMPOUNDS AND PHRASES
II\\ beautiful
fresh
/1\\ bleating of sheep
lamb
~ beautifu l (mei 3)
~ b leating of sheep (miel)
This character is a
This character is a
combination of 'sheep' and 'big'. In ancient China, sheep were considered
combination of 'fish' on the left and 'sheep' on the right. Original ly it referred
This character is E1 combination of 'sheep' and 'fire'. It represents a lamb over a f ire, which in certain
auspicious. This compound
to a f ish breed, but today
parts of China would
is also an abbreviation for the USA (see p. 79) .
has been extended to mean 'f resh'.
have been how lamb was prepared.
......... ....... ...... ... ·-····· ..................................,.
~··························-·············
This character is a combination of 'mouth' and 'sheep', and refers to the sound emitted from a sheep's mouth - 'baa'.
.........' ............................................................................ ' .....................................-......................... ···-··· ................................. SHEEP COMPOU NDS
41
to get out
to cry out in anger
immortal
two mountains
~ to get ou t (chu 1) In the past, the Emperor sent people in exile beyond the mountains. As a result, this character used to mean 'exit'. Today it means 'to get out'.
......... ....... ...... ... ·-····· ..................................,.
nm to cry out in anger
(duol)
This character is a combination of 'mouth' and 'mountain', and can also mean 'noise of rage'.
~··························-·············
iili
immort al ( xian 1)
This character is E1 combination of 'person' and 'mountain'. Remember
two mountains (shenl) 111111
This compound can either
that a man who lives as long as a mountain w ill appear immortal to
be a surname or r-efer to two mountains. It's another rare cha~acter that you can use to show off to your
other men.
Chinese friends .
.........' ............................................................................ ' .....................................-......................... ···-··· ................................. MOUNTA IN COMPOUNDS
43
tB Q
exit (chul kou3) A mouth that tells you where to get out is an exit. to get out + mouth
tB
=exit
*
to come out (chul lai2) This is such an easy phrase. to get out + to come = to come out
tB ~ to publish
(chul pin3)
!
·....
~-····
to get out
mouth
1
to come
::
....................................... ·············.....................................................................: exit
How do you get a product out to the people? You publish it. of course! to get out + product = to publish
::
to get out
• • • • 0 • • • • 0 . 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ·· ·• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • • • • • 0 . .. . . . . . . . . . • • • • ·• . . . . . .... 0 • • • ._ . ......... 0 • • • • 0 • • • • 0 ...... . . . . 0 • • • • 0 • • • • 0 • • • •
to come out
:•
to get out quality/product :• •...•.... ······•·· ................. ......•......... ...................••..••••.•••••••••••.. •••.••• ,....•
•...........•......... ··•·
,
to publish
................................ ·•·•·•··••·•··•••••
44
······························4···············~··························································································~~································~·······································
MOUNTAIN PHRASES
X l.U
volcano 1 (huo 3 shan ) fire + mountain
volcano
X l.U [:::]
crater 3 1 (huo shan kou 3 ) volcano + mouth = [literally] the mouth of the volcano = crater
i*X l.U
·~····
:•
volcano (xiu 1 huo3 shan 1)
..• ...................................................................................................................... ··········· volcano fire
mountain
fire
mountain
dormant
rest + volcano = [ literal ly] at rest volcano volcano
mouth
= dormant
;•
• • • • 0 • • • • • 0 • • • • • • • • • • " • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • 0 • • • • 0 • • • • • • • 0 • • 0 • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _._._. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 0 0 ....... 0 .. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • 0 • • • • • • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._._. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
crater
.• •
•. . . •................................. ............................................................................ ···········-······... ·················· ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
rest
fire
moutain
dormant volcano
........................................................... ................ ......................................................................,............................................................................. ..................... ......................... ._
._
MOUNTAIN PHRASES
45
"J(. woman (nu3) This character traditionally depicted an outline of a woman kneeling on the floor, showing her obedience to a man. I am very frustrated by the origin of this character! When used as an adjective, it means 'female' .
. ................ ............... ·•·•·•··••·•··•••••
46
······························4···············~··························································································~~································~·······································
WOMAN BUILDING BLOCK
Why two women together means 'argument' Sadly, it seems that when women are together, they quarrel.
1& argument
~r1~~2~ally,
two women were believed to be unable to be in the same room without arguing.
The character showing two women together represents 'argument'. This meaning is a product of Chinese history. In the old days, it was inevitable that women in Chinese households ended up arguing. For hundreds of years, Chinese married couples lived together with their parents-in-law and the rest of their extended family. It was not unusual for four generations to live under the same roof. And sometimes mothers-in-law took revenge on their daughters-in-law for 'stealing' their sons. It was also common practice for wealthy Chinese men to have several wives (for example, my greatgrandfather, who was a landlord in Taiwan, had three). To make sure that their own sons would inherit the lion's share of their husband's wealth, mistresses and wives sometimes ganged up on the newest concubines that their husbands brought home. No wonder that domestic conflict was often the norm!
~adultery
1 (jian )
Any man with three women is cheating on someone.
By now you may have noticed that, in Chinese, a character rarely appears by itself. You often need to add another character in order to clarify the meaning in different contexts. Many phrases are constructed by repeating a character. On the next page, you will learn that !I* means 'younger sister'. In rea l life, you will more frequently see 9*9* (where !I* is repeated) to express 'younger sister'. This is very common practice in the Chinese language; see the example on p. 156. The meaning of the phrase is made absolutely clear by repeating the character. Other examples you will see in this book are A.A. ('everyone', p. 21),
~~('every day', p. 21), 8 8 ('in vain', p. 63), ~~ ('mama'; see 'mother', p. 77) and 00 ('grandfather'; see 'public', p. 141). As in the case of many English words, a character may have different meanings depending on whether it is used as a noun, a verb or an adjective. For example, "9:.. is 'woman', but when talking about 'a woman', you will more frequently see the phrase
"9:.. A (p. 49), where "9:.. is the adjective 'female' and A is the noun 'person'. Another example is 'forest'. The character~ on its own means 'forest' (p. 33), but when we talk about 'a forest', we often use the phrase~** (p. 156), where~ is the adjective 'forest-like' used to describe the noun ** 'woods'. A final example is 'tomorrow'. The character B~ can mean 'bright', 'brightness' or 'tomorrow' (p. 57). But you more frequently see the phrase B~ S used to refer to 'tomorrow' (p. 59), where B~ is used as an adjective to describe the noun
•• 0 •
S
'day' .
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .._• • • ._• • • • • ._• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • · · • .• • • • • ·· · • . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...
WOMAN COMPOUNDS
47
to obey
younger sister
daught er
greed
~[] to obey ( r u2)
9* younger sister
This character is a
( m ei 4 )
combination of 'woman' and 'mouth!. A woman in ancient China didn't speak her own opinions, she obeyed . This compound also means 'is like' (see
This character is a combination of 'woman' and 'not yet', so the literal translation is 'not yet a woman'. It is used to refer to a younger sister.
p. 65) and 'if' (see 'to forgive', p. 87) .
• • • 0 . ~· • • • •
48
u
·~ 0 • • • 0'! • • • • • • • • • • ._• • ~··- . . . . . . . . . ~ • • • • · -· . . . . . . . . . . ~·· • • • • • • • • • • • •
WOMAN COMPOUNDS
~ daught er (nanl) This character is a combination of 'woman' and 'to surround'. Young g irls were traditionally kept in their fami ly homes, surrounded by their family, to protect their modesty
This character is a combination of 'woods' and 'woman'. It also means 'a great number ' or 'a lot'. 'A lot of woman' means
'greed' - that's so negative!
for their eventua l marriage.
u
• • 0'4
• • • · -· . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 • • • • · -· · . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . · -· · • • • •
''! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' " ' · -· . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0
. . . .._• • • • • , . . . . . . . .
1ili ti:. fairy (xianl 5~~ the mythical immortals, fairies are most associated with women. immortal + woman = fairy
tz:..A. woman (nu 3 ren 2) A female person is a woman. woman/female + person = woman
*11* eldest 1
immortal
woman
1
younger sister ( da4 mei 4 )
·........................................................~············ ..··························· ···············~·········~··~···· fairy
Family hierarchy was extremely important in ancient China. Authority was based on age and sex. Men ruled the family hierarchy in age order, continuing with the women from eldest to youngest. The second youngest sister in the family wou ld therefore be one above the lowest-ranking member of the fami ly. big + younger sister = [literally] big younger sist er = eldest younger sister
woman/female person ·i....................................... ............................................................. ..................................:j .._
woman
••
big
............................................................................. ····%
younger sister
..••• -····-····· ··············· ....................
eldest younger sister
...................................................................... .......... ...................... ......................................,............................................ ............................................................................... .._
._
~
~
WOMAN PHRASES
49
In oracle-bone and seal inscriptions, this character dep icted a bird. The modern character represents a bird with four talons and a hanging tail feather. The simpl ified form of this character is ~ .
..
..........................................................................................~········ ··················· ················•·•····•····•····•·················································································•·········•····•···········
50
BIRD BU ILDING BLOCK
~ feather (yu 3) I think it IS obvious that this character looks a lot like a feather!
...·····...........................................................................·····...... .....•............................................ ..... ..... ........ ............................... .. .. .. .. .
...
.. .
.. .
.
...
.
..................
'
................. ... .
FEATHER BUILDING BLOCK
'
51
B
sun (ri4)
In oracle-bone and seal inscriptions, the character for 'sun' was a circle with a dot in the middle. It has since evolved to look very similar to a Western window. This character also means 'day'.
········ ................................................................... 52
SUN BUILDING BLOCK
~···········~········
..···································•·•····•····•····•·················································································•·········•····•···········
•
sunnse
sparkles
east
to check
~ sparkles
.§. sunrise rrl.an4)
iFl1s is an easy compoun
d
to remember, as it depicts the sun rising above the line of the horizon.
fj.j~g~~ form of 'sparkles'
*
This character is a
The original meaning of
was written as three circles, two on the bottom and one on top, and meant 'brilliant'
combination of 'tree' and 'sun'. The sun rises in the East, and a man would
this character was 'raft'. To check and explore what lies beyond the
or 'glittering'.
have first gl impsed the sun through the trees.
horizon, you need a raft of some sort.
The simplifi-e d form is
......................... ·-····· ..................................,.
~ to check (cha2)
east (e:Jongl)
~··························-·············
*·
.........' ............................................................................ ' .....................................-......................... ···-··· ................................. SUN COMPOUNDS
53
S ~ Japan (ri4 ben3) Japan is known as the 'land of the rising sun' in English. Japan lies to the east of China, which is where the sun rises. sun +origin = [literally] origin of the sun = Japan
EJ~A.
Japanese person (ri4 ben3 ren 2) ..• ..'• sun foundation/origin .•.......................................................................... ......................................................
Japan+ person = Japanese person
-
Japan
EJ~~ A
Japanese woman (ri 4 ben 3 nu 3 ren 2) Japan + woman = Japanese woman
l
sun
foundation/origin
•o 0 0 0 0 0 o o 0 0 0 t o 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 o 0 0 ,.. o 0 0 o o 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 0 0 o o o o o • o o o o o o o o o.-o o o o o o o o o.-_o.o ._._. o o ..._. o o ._._. o o o o o o o o .._. o o o o o o o o o 0 o o o 0 o 0 0 0 0 o o 0 0 0 0 0 0 o t
person 0 0
o
t 0 t 0
o0 ooI
t 0
o o o o o o o o o o o o o 0 ._. o o o 0 0 o o o o.-o o -..o.o.o. 0 o • 0 o ._._.. 0 0 -.o 0 0 0 '"-* • 0 0 0
;
°•
Japanese person
•• ..•• foundation/origin person • sun woman . ·.............................. ................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................• ,
Japanese woman
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••'"-•••--•••••••••••••••-"••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••·• •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• . ,,,,,, ,.. ,,,,,, .• ,,,.,,,,,,,,o>oooo•••••
SUN PHRASES
55
.F.l
moon (yue4 )
The building block for moon originally derived from a pictogram of the crescent moon. It has now evolved to be a visual counterpart to 'sun'. This character also means 'month'.
·······-······················· ~
= .F.l
..
...............
. . . .,
flesh (rou 4 )
The build1ng block for 'flesh' (or 'meat') ~ looks almost identical in its compound form to 'moon'. Can you tell the difference between the two characters? It is nearly impossible. but the difference is usually made evident by the meaning of the compound . If you see ~ or ~ as part of a character on a restaurant menu. it is likely to refer to some part of an animal although not necessarily a part that you would like to eat.
....... ...................................................
56
~
.................................................................................................................................................... ..................... ...............................
MOON BUI LDING BLOCK
~
.ruJ
friend
bright
gall bladder
skin
friend (peng2)
In oracle-bone Inscriptions, this character depicted two bunches of shells, which were used at the time as a form of currency.
a~ bright ( m in g2) When the sun and moon shine together, it creates a character meqning 'bright' or 'brightness'. This character also means 'tomorrow'; see the explanation on p. 47.
0§. gall
bladder
(dan3) This character is a combination of 'flesh' and 'sunrise'. This is the simplified form; the traditional form is Jlli. Both forms can also
This character is a combination of 'flesh' and 'man'. A mqn 's flesh is his skin. This is the simplified form; the traditional form is
Jl.
mean 'courage' .
......... ....... ...... ... ·-····· ..................................,.
~··························-·············
.........' ............................................................................ ' .....................................-......................... ···-··· ................................. MOON COMPOUNDS
57
~ tB to find out (cha2 chul) to check + to get out = [literally] to check out = to find out
~BJ3 to ascertain (cha2 ming2) to check + bright = [literally] to clarify what you check = to ascertain
*B
in the comrng .
i•
(j1~§Ji~ffii{g~l6ck
to check
to get out
i•
.............................. ·····························•··•·················································•······•········
to find out
for
'sun' can also double as the character for 'day'. to come + day coming days
= in the
.:•
to check
bright
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 • .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ., • 0 • • • • • • • • • 0 . . . . . 0 • • 0 • • • 0 . 0 • • • • • • 0 · -· . . . . . . . . .
·~· . . . . . . . . . . . . . ·
-·
:. •
• • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • 0 00 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
to ascertain
to come sun/day 1 .i························•••·· ........ ····· ....................................................................................
in the coming days
·-············ ······ -···· ................ -·············...................................................................................................................................................... ..... ................................................................ '
58
SUN/MOOON PHRASES
._
._
BJ:}
S
tomorrow (m ing 2 ri4 ) Remember, after a day and a night comes tomorrow. bright + day = tomorrow
*S *F.l
today (ben 3
.4 )
8n~in + day= today
this month (ben3 yu e 4 ) Just as the 'sun' bu ilding
•• • ••
bright
: ••
sun/day
• • • • • • 0 • • • . . . . . . . . . 0 • • 0 . 0 . · ·-· • • • • • 0 . · -• • ' ' " ' ' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' • • • • • • • • •
• 0 •• ' ••••••••• '0.
···~-
•
0 0 . . . ..
tomorrow
block can also mean 'day', so the 'moon' building block can also mean 'month'. origin + month = this month
:•
foundation/origin
sun/day
•' • • • · o•••••• ··••••• • •••••••o-. o oooooo·• ..-ooo•ca.oaa.oc&ooooloooooo o oooooooO-Ooooo o ooooooooooooooot •· Oo +·-·•••• -•ooooooooo
:• •
••oooooooooooOa-•o'
today
foundation/origin moon/month : I·............................. : ........................................................ ·- .. .. .................. ··············
this month
······································································--······················································································································-·············- ················· -····-· · •· ...... ······························ SUN/MOON PHRASES 59
.r. work (gongl) In oracle-bone Inscriptions. this character was depicted as a tool shape, and 1ts original meaning was 'holding a tool' or 'carpenter's square'. Today it has been extended to mean 'work', 'labour' or 'skill'. Compounds that use this character Include:
a: left (zuol)
~ right (you4)
21 wizard (wul)
I A 1worker 2
(gong ren
)
work + person = [ literally] working person = w o rker or labourer
AI
artificial ( ren 2 gong 1)
• ::
person + work = [l iterally) person's work = man-made = artificial
work
person
l . ················-········-········-·····..·······..···-················ --· ...................................................
worker
1z. I
female worker (nu 3 g ong 1) woman + work = [literally] woman's work or needlework = female worker
• ••
•• •
*o 0 0 0
person *0
work
0 0 o• 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 o• 0 0 0 0 0 Oo-0 0 o· • o ·o ..._. • • 0 0 . 0 0 • •. • ._.. 0 oo o . 0 0 o o o 0 Oo o o 0 o o 0 o o o o 0 0 o 0 o o ,. 0 0 0 0 I 0 0 0 0 0 0 o 0* ,. 0>
o0 0
•
l
................................••
.
artificial
• •
i•
woman
..................... •·········· ............................ .............
work
.'
: ••
... .... . .. .. ··- .·······················. '
female worker
················ · ······································································································· · ····· · · · ···········································~··············································
..... ·······..•.........•.....••....... ..... . ..
WORK PHRASES
61
white + white = in vain/ for no purpose
8 A2 Caucasian 2
( bai ren
)
An alternative but derogatory word for Caucasian is 'gweilo', which means 'ghost person'. white + person = [literally] white man = Caucasian white
I • ••................... ················ ·-···-···-····-· ···.............. ·· · ••• > ' - .•••••••. .
. 1n vam .
white
..
--··
:
........................• l
8 ~daytime 2 1
(bai tian
)
The character for 'sky' can also mean 'heaven' or 'day'. In this instance, it means 'day'. white + day = daytime
B 2 to learn/practise
(xi
)
This character is a combination of 'feather' and 'white'. It generally refers to learning to fly. Its simp lified form is ••
person ......................... ..................................................... .................. ······... . .... ...•..
I•
white
,
,
:s:.J.
:•• '
·
I o o0 U
•
o o I 04 o o I o.e 0 °
Caucasian
white sky/day :: .i...... ........................ ·················-·· -····· ··· .. ..... .... ... ···· ••• ··· .. · ·· -·. ·· -· .. .................. -
daytime
..........................•...........•........... .......................................................•..............•.•....•......•....•................................................................................................•..•...•..•...... ·•··· .....
WHITE CO MPOUNDS AND PHRASES
63
mtiger (hu3) The buildmg block for 't iger' also means 'brave' or 'fierce' . ...
.. . .. .
'.
-·---·. -··--····-···············-·······
Dht to scare (hu3) Th1s character IS a combination of 'mouth' and 'tiger'. Imagine how scared you would be to hear a tiger roar in the middle of the night .
. . .... . . .•.••....... ........
64
··································-·········--··-··-··-···-···-··-···-···························..·············..·················..........................................................................................
TIGER BUILDI NG BLOCK
Tiger idioms
1 •
sheep
to enter
tiger
mouth
!•
•••..•••.••..••••.••.••..••••••..•••••.••••..•..•••..•.•..•••••..•..•••..•....•••..•••..•••..•....•••••..•..••...•...•...••.••..•..•••..•••..•..•.•••..•••..•..••••.••.• ,...•••..•...••.....••..•....•..•••..•.•.••••....•..•.•..•..•••••..•••..•....•..•••. t··········
a lamb in a tiger's den
~ Am IJ is a famous Chinese idiom that means 'a lamb in a tiger's den'. The phrase is a warning against entering a dangerous environment and becoming a victim as a result. You will notice that the second character, A 'to enter' (ru 4 ) , looks similar, to A 'person', but its meaning is totally different. The slight difference is in the length of the strokes. The right stroke of 'to enter' is longer than that of 'person'.
•• l •
to obey
tiger
mouth
..••
··························~···················~·········~································~················································~··~·································--····~···········
as dangerous as a tiger's den
In this phrase, ~0 'to obey' means 'is like', while .J.1f, IJ means 'tiger's den'. The phrase means 'as dangerous as a tiger's den'. If you see this phrase, keep your wits about you . An extension of this phrase, ~~~~O m IJ 'the crossroad is like the tiger's den', is also seen at road crossings to remind people to be careful when crossing the road .
•
• •
•
•• •
• .... •• •
•
•
• • 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .-. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ., . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • •• • • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . '
•••••••
f . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .· ·-· · .......... .-. . . . . . . . . . . ._, ........................... .
TIGER ID IOMS
65
r~ door (men
2
)
The building block for 'door' looks very similar to a pair of saloon doors from the Wild West. Saloon doors may be a much more recent invention, but the resemblance is uncanny! The simplified form is fl .
•·
........ -.- .... ........
66
'
'
... -······················· -........ .................................................................................................................................................................................................... .
DOOR BUILDING BLOCK
to dodge
to ask
space/room
leisure
~ to dodge (shan3 ) Imagine a person running through a pair of saloon doors. trying to dodge arrest. This character also means 'flash'. The simplified form is j:AJ.
This character is a combination of 'door' and 'mouth'. To ask a question is the door to knowledge. The simplified form is jE] .
~, space/room ( jian 1)
IJ.J,
This character is a combination of 'door' and 'sun'. In seal script this character was identical to ' leisure', so it was changed to prevent confusion. The simplified
Before electricity, all work stopped when darkness fell and the moon rose. This character also means 'idle', 'peaceful' or 'ca lm'. Alternative forms are 1¥]
1m
form is
......... ....... ...... ... ·-····· ..................................,.
~··························-·············
IBl .
and
leisure (xian 2 )
1*1·
......... ' ............................................................................ ' .....................................-......................... ···-··· ................................. DOOR COMPOUNDS
67
*r~
front gate (da 4 men 2 ) big + door = [literally] big door = front gate
P~
D
doorway (men 2 kou 3 ) door + mouth = [literally] door's mouth = doorway
l\.P~D mam 0
entrance (da 4 men 2 kou 3 ) big
I
• ••.....••.....•....•................
big + doorway = [literally] big doorway mam entrance
.••••
door
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
front gate
0
.•••
door
•
.••
mouth
.....................................................0 ....................0 •
· -·
• • • • • • 0 " ..............
~-- . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0
• 0 ......... 0 0 0 •
•
•• 0. 0 •
•
0 ... 0 •••••
doorway
..• •
big
door
•••••••••••••••••••••• •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ............
mouth
•• ••
...... ·- ········· ..•.••.••••.•.••.••...••••...........................................•..•........... .
main entrance
................................. ·················- ·······························~··· · ··························· ·· ···· · ·············································· · ······· ··· ······~ ····~·~· ·······~······························································
68
DOOR PHRASES
Are,
world (ren 2 jian 1) person + space = [literally] the space for people = world
fMl A
idler (xian 2 ren 2 ) leisu re + person
id ler
~A to sneak out (shan 3 ren 2 ) .I••
person
space
•
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0 •••••. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 . . . . . . . .• • • 0 •••••• 0 •• 0 •••• •••••••••••• 0 0 •••• 0 •• ••••••••••••••••••••••••
to dodge + person [ literally] person dodgi ng to sneak out
world
j
leisure
person
j
................................. ~........ - ............................................................. ......................................J
idler
: to d odge person ....................................................... . ............................................ -··························· ••
I
to sneak out
............................................................. ..................................................................................,............................................................................... ····································· .......... .._
DOOR PHRASES
69
foam
fountain
'7.X .fl.J<
plain
~ fountain (quan2 )
WI'd e
expanse of water (miao 3 )
This character is .a combination of 'water' and 'end'. Just remember that foam is the last form of water as it crashes on to the shore.
This character is a combination of 'white' and 'water:'. It also means 'spring'. Remember that fresh spring water ofteh comes from melting snow, which is white.
This character is a combination of 'water' and 'burning hot'. It also means 'light', 'bland', 'modest', 'essential' or 'tasteless'.
)I river (jiang1)
'-1-r 3 )x you ( ru)
5* to bathe (mu4 )
~
water + work
water + woman
water + t ree
This character comprises three 'water' building blocks. It is logical that multiple waters would be used to describe a large amount of water.
......................... ·-····· ..................................,.
~··························-·············
2
to drip ( li n ) water + woods
......... ' ............................................................................ ' .....................................-......................... ···-··· ................................. WATER COMPOUNDS
71
71< ~ crystal (shui 3 jing 1) In this phrase, the 'water' building block alludes to the clear nature of water. water + sparkles = crystal
D 7J< saliva (kou 3 shui 3 ) mouth + water = saliva
:•
water
•
sparkles
i• •
·······································································································~························
c rystal
)iii7J< fresh water (dan 4 shui 3 ) This is also the name of a town in the north of Taipei County, Taiwan. plain + water = fresh water
~.F.J quiet month for business (dan4 yue 4 ) A typical )~fi.l in China is July, which is Ghost Month in the Chinese ca lendar. In Asia, Ghost Month is an annua l month of ancestor worship, w ith some simi larities to the Western Halloween. light + month = [litera lly] light month = slack month = quiet month for business
:.•
mouth
water
:• . •·····•·•········· ...........................••...................................•....•.........••...•........................•
saliva
..•••
plain
••••••••••••••••••••
.:•
0
•••••••••
-
....
plain/light
.. .................... .-.................................-...................................• fresh water water
'
-
-
moon/month
;. •
0 o o oOO 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 000 o 0 0 00 0 ,_ oo ., 0 o 0 o 0 o 0 o ,. 0 oo o 0 , oo o 0 . o o o 0 0 oo o 0 o oo o IOooo 0 Oooo o oooa-0 o oooo o oo ..._.ooo 0 I_. I 6 6 Ill~ 0 I I I I 601 I I <Ia 6110 I I I 0 I I 6101°
quiet month for business
······························•··•··••···••••••••••
72
WATER PHRASES
······························~··············
..
··························································································~································~·······································
W-J 7_k scenery (shan1 shui 3)
:I
mountain
water
····· · ········· · ··· · · ·· · ·· ·· ····· · ·· ·~ ···· ·· ·· · · ·· · ···· · ···· · ········ · ·· · ······ · ··············
::
The majority of scenery comprises spectacular mountains and vast rivers, for example, Mount Fuji in Japan, Mount Huangshan in China or Ha Long Bay in Vietnam, to name a few! mountain + water = scenery
...• .....•.........•...•.....•..•.
scenery
7..kP~ dam (shui 3 men 2 )
•• •• •
water
door
. . . . . . . . . . 0 • • • • • • • • • 0 .._ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .._• • • • • • • • 0 • • • • 0 • • 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 • • • • • • • • • • • 0 . 0 • • • • • • 0 • • 0 • • • ,_, . 0 .
.•• .•
This phrase was used to describe the Watergate scandal ofthe1970s. It is a literal translation of the English name given to the scandal that resulted in President Nixon's resignation. water + door = [literally] water gate = dam
., • 0 • • . • 0 0 0 • • 0 • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • • •
dam
D 5* spit
(kou 3 mo4 ) mouth + foam = [literally] mouth foam = spit
' ' .. ' 0
o o0 o t
5}t7_k spring water (quan 2 shui3 ) spring+ water= spring water
mouth 0
o. o 10 0 .. t
0 0 00 0 1 0 00 0 0
o00
0
.-o 0 o·o 00 o..-. 0
foam 0
o,.-.-.-o o-....-. oo-. 0 .-o 0 . o 0
0
o-. o 0
o• o 0
,_
00 1 0
•o o 0 o 0
000 0
....
..• .... ''"' .................
spit
.••
•• • • • 101 • •
fountain/spring ......0...
•. . ...... ·····.............................•
water
0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 ._• ._• • • • • ._._._,_..... 0 • • 0 . . • • • • • •
• • ••••• ' • • • • • 0 0 • ••• 0 0 '
spring water
............................................................................. . .......................................................................,..................................................... ................................................···············.......... . .._
WATER PHRASES
73
~ cow (niu 2) The original meaning of th1s character was 'ox', but since the clerical change in writing styles it has meant 'cow'. If you see 'cow' in a character, it tends to relate to stubbornness. '-.-.-
4=
...... -- ..... ······•····••••·••••••·••·•····•··········
cow (niu2)
This character is the form of 'cow' that is used as a component In certain compounds.
0' ' ' 0 ' ' ' ' ' It ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 0 ' ' ' ' ' ' ' • ' • ' I t t • I I I f • I I U • I I I f • I I I I • l i l t 0 I I . . • 0 . . . 0 . . .
74
COW BUILDING BLOCK
oo -
0 I -
to I I I 0•4 0 - · I I t OO_ I _ I t l l ll t tl l t l l tl t l l tl t t t tl o l l l t t l t l t lt t I t t I I I I I I 1 • 110 o l i l t I l l I t t l t t o o I tO o o o 1 o o o I t O o o t oo o 01 oo o o 10 t oo to 0 0 o 0 Olo 0 0 01 o 1 1 0 0 0 1111 o 11 I t o 11 I l l 111 1 t i lt I t 111 1 111110 t t l o o
tf
7.}< buffalo (shui 3 niu 2) The water buffalo with a large crescent horn is a major domestic animal used in southern China for paddy cultivation. water + cow = [literally] water cow = buffalo
~ tf longhorn beetle (tian 1 niu 2 ) The longhorn beetle is black with small white spots resembling the stars in a night sky. sky + cow = [ literally] sky cow= longhorn beetle
• • i•
water
cow
l
•..•.•.•...............•...•........••.........••...•••........ ···•·········•· ..................... ·••· ....••••.••....•....•..•••
buffalo
• • •• I •
sky
...·-···-···········--·"'-···· ........ .....'"'......................... ..... .. .. .. ._
.... longhorn beetle -
cow
•• ••
.. . .....................•
................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................................... -··········•· ............................... ._
COW PHRASES
75
~~ horse (ma3) This building block traditionally looked like a horse on its side. Today you can see only the horse's torso. tail and legs. The simplified form is
:Q;.
•
•
0 • • • • • • • • • •e
76
• • • • • • • • • • • • · • o o • • • • • 1000 ••ooo 0 ••oo 0 ·• • • • o • • • • • • • • • o - ........ o o oo -oooo o ooo 0 0 0 0 . . . .000000--000-0000eo•ooeoeooOOOOoOoOeooooooooooeooooeooooeo•o oeoooo OooooOo o o oeoo o o Oo o o o o o o o 0040 o o 0 00 o 0 OoOO oo o 0 o 00 o 0 o 0 o ••o I 0 Olo 0 0 0 Oo 0 0 o eo 0 0 o Oo oO 0 •ooO o IO 0 U
HORSE BUILDING BLOCK
IO aoo • • • • . . . . . . . o
question indicator
to blame
to charge in
mother
Dl question indicator (ma 2 ) This character is a combination of 'mouth' and 'horse'. It is used at the end of a sentence to indicate that a 'yes' or 'no' answer should follow. The
to blame ( ma4) This character is a combination of 'shout' and 'horse'. It means 'blame', 'abuse', 'curse' or 'scold' when used as a verb. The simplified form is~.
fll1
to charge in (chuang 3 ) Pictog raphica II y, this character represents a horse charging through a door. The simplified form is I~.
9n~ mother (mal) This character is a combination of 'woman' and 'horse'. 9191 means 'mama'. The simplified form is '9E.J.
simplified form is n~ .
......... ....... ...... ... ·-····· ..................................,.
~··························-·············
.........' ............................................................................ ' .....................................-......................... ···-··· ................................. HORSE COMPOUNDS
77
.3S. jade (yu
4
)
Throughout Asian history, jade has been more prized than silver and gold both monetarily and spiritually. The building block for 'jade' comprises a bottom stroke representmg earth, a top stroke representing heaven, and a middle stroke representing heaven's essence on earth. lh simplified Chinese, 'jade' and 'kihg' are both classified as radicals. In some characters, the 'jade' .3i building b lock does not take the extra dot, and so appears as 'king' ::E. See 'whole' opposite for an example.
â&#x20AC;˘Âˇ .......... -
78
...... .....................................................- ..-.....................-.............................................................................................................................................................. JADE BUILDI NG BLOCK
king
countr y
master
whole
.± king (wang ) 2
~whole (quan2)
Traditionally more prized than si lver and gold, jade was worn by kings and nobles throughout Asian history, and represented the virtues of beauty, grace and purity.
This character is .a combination of 'jade' and 'to surround'. China is the country of jade, so it is logical that the country is al luded to as the 'land of jade'. This is the simplified form; the traditional form
This character originally meant 'wick' or 'torch' but today means 'master', 'owner' or 'host'.
This character is a combination of 'to enter'
A
and 'king' (in this instance, actually 'jade'). It represents belongings under a roof. It also means 'full' or 'treasure'.
is~ .
J;:.. J: queen (nu woman+ king
3
wang
2 )
~ J: king (guo2 wang 2 ) country + king
J:~
kingdom (wang 2 g uo 2 ) king + country
····················~···············~································································································~···········~····
~~
USA (mei 3 guo2 ) beautiful + country
.. •t·······················~·~·················································································
JADE COMPOUNDS AND PHRASES
79
JII
river (chuan 1)
The oracle-bone inscnption of this character represented a river running between two shores. Today the character comprises three vertical lines. indtcating a flowing river. It can also be used to refer to the province of Sichuan, known for its four rivers.
................ ... ·••·. '. ·····
- ····· ~ ~·· · ·"··················
1N state (zhoul) Add three dots next to the three lines of 'river' to form the character for 'state'.
··-·-·· .. ···-···-.. ·-··-····-···-··"-·--······--···-··--·-·-·-··-··········-··-····0,' ................................... ········ ................................................ ·l.o.·-·-............_....................... .............. 80 RIVER BUILDING BLOCK -.~
-J$1- boat (zhoul) This charact er depict s the shape of an ancient Chinese w ooden vessel, which looks si milar t o a punt on a river.
· · ····················· ····· ············································································· ····· ···· ·········· ·············· ··································~·········~···························· ···· ······ ·································· ······ · ·
BOAT BUILDING BLOCK
81
ll!tii·~~ ~-~r.wk ~~ ~il
~~ £Sfld(~
~~~~
§Ytl '~ --~'" ~ &-i~~
~~ttl
~ ljfflitijlJfl
tNt~~~ ~ dDMfcBftf~
A
T tw~b~
-~~~It
'UJi~l+j~
-.~ra?Dtft~(ifm.
~ ftii~~~'tM~
~ ·~~~~ Jt•-~
This character was based on the curled body of a poisonous snake; you can almost see the hood of a cobra tn the character. It also means 'worm'. If you see this building block in a compound character, it tends to refer to some sort of insect, reptile or shellfish - for example, 'snake' ~ . 'frog' ~ and 'clam' ~· Its traditional form is §I (see p. 127).
········ .............. . ....... -·· ..... . ..... .. -···- ····································································································································-········································································· 84 BUG BUILDING BLOCK -
'
.'
... .. ..
ft tall/length 2 (chang
)
The original form of this character depicted a person with very long hair, indicating 'being long' or the idea of length. The simplified form is
*·
~ account/bill (zhang 4 ) This character comprises the building b lock for 'shell' (see p. 130), indicating the meaning, and 'length', indicating the pronunciation (see p. 11). Shells are associated with wealth, hence the meaning of the character. The simplified form is
IE·
........................................................... ................ .......................................................................,..............................................................················ ..................... ............... -·········· ._
._
TALL/LENGTH BUILDING BLOCK
85
.
'L' heart (x1n :\
1 )
This character originally depicted a heart, but it has since evolved to its present form. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• •••••••••••••••••••••••
1' heart/vertical core (xinl) This character is the form of 'heart' that is used as a component in certain compounds. It is known as
R'~'~. the 'vertical core'. See 'fear' opposite for an example of this character.
. ................ ............... ·•·•·•··••·•··•••••
86
······························4···············~··························································································~~································~·······································
HEART BUILDING BLOCK
must
bored
to forgive
fear
~must (bi 4 ) This character is a combination of 'heart' and a line () ). The original form of the compound comprised /\ and ~. indicating 'using wood as a marker'.
r+-o :\.
3t 'l} contented ( an
1
1
xin )
peaceful + heart (see p. 93 for 'peaceful')
This character comprises 'heart' inside 'door' . Imagine that it syrtlbolizes a heart that wishes to leave because it is bored. The simplified form Is~~.
J' Li' be careful ( xiao
1
1
small + heart (see p. 132 for 'small')
3
1 xtn )
~ to forgive (shu 4 )
18 fear (pa
This character is a combination of 'if' (see 'to obey'. p. 48) and 'heart'. You must often ask yourself if your heart can forgive a wrong. It's a slightly scary image, however.
This character is a combination of 'heart' and 'wh ite'. When someone is scared or frightened, it is often said that they have gone white.
4)
~ 'L' whole-heartedly (q uan2 xinlJ) whole+ heart
········· · ··········~· · ·············~································································································~···········~····
.. •t··················· · ···~·~·········· · ······································································
HEART CO MPOUNDS AND PHRASES
87
to divide
to row
/1\\ to illuminate
talkative
~IJ to row (hu a
2 )
5.1"
to divide
1 ( fen )
This character is a combination of 'weapon' (see p. 124) and 'knife'. As well as 'to row' (a boat), it can mean 'to pull' or 'to stroke'.
This character shows 'knife' under the number eight, and represents a knife cutting something in two.
5J' 'G' to d istract
•o. BIR
(fen 1 xin1) to divide + heart
q]J
talkative
~ to illuminate
1 (dao )
This cha racter is a combination of 'mouth' and 'knife', indicating chatter or noise.
/_
~
2
1
This character is a combination of 'knife', 'sun', 'mouth' and 'fire'. It means 'illuminate' or 'light up' when used as a verb, or 'bright' when used as an adjective.
.3
7J :n clearly (fen1 ming 2)
7J J molecule (fen z1 )
to d ivide + bright
to divide + son (see p. 96 for 'son')
···································· · ···········································~·····················~·····~······························································
(zhao 4 )
..········..··················································••·······•••····••·••··•••··•• KNIFE COMPOUNDS AND PHRASES
89
power
to add
to construct
to d rive
1JD This character originally meant 'p lough'. Ploughs requ ire powerfu l animals to pull them. The meaning has been extended to refer to the power to pu ll the plough.
to add
1 (jia )
This character is a combination of 'power' and 'mouth'. It also means 'increase'. This is also an abbreviation of Calif ornia, USA (see below).
~ to construct (jia
4 )
This character is a combination of 'to add' and 'tree'. It means 'construct', 'build up! or 'stand' when used as a verb, and 'shed frame' when used as a noun.
~ to drive (jia
4 )
Th is character is a combination of 'to add' and 'horse'. It also means 'to ride'. The simplified form is ~.
1.10 1~1
California (jia1 zhou 1) Ca lifornia + state • • • 0 . ~· • • • •
90
u
·~ 0 • • • 0'! • • • • • • • • • • ._• • ~··- . . . . . . . . . ~ • • • • · -· . . . . . . . . . . ~·· • • • • • • • • • • • •
u
•• 0'4
KNIFE COMPOU NDS AND PHRASES
• • • · -· . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 • • • • · -· · . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . · -· · • • • •
''! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' " ' · -· . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0
. . . .._• • • • • , . . . . . . . .
,..,.., roof (mian2) The building block for 'roof' is hardly ever seen independently of another character. It is mostly used as a component of many characters relating to habitation and architecture .
......................... ···············-··---·········---·················-·······························································--························································································
... ..... .. ........ ····· ........, 92 ROOF BUILDING BLOCK
peaceful
disaster
•• . pnson
!J..!..
disaster
(zai1)
This character is a combination of 'roof' and 'fire'. I think anyone with a burning roof would consider it a disaster! This is the simplified form; the
m,,
traditional form is a combination of 'river' and 'fire'.
.1]<j;z
flood (shui
3
1 zai )
water + disaster
......................... ·-····· ..................................,.
home
3:( peaceful (an)
~ prison (liao 2 )
This is a more positive compound featuring the building block for 'woman'. Remember that, traditionally, a peaceful home was one run by a woman.
Cows and buffalo were used as beasts of burden. The orig ina l meaning of this compound was 'pen ', but it has since been extended to mean 'prison' when used as a noun.
In ancient China, pigs were raised indoors to keep them safe. Pigs in the house then became associated with a bountiful home. This cha~acter also means 'family'.
' 1' m f.1re d .isaster AX
~~ natural disaster
7\ ~
( huo 3 za i1) fire + disaster
(tian 1 zajl) sky + disaster
~
~··························-·············
1
everybody (da4 jial) big + home
......... ' ............................................................................ ' .....................................-......................... ···-··· ................................. ROOF COMPOUNDS AND PHRASES
93
mrain
(yu3)
This character depicts water falling from the sky. The top horizontal line( - ) represents the sky, while the figure represents the space outside a city. As a whole. the character alludes to 'water scattered outside the city' .
n
....•.....................•.............•....................
*m
rain shower (da <~ YU 3) 1 •
big
ram
l•
················-········-······--································<···· --···············- ••···· ...,.......................... rain shower
big + rain = [litera ll y] big rain = rain shower
m71< rainwater (yU3 ShU13) rain + water = rainwater
m~ rainforest (yu3 lim) rain + woods = rainforest
••
•• •
ram
water
:• ••
.............................................................. ....................... ........................... ............................ ~
rainwater
rain woods :: .·i.................................................. . . .............. ............. ·····•···· •·· .... . ........................ -
rainforest
················································································································································································~···································· •....•....•.....•.
··•·····•···•····•·•·· ··•···· ······
RAIN PHRASES
95
good
character
plum
twins
* This character is a combination of 'woman' and 'son'. In ancient China, the foremost requirement of a good woman was to bear a son in order to continue her husband's line. The chqracter Cqn also mean 'such'.
T "tl..
3
offspring (zi nu
3
)
son/chi ld + woman
character (zi
4
*
)
plum (li
H
3 )
twins (zi1)
This compound is a combination of 'roof' and 'son'. When boys are born under a roof, it means a growth of population, which perpetuates civilization and literature. So this means 'character' (or 'wo rd') in Chinese literature.
This character is a combination of 'tree' and 'son' . Plums were considered a symbol of endurance in ancient China, as their flowers bloomed in winter. This is also a very common surname, translated as Li or Lee. •
This character comprises two 'son' building blocks. Twins were considered a sign of either good luck or bad luck, depending on the region.
I :::Z.. .I. T
ST
-p:f1f) good intention
pnnce
(
wang
kihg + son
2
.3) Zl
day ( ri
4
sun;/day + son
zi)
(hao3 xin1) good + heart
......................... ·-····· ..................................,.
~··························-·············
.........' ............................................................................ ' .....................................-......................... ···-··· ................................. SON COMPOUNDS AND PHRASES
97
§
eye (mu 4 )
Traditionally, in oraclebone inscriptions. this character was eye-shaped. but its form was treated as straight lines in seal scnpt .
• • • • • • • • • • • • •
98
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .· · - - · · · - · · · - · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · • • • • • • • · - · · · • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
EYE BUILDING BLOCK
oneself
odour
' '
mutual
tear
*~ Th is character once meant 'nose', but it now means 'oneself', because people usually point to their face (specifically their nose) when they t alk about themselves.
•
This charact er is a com bination of 'oneself' and 'dog'. It originally meant 'to smell', because a dog's nose is particularly sensitive. It has since evolved to mean 'odour'.
mutua l
1 (xiang )
This character is a combination of 'tree' and 'eye'. Its composition alludes to the idea of taking a close look or observing. It has now been extended to mean ' mutual' or 'i mage' .
5§
t ear (lei
4 )
The traditional form of
5Jl
this charact er, is a combinat ion of 'water' and 'perverse'. This simplified form is a combination of 'water' and 'eye'.
• 0 • • 0 • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 0 • • • 0 0 • • • 0 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 • •.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 0 • • , • • • • 0 . . . . . . . . . . . 0 . 0 • • • • 0 • • . . . . . . . . . . . . . 00 • • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 . . . . . . . .._. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 • • 0
EYE COMPOUNDS
99
-=¥- hand (shou
3
)
In oracle-bone inscriptions, the form of this character was an abstract depiction of five fingers w ith the lower part of the arm• ......................." ....................................
1
hand (shou3)
This character Is the form of 'hand' that Is used as a component In certai n compounds. It is known as
• • •• the ·utttng hand'. See 'to assist' opl)oslte for an exampte of this character.
...................
100
..._ . ;
• •••••••••
· · ···········-·-··-··
HAND BUILDING BLOCK
·-··
$"
••••
5
......
• .......... ,.................... .......
..........
• ........ .
..
'R 1 - · · T
I-IIIlS
ITihQ . . . .
-IIIIUI
I I l l . . IIA'T
Ill
~ to assist (fu
2
to assist
to dress up
to pat
to plagiarize
)
ffi
to dress up (ban
4
fY
)
to plagiarize (chaol)
This character's composition symbolizes a man being supported by a helping hand. It can also mean 'to support', 'to help', 'to protect' and ' to hold on'.
This character is a combination of 'hand' and 'to divide'. The building block on the left indicates the meaning, while the compound on the right indicates pronunciation .
This character is a combination of 'hand' and 'white'. 'Hand' indicates the meaning; 'white' indicates pronunciation .
:J:1c~ handrail
A~ manpower
~:f. to clap hands
'J"fY cheat
(fu2 shou3) to ass ist + hand
( ren2 shou3)
(pail shou3)
(xiao3 cfldol)
persoh + hand
to pat + hand
small + to p lag iarize (see p . 132 for 'small ')
......................... ·-····· ..................................,.
~··························-·············
This character is a combination of 'hand' and 'little' (see p . 133). It means 'to plag iarize ~ or 'to copy' .
sheet
.........' ............................................................................ ' .....................................-......................... ···-··· ................................. HAND COMPOUNDS A ND PHRASES
101
tJ\
to steal (pa
2
to steal
to fasten
to tie together
to seek
)
This character is a combination of 'hand' and the number eight. It originally meant 'to dig out', 'to crawl' or 'to crouch', but has been extended to mean 'to steal'. Imagine a thief crouching by you and digging out your wallet.
• • • 0 . ~· • • • •
102
u
tD
This character is a combination of 'hand' and 'mouth'. It has many different meanings, including the verbs 'rein', 'knock', 'strike', 'tap', 'button', 'buckle', 'deduct', 'detain', 'smash'. When used as a noun, it means 'button' .
·~ 0 • • • 0'! • • • • • • • • • • ._• • ~··- . . . . . . . . . ~ • • • • · -· . . . . . . . . . . ~·· • • • • • • • • • • • •
HAND COMPOUNDS
to fasten (kou 4 )
u
•• 0'4
mJ
to tie together (kun3) This character is a combination of 'hand'
m.
and 'enclosure' To remember it, imagine a captive's hands tied together.
• • • · -· . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 • • • • · -· · . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . · -· · • • • •
This character is a combination of 'hand' and 'weapon' (seep. 124), and indicates a hand taking up arms, perhaps to search for an escaped prisoner.
''! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' " ' · -· . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0
. . . .._• • • • • , . . . . . . . .
rAAJ net (wang 3 ) This is the simplified form of 'net'. The traditional form ~ d1d not come into being until the clerical change. The traditional form 1s a combmation of 'silk' 7R v.. on the left. indicatmg the materials, and 'net/to deceive' ~ on the right, representing the pronunciation and the meaning .
...
· ··· ·· · ~ · · ~· ··· ·· ···· · ······················ · ·············
c::c net (wang 3 ) This character is the form of 'net' that is used as a component in some compounds. Sometimes, owing to a person's handwriting, this character can look very similar to the number four ll9. See 'to buy' on p. 131 for an example of this character.
·······················································-·--···················································......~.-...l ....,......... ······················································ .... ' .. ·-·· . ··································•··········· ........ .
NET BUILDING BLOCK
105
many
dream
name
years
This character comprises two 'dusk' building blocks, suggesting the accumulation of time. Accumulation implies 'many'.
This character is a combination of 'woods' and 'dusk'. It is the simplified form; the traditional form ~ is a combination of
lt•'
'unclear' person' and 'dusk', and means 'unclear illusion'.
~j> how much
This character is a combination of 'dusk' and 'mouth '. It alludes to parents calling their children's names as evening fell. The compound also means 'famous'.
This character is a combination of 'mountain' and 'dusk'. It is the simplified form; the traditional form is ~· The most common usage of~ is to count a person's age; for example, - pj, means 'one year old'.
(duo1 shao 3 ) many + t oo little ( see p. l:P3 for 'little')
......................... ·-····· ..................................,.
~··························-·············
.........' ............................................................................ ' .....................................-......................... ···-··· ................................. DUSK COMPOUN DS AN D PHRASES
107
-1=1 In oracle-bone and bronze inscriptions, the fo rm of this character was very similar to the character ~ · which means 'tongue'. The only difference was a short horizontal stroke added to the top o f the character, indicating that the tongue was in use. This character also means 'speech' or 'to speak' .
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
i.
t o t alk (yan 2)
This character is the form of 'to talk' that is used as a component in certain simplified Chinese compounds.
..................................................... ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ ~
108
TO TALK BUILDING BLOCK
letter/trust
to calculate
detailed
language
1~ letter/trust (xin 4 )
~t to calculate
This character, which is a combination of 'person' and 'to talk', originally referred to 'people's speech', but has been extended to mean 'letter' or 'trust'. Do you trust everything people tell you?
This character is a combination of 'to talk' and the number ten, and means 'to calculate' or 'to count'. If you can count to ten, then you can calculate basic maths. The simplified
~ 1"" self-confidence
*~1g to believe
(zi4 xin 4 ) oneself + trust
(xiang1 xin4 ) mutual +trust
......................... ·-····· ..................................,.
form is
i.f.
~··························-·············
(ji
4
)
~¥ detailed (xiang 2 ) This character is a combination of 'to talk' and 'sheep'. It means 'observe carefully' when used as a verb, 'detailed' or' 'tiny! as an adjective, or 'deta ils' or 'particulars' as a noun. The simplified form is
The character is a combination of 'to talk' and 'myself' ~ · which is a combination of the number five and 'mouth'. It means 'language' or 'words'. The simplified form is
B *~ Japanese language ( ri 4 ben3 yu 3 )
~~ official language (guo 2 yu 3 )
Japan + language
country + language
iff·
'1!·
.........' ............................................................................ ' .....................................-......................... ···-··· ................................. TO TALK COMPOUNDS AND PHRASES
109
a
self (ji 3 )
The rope shape of th1s character refers to 'self'. ..
'
.
-
'
..
'
.'
··-···············--·
oneself + self
·······················································-·--··································································································································· ........ . ....... ... ·····································-········ SELF BUI LDING BLOCK lll '
L'
walking (chuo
4
)
You won't see this building block appearing by itself. If you recognize this as a component of a character, you will know that the compound has something to do with 'wa lking' .
........... .. .. . .. .... . .. ... .. .. .. .. .. ·····.....······ ............................................ ··········............................. ······················............................................................................................................... .
112
.
WALKING BUILDING BLOCK
'e
to stroll
to reach
'
'
to compel
this
mto stroll This is the simplified form of the character, and is a combination of 'walking' and 'big', indicating reaching a destination after a long walk. The traditional form is.
m:.
(guang 4 )
This character is a combination of 'wa lking'
H.
which is a and 'crazy' combination of 'dog' and 'king'. Some would think that strolling around with no destination in mind is a crazy waste of time. The simplified form is.
'6
4
J.E. to compel (po )
i§
This is the simplified form of the character, and is a combination of 'walking' and 'white'. It .also means 'to approach' or 'to force', and 'urgent' when used as an adjeetive. Its traditional
The traditional form of this character is a combination of 'wal king' and 'to talk'.
form is.
this (zhe4 )
'~
The simplified form ~ is a combination of 'walking) .and 'literature'
Jt.
e
i§..
~.
JtsA.
expert
H~ mad dog
(da2 ren 2 )
(g uang 4 q uan3 )
to reach + person
crazy + dog
········· · ··········~· · ·············~································································································~···········~····
.. •t··················· · ···~·~·········· · ······································································
WALKING CO MPOUNDS AND PHRASES
113
You can imagine the bottom stroke is the horizon, and the cross towards the top is either a plant or some man-made structure. To differentiate this character from 'soldier'
±
(see p. 116). just remember that the horizon must be longer than the
±
cross. is also Earth. one of the five basic elements. When someone uses 'soil' as an adJective, especially in modern writing, it implies something Uhsophisticated .
..•.•..•.•.. ,.................•...........................................•....•....•....•.•..•....•.•..•.........•..•.....•...•...•.•......•.
114
SOIL BUILDING BLOCK
·······················~······················································
..•....•....••.••.•..•..........
to sit
fine
~ to sit ( zuo4 ) This character is a combination of 'talent'
.:1 (cai
2
and 'soil'. 'Talent' indicates the pronunciation ; 'soil' indicates the meaning (see p. 11). Originally this character meant 'to exist', but it has been extended to mean 'at', 'in' or 'on'. )
This character is a combination of 'flesh' and 'soil'. The stomach is where the fruits of the soil are stored. This character has an alternative pinyin: du3.
This character shows two people sit ting on the soil.
This character is a combination of 'person' and what resE:!mbles two ·~oil ' building blocks. It also means 'good' or 'nice'.
~ tE unrestrained
:;k~±T pregnant
~1£ to sit at
1i.A
(zi 4 zai 4 )
(da4 d u4 zi)
(zuo 4 zai4 )
(jia1 ren 2 )
oneself + at
big + belly + son/child
to sit + at
fine + person
......................... ·-····· ..................................,.
~··························-·············
beautiful lady
.........' ............................................................................ ' .....................................-......................... ···-··· ................................. SOIL COMPOUNDS AND PHRASES
115
±
soldier (shi 4 )
Tl1is character has many meanings, including 'soldier' and 'scholar'. It is a combination of the numbers one - and ten
+.
indicating a man who can do all things well from beginning to end . . . . . '..
-····~····~············.
... . -
.................
± determination ,c,, (zhi'~)
This character is a combination of 'soldier' and 'heart'. When a soldier or scholar sets his heart to something, he is determined - determined to win, to teach. to succeed.
..•••......•.•.. •.•..... .......................................-·--·--·--·--·-·--·-··--··-···-·······················.............................................................................................................&-••••-········ ....... 116
SOLDIER BUILDING BLOCK
± scholar
(sh1 4 )
In ancient China. it was not unusual for military leaders to be scholars too. since Confucius taught that leaders should be both wise and decisive. This is reflected in the character's dual use. ·· ···· ···· ·· ·· ·············· · ··· · ···· · ·······~···············
This character is a combination of 'scholar' and 'mouth'. Scholars were highly respected in ancient China : they were members of the highest social hierarchy. When a scholar opened his mouth. his views were considered aUSPICIOUS .
....................................................._.._........ -··............- ···-·-····-···-··················-···-......................................................................................................................······-······ SCHOLAR BU ILDING BLOCK
117
--
mthunder
--
thunder
from/due
helmet
to explain
(l ei 2)
This character is a combination of 'rain' and 'field '. In oraclebone inscriptions, this character depicted thunder (represented by a circle and dots) and lightning .
......... ....... ...... ... ·-····· ..................................,.
S3
from/due (you2)
This is the character for 'field' with an extended upwards vertical stroke in the middle, indicating the road used to enter the farmland.
~··························-·············
lfl
helmet (j ia3)
Originally, this character depicted a cracked seed in a bud, and meant 'skin'. On account of its similar pronunciation to 'armour', it now also means 'helmet'.
$ to explain (shenl) In oracle-bone inscriptions, this character looked like lightning in the rain, and meant 'lightning'.
.........' ............................................................................ ' .....................................-......................... ···-··· ................................. FIELD COMPOUNDS
119
' '
oil
rich
male
~
)EB oi I (you 2 ) This chqracter is a combination of 'water' and 'field ~, and alludes to the liquid made from minerals under the fields, oil.
• •• 0. ~ · ••••
120
u
This character is a combination of 'roof, the number one, 'mouth' and 'field', and alludes to a wealthy fC1mily living in a comfortable home full of possessions .
·~ 0 • • • 0'! • • • • • • • • • • ._• • ~··- . . . . . . . . . ~ • • • • · -· . . . . . . . . . . ~·· • • • • • • • • • • • •
FIELD COMPOUNDS
u
• • 0'4
mile ( lj3)
.J15 male (nan 2 )
This character is a combination of 'field' and 'soil', and means 'village'. Over time its meaning has been extended to refer to the stretch of ground that a village occupies.
• • • · -· . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 • • • • · -· · . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . · -· · • • • •
This character is a combination of 'field' and 'power'. In ancient times men worked the fields. The character now refers to the masculinity associated with manual labour.
''! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' " ' · -· . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0
. . . .._• • • • • , . . . . . . . .
)EB83 oil field (you 2 tian 2)
'
oil + f ield = oil field
'
)Ebr~ gas pedal/
accelerator (you 2 men 2 ) oil + door = [ literally] oil door = gas pedal
:I
oil
field
l
•..•...................•..•......•...................•...•.....•..•••...•••.•.•.••••••..•....•.... .•..•....•....•...•.....•..•.: '
oil field
1JO)EB to refuel (jia 1 you 2 ) This phrase also means 'go on!' when used to cheer someone to vi ctory. to add + oil = [literally] to add oil = to refuel
' '
~~~ girl from
a rich family (fu 4 jia 1 nu 3 )
.:.
oil
door
..:
o u o o o o o o o o u o o o o o o o .._, o o o "-' o o 0 o o o 0-0 o o o o o .._, o o o .._, o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o ,._, o o o o o o o o o o o o o o U o o o o o o o o o o ,_, o o o • ., 0 o o o ., o o o o I o o o o o 0 o o o 0 o o o o I o o •
t
rich + home + w oman = girl from a rich family
gas pedal/accelerator
' ' .. ' 0
u
to add 0
o0
0
o o o• 0
0 01 0 0 0 00 0
o-. t
0 0
..• .
oil
o·o 0 .-o 0 o·o .-o oooo-.-o 0 , ,_-.-.-.-o-.-.-.-. o-. 0 .-o-.-. o-. 0 o-. o 0
0" to o
t 0
o
oo o o 0 0 to 0
00 0
o .
o o0 o 0
.
00 0
o oo 0 0 o o t
t t
o o 0 o" 0
0
o0
00
°
to refuel
' !
.••
--rich
•• . . .•······················· ·· ·········~··············································· .••••.•••••.•••• ·•••••••••·•··· ·•··· ...•. ·······································••••o••················••o•••·····
home
woman
girl from a rich family
•
0
o 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 o 0 0 o o o o 0 o o o o o o o o 0 o o o o o o 0 o 0-00 o o o o o o • • o 0 0 o t-o• o o" 0 I 0 o 0 0 0 o 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 I 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 o I o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 0-0 o o o o 0 oo 0 0 0 o • 0 0 o 0-0-0 0 0 o o 0-0 o o 0 0 0 0 o o 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 o 0 0 0 0 o 0 0 I o o o • 0 0 0 0 • 0 0 0 0 0 I 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 I ''' 0 0 • • •• • 0 0 0 oO o o o o - • I 0 o o o o o o o
FIELD PHRASES
121
This character originally looked like a bow, but has since evolved into its current form, which looks sim ilar to a bow m issing its string . ••••••••••••••••••• ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
This character is a combination of two 'bow' and two 'ice' (see p. 146) building blocks, and means 'weak' or 'brittle'.
.•..••••••••.•.•••..•..•...........................................................................••••.....••.•.•...•••..•••..•••...................•.......
122
BOW BUILDING BLOCK
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ••
W wine
vessel (you 3 )
This character originally took the shape of a Jar. and meant 'w ine'. It has since evolved to mean 'wine vessel'. This building block ts also used in characters relating to the fermentation of wine or food .
.... . .... -
.... ............................................. .
This character is a combination of 'water' and 'wine vessel'. If you prefer white wine at a restaurant, be sure to ask for
8 )lf .
.................................•....•.............·-----···-....____._...·-···-·...........................................-·..-·..-·· .-·..-·.. -··.-··..................................................................................·····-··.... WINE VESSEL BUILDING BLOCK
123
This character depicts a type of weapon similar to a dagger-axe. with a horizontal blade at its head and a long handle. .. . . . . . . . - .............. .....••...•....•.... .•..............•
This character is a combination of 'hand' and 'weapon', and means 'me' or 'I'. It's one of the most useful compounds of 'weapon' .
. . . . . .. . . . - ...................
124
'
.......
························-··········-····-··-··-·····--··-····-··········································-·················...........................................................................................
WEAPON BUILDING BLOCK
Three cows together means 'to flee' or 'to run fast'. Imagine a herd of cows fleeing a predator. The simplified form of this character is ~-
~ whirlwind (biao 1) Three dogs together means 'whirlwind'. Imagine a pack of dogs running around your legs.
•• •• Three deers together means 'rough', 'coarse' or 'big'.
o .,, ··OO•. oooo o ·- o" o• •-oo o, . , ooo
126
. . . . oo .. .
.., ooo ., , •ooo • tooo oooto o oooooo oooooooooooooo0-ooooo I oo••oooooooooot oooo ooo ooo oo oooooooooooooooooooo o oo o oo oooto ot o too o ooo u
TRIPLE ANIMAL COMPOUNDS
otooooooo ooooo o oooo oo-o-oo oo..,ooo ,.._., oo ooooooo-oo ooooo ooooo oo oooo oooo Ott to 0 OOtoo oooo 01 ot ooootoooot •••• 0 • .... 0 0
j¥ rank odour (shan 1) Three sheep or goats together indicates 'rank odour of sheep or goats'. A group of farm animals is never going to smell good.
.
a horses runnrng (biao1) Three horses together means 'horses running'.
This is the traditional form of 'worms' or 'bugs', comprising three 'bug' building blocks. It is the more commonly used form of 'bug' .$. in traditional Chinese. This character also means 'i nsects'.
········································································································································································································· ·- ··············· .. -·································-·········
TRIPLE ANIMAL COMPOUNDS
127
grass
bud
tea
bitter
This character is a combination of 'grass' and 'early' !f!. and means 'grass' or ' herbs'.
This character is a combination of 'grass' qnd 'field', and refers to the buds that sprout in f ields.
This character is a combination of 'grass', a component that resembles 'person' and 'tree', and can be translated as 'tea tree'. The original
This character is a combination of 'grass' and 'o ld' ii. An old plant is not going to taste very good! This character also means 'illness'.
form of this character, ~' meant 'bitter herb' .
......... ....... ...... ... ·-····· ..................................,.
~··························-·············
.........' ............................................................................ ' .....................................-......................... ···-··· ................................. GRASS COMPOUN DS
129
â&#x20AC;˘money Tta:Sfriiplifiiill form Is Jl
'
---
to buy
to sell
poor
to congratulate
~ to congratulate This character is a combination of 'net' and 'shell'. It alluded to using a net to collect shells, which you could use to buy things. The simplified form is~.
This character is a combination of 'scholar', 'net' qnd 'shell'. Originally it was a combination of 'to get out' and 'to buy', alluding to getting rid of purchases by selling them.
This character is a combination of 'to divide' and 'shell'. As shells were once currency, dividing them would make you poorer. The simplified
( he4 ) This character is a combination of 'to add! and 'shell'. Congratulations in China .are often given in the form of money.
form is~.
The simplified form is~ .
~ liD
~* buyer
The simplified form is ~.
=ll"i!. ~
~::E customer
commerce (mai 3 mai4 )
(ma i3 zhu 3 )
to buy + to sell
to buy + master
......................... ·-····· ..................................,.
~··························-·············
to buy back (mai 3 hui 2 ) to buy + to retu rn
(ma i3 jia1) to buy + home
.........' ............................................................................ ' .....................................-......................... ···-··· ................................. SHELL COMPOUNDS AND PHRASES
131
While the character
*
'big' depicts a man stretching his arms out wide, indicating his large size. 'small' originally depicted a man kneeling with his arms by his side to appear small.
0 •
o 0 o 0 0 0 0 o • 0 o • o • • , • o • , • • o • 0 o • o • • o I o 00 ot o o oot o 00 o o o • o o • o o • • • o • oo oo o o o oo o oo oo • ·• I oo o o o 00 .._.., 00 0 0 ooooo I U
132
SHELL BUILDING BLOCK
00 0
.....................................................................................................
/ \
sharp
little
/ \ I
grandchild
This character originally meant 'little', 'minus', 'few' or 'less', but has been extended to also mean 'young'. It has an alternative pinyin: shao 4 .
This character is a combination of 'small' and 'big', and means 'sharp', 'pointed' or 'acute'. Imagine a triangle that is big or wide at its base then tapers to a small, sharp point.
This character is a combination of 'small' and 'soil'. This is the simplified form; the traditional form is
villain (xiao 3 ren 2) small + person
*'J'
j1}~
;J'A
......................... ·-····· ..................................,.
4
size (da xiao big + small
~··························-·············
3 )
flj, a combination of 'deer' and 'soil'. It alludes to the dust kicked up when a herd of deer run.
This character indicates E1 little child. This is the simplified form; the traditional form is ~. a combination of 'child' and 'system' ~, indicating the continuation of children.
j1}.:;r grandson
granddaughter ( su nt nu3 )
(su n1 zl)
grandchild + woman
grandchild + son
.........' ............................................................................ ' .....................................-......................... ···-··· ................................. SHELL COMPOUNDSANDPHRASES
133
•
cat
duck
+.+ small
i :
cat
•
I I
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ••••••••••••••••••• •••••••••••••••••••••••• •••••••••••••••••••••••• ••••• ••••••• •••
::
mountain
lynx
;J'ua ft and 'bud'.
Its simplified
form is Mit which Is a combination of 'dog' and 'bud'.
i
......................................................................................................................:
kitten
This character is a combination of 'raccoon'
cat
This character is a combination of 'helmet' and 'bird'. A male mallard looks like it is wearing a green helmet. The $implified form of this charqcter is '~·
kitten (xiao3 mao1)
A very simple phrase; a small cat is a kitten. sma ll + cat= kitten
wm lynx (shan 1 mao 1) A lynx is a speeies of wildcat recognizable by its tufted ears. Lynx are normally found in highaltitude forests. mountain + cat= lynx
~.±. Elvis Presley
(mao1 w ang2 ) cat + king ••• 0. ~ · ••••
134
u
·~ 0 • • • 0'! • • • • • • • • • • ._• • ~··- . ... . . . . . ~ • • • • · -· . . . . . . . . . . ~·· • • • • • • • • • • • •
u
• • ,,. ••• · -· . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . · -· · . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .· -· · • • • • ''! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' " ' · -· . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0
ADDITIONAL ANIMA L COMPOUNDS AND PH RASES
. . . .._. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
~ to wrap up (bao 1) This building block means 'to wrap up'. Its most common form is
'22 .
• • • • • • • • • • ' • • • • • • • • • •• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • - · • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
136
TO WRAP UP BUILDING BLOCK
sentence
of
well distributed
even
5J
a~ of (de) In oracle-bone inscriptions, this character was a
4 and 'mouth'. Unlike i!Jr
combination of 'rope'
(below), which usually refers to a specific sentence, this character tends to be used when counting (e.g. 'there are 10 sentences'). sentence (ju 4 zi) sentence + son
1:i.JT-
......................... ·-····· ..................................,.
This character is a combination of 'white' and 'to wrap up'. It means 'of' and is one of the most frequently used Chinese characters.
yes (hao3 de) good + of
frr89
~··························-·············
well distributed
(yu n 2 ) This character can also mean 'to divide'. The combination of 'to wrap up' and the number two alludes to treating two things equally.
This character is a combination of 'soi l' and 'well distributed/to divide'. It alludes to an even division of land.
i5.J>.J to distribute evenly (jun 1 yun2 ) even + well distributed
.........' ............................................................................ ' .....................................-......................... ···-··· ................................. TO WRAP UP COMPOUNDS AND PHRASES
137
Jl how many (ji 3 ) This is the simplified form of 'how many'; the traditional form is •· a combination of 'few' ~ and 'defence' fl. and originally meant 'fine' or 'slight'. This character has a number of alternative pinyins and meanings: as noun = bench (ji 1) as adverb =almost (ji 1) as verb = reach/attain (ji 1) as pronoun = several (ji 3 )
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• •••••••••
This character is a combination of 'tree' and 'how many'. Its traditional form is W.
.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
138
HOW MANY BUILDING BLOCK
J'L ordinary (fan
2
ordinary
quantity of flowers
male phoenix
female phoenix
)
In oracle-bone and bronze scripts, this character repr-esented building apparatus. It originally meant 'mould for making Qbjects', and then evolved to mean 'ordinarY.'.
Jl~
(ji 3
several days t ian 1)
how many + sky/day
......................... ·-····· ..................................,.
5R
quantity of flowers (duo 3 )
Jil. male phoenix (feng 4 )
~
female phoenix ( huang 2 )
This character is a combination of 'how many' and 'tree'. It refers to a unit, such as a dozen flowers. Jl~it? means 'how many flowers?' (ji3 duo3 hua).
This character is a combination of 'how many' and 'bird'. In Chinese mythology, the phoenix is the king of birds and symbolizes good fortune. The simplified form is ~
Jl~?
~r Jl several
+Jl a
(hao 3 ji 3 )
(sh i2 jl1)
good + how many/severa l
ten + how many/almost
how many days? (ji 3 tian 1) how many + sky/day ~··························-·············
This character is a combination of 'how many', 'white' and 'king ', and refers to the female phoenix of Chinese mythology.
dozen or so
.........' ............................................................................ ' .....................................-......................... ···-··· ................................. HOW MANY COMPOUNDS AND PHRASES
139
This character has looked rather abstract throughout its thousand years of evolution, so I think this illustration expresses its meaning well. The character has an alternative pinyin: mou 3.
.............................................................................. 4000000001tt•••••···················································~························4·······················.. ·········•••···•···•·•·••·••••·••·•·•····••·•·········•······ .. •·•
140
PRIVATE BUILDING BLOCK
public
to go
. pme
platform
i:l' platform
0 public (gong 1) This character is a combination of the number eight and 'private'. It also means 'grandfather' when written i}i}, or 'male' when referring to animals.
This character is a combination of 'private' and 'soil'. It al ludes to a person leaving a place to go somewhere.
This character is a combination of 'tree' and 'public'. A different character with the same pronunciation ~ can mean 'to relax' and 'loose'.
(tai 2 )
This character is a combination of 'private' and 'mouth'. Norma lly an orator is the sole person to stand on a platform and deliver their speech . The other traditional form of this character' is
0~
police (China) (gong1 an1) pub Iic + peaceful
......................... ·-····· ..................................,.
~ ~ police (Taiwan)
(jing3 cha 2 ) police + to observe ~··························-·············
B.
0 .±. princess (gong 1 zhu 3 ) public + master
.........' ............................................................................ ' .....................................-......................... ···-··· ................................. PRIVATE COMPOUNDS AND PHRASES
141
~
to reveal (shi4)
This character originally meant 'stone table for sacrificial offenngs'. In ancient times, sacrificial ceremonies were intended to demonstrate devotion to the gods. Therefore. the character 7F means 'to reveal' or 'to show' .
.
................... .............. ......... ..... ............ f to reveal (shi 4 ) ~
This character Is the form of 'to reveal' that is used as a component in certain compounds. See 'auspicious' opposite for an example of this character.
.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
142
TO REVEAL BUILDING BLOCK
. .
a u spiCIOUS
society
god
blessing
~ auspicious
(xiang 2 ) This character is a combination of 'to reveal' and 'sheep', and also means 'omen', 'good luck' and 'happiness' . People once sacrifrced sheep for luck.
t± society
(she
4
)
This character is a combination of 'to reveal' and 'soil', and originally referred to a place of worship. It has since evolved to mean 'society' or 'company'.
t$U shrine
~~~ serene
(shen 2 she 4 ) god + society
(an 1 xiang 2 ) peacefu l + auspicious
......................... ·-····· ..................................,.
~··························-·············
This character is a combination of 'to reveal' and 'to explain'. God is omnipotent and omniscient. He revea ls secrets.
This character is a combination of 'to reveal' the number one, 'mouth' qnd 'field', and also means 'good fortune' or 'blessing'. It is commonly written on red paper during Chinese New Year.
.........' ............................................................................ ' .....................................-......................... ···-··· ................................. TO REVEAL COMPOUNDS AN D PHRASES
143
sweat
flat
year
This character is a combination of 'water' and 'shield/dry', and alludes to a person being dry because they have sweated out all their water.
This character is a combination of 'shield' and the number eight. It also means 'gentle', 'equal' or 'level'.
This character refers to the time required for the earth to orbit the sun once, based on the Chinese calendar. For example, the phrase-~ means 'one
year'. The character can also mean 'new year' or 'annual'. SJL~ safe
:$'~&\ happiness
(ping 2 an1) flat/gentle + peaceful
(xing 4 fu 2 ) fate + blessing
......................... ·-····· ..................................,.
~··························-·············
This character is a combination of 'shield'
T,
±
'soil' and 'to be' ". Ironically, this character originally meant 'torture'. Today it means 'fate' or 'good fortune'.
.........' ............................................................................ ' .....................................-......................... ···-··· ................................. SHEILD COMPOUNDS AND PHRASES
145
) ice (bingl) This character rarely appears by itself. Instead, it is used as part of a compound. It is commonly called
JWa*. 'two dots of water'.
······································~···········
146
..
······························································································~························~··································································· ···················
ICE BUILDING BLOCK
..···
0
ICe
frozen
winter
to gallop
;,~ to gallop (feng 2 ) This character is a combination of the building blocks 'ice' and 'water'. indicating frozen water.
JJ.I<l.!< means 'iced water'.
This character is a combination of 'ice' and 'east'. The coast of China lies to the east, and in winter ieebergs would have come from the east. The simplified form is
)*.
......... ....... ...... ... ·-····· ..................................,.
~··························-·············
This character is a combination of 'slow' jz ('slow' looks similar to the charaeter for 'dusk', but has an extended stroke) and 'ice'. It translates literally as 'slow ice', which alludes to ice building up slowly over winter.
This character is a combination of 'ice' and 'horse', and means 'to gallop'. This character is also a surname. The simplified form is ~.
.........' ............................................................................ ' .....................................-......................... ···-··· ................................. ICE COMPOUNDS
147
7:.
to owe (qian 4 )
The earliest form of this character in oracle-bone inscriptions deptcted a person kneeling with a wide-open mouth. It is believed that this represented a person in the act of yawning, because the meaning of the character was 'to yawn'.
Since the clerical change, the wide-open mouth is no longer discernible in this character. However, characters with !R.. as a component are often related to opening the mouth and exhaling. When one yawns, it means one is tired and short of energy. Therefore, an extended meaning of !R.. is 'to lack', which is commonly used in modern Chmese.
........ .. .. . ...TO .. .. ... . . . ..··- ·······························-·······-··-····-·······-········-································································································································································· OWE BUILDING BLOCK
148
to blow
to cook
sequence
Europe
This character is a combination of 'mouth' and 'to owe'. In this case. 'to owe' means 'to yawn'.
This character is a combination of 'fire' and 'to owe'. In this case. 'to owe' means 'to blow', and refers to blowing the embers to cook your food.
This character is a combination of 'ice' and 'to owe'. It is used to refer to the number of times that something happens. For example. the phrase means 'twice'.
=lj:.:
This character is a combination of 'area' ~and ' to owe'. This
character's pronunciation sounds similar to the English pronunciation of 'Europe'. The simplified form is~ .
......... ....... ...... ... ·-····· ..................................,.
~··························-·············
.........' ............................................................................ ' .....................................-......................... ···-··· ................................. TO OWE COMPOUNDS
149
to compare
t o transf orm
f inger
f lower
tt to compare (bi ) 3
This character comprises two 'dagger' building bloeks, and symbolizes two people wa lking in unison, shou lder to shou lder. It now means 'to compare'.
......... ....... ...... ... ·-····· ..................................,.
n
{lj
t o transf orm (hua 4 ) This character is a combination of 'person' and 'dagger'. It is often seen in words relating to chemistry, especial ly when referring to elements and substances. It also means 'to melt' or 'to convert'.
~··························-·············
This character is a combination of 'hand' and 'purpose' ~ , which is a combination of 'dagger' and 'sun'. Fingers are what make your hands useful. The character also means 'point' when used as a verb.
fl ower
1 (hua )
The character is a combination of 'grass' and 'to transform '. Flowers might look a b it li ke transformed grass.
.........' ............................................................................ ' .....................................-......................... ···-··· ................................. DAGGER COMPOUNDS
151
Advanced Sentences
.••
.••
•
•
························ · ····· · ··~···· · ····· · ···· · ···················································~·······································~········· · ······· · ···································
Such a beautif ul princess
"Pf~ B'5J 0
.3:. (pages 97, 41, 137, 141)
t
:•
:•
················································· · ····························································· ·····~··············~····················································· · ··········
Such a long sentence
~r-& 8'51 1:!1 T- (pages 97, ss, 137)
.•••
• • • •.• • • • 0 0 0 •
0 . . . . . . . . . 0 . . . . . . . ... . 0 . . . . . . . 0 • • 0 • • ._• • • 0 0
.4.
.
0 0 • '"""" 0 . . . . . . . . . . . 0 • • • 0 0 • • • • • • • • • 0 .._._._. 0 . . . . . . 0 0 • • • • 0 . 0 0 0 0 • • 0 • • • • • • 0 •
0 • • • • •.._• • 0 • 0 . . . 0 . . . . . . . . . . ... . 0 . . . . . . 0 ._. . . . 0 . . . . . . . 0 . . . . . . . . 0 •
••
0- A- 0 0 0- 0 0 • 0 • 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 • • 0 0 0 • • 0 0 • 0 0 0 0 . . .
Sweat stinks
"Pf ~ ~ )f
(pages 97, 99, 137, 145)
.••
..
•
.•
•
··················································································································~··························~···········•••ooooooottt•••······················••o•
The instruction from God
fEI3 B'5J t~ ~ (pages 143, 137, 151, 142)
o oo o o u o o o o-oo oo o oo o "'! o o o o oo o o o oooo ooo o o o 0-0 oo o o o oo o o o oo o 0 oo o o o oo-o o o o o •• ooo o •ooo oo •• 0-00 ooo o o o oo o o o o o oo o oo oo o o •o o oo o o-oo oo o.oo·o 0-0• ooo o oo-oo o o oo ooo •••• oO..o o o o •• o oo •• oo oo--o oo o oo oo o •• o o o o o ooo oo oo o o o.o o oo o •<t• oo o o o~ o.o o oo o o oo o..o o o o oo o '! o o o o o-o-ooo o oo o o' o o o o o o o •• 00-0 o •o oo o o 0-0 o.oo o o o o o
152
ADVANCED SENTENCES
.•••
.•••
•
·····•···•···••···•·················•····••···•···•····••···•····•·
Blessed woman from Shandong Province
~fi 811 U.J *~A
·•····•·····················••····•·····•
(pages 145,143,137, s4)
I .•
. ••
••
•
·········~·············~···························································································~· · ···········································································
Everybody be careful
"ft:..
* J\ {,\ 1
(pages 93,
87)
L..-.----·---------·--·--·_.._..._.-·--·----·-·-.t-·---·---· ------..-·--·-·-·-·J Beautiful teenage girl
~j) "!;{ (pages 41, 133, 46)
~
·" '' ..• ...........•...,....•.....•.•..•....•....•.•.......•....•.........•....•.........•............................••...............•.
•
1.
The fish is so fresh
~,-p:ffl (pages 25, 97, 41)
.
....... ....... . . . .0 •
• • • 0 • • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .-. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • •• • • • • • • 0 • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 .
f ................ +1"• ••••••••••••••••
~·
•••• ~·· •••••• ~· . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . .- •••••••••• ._. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ADVANCED SENTENCES
153
..• • •
•• ••• •
•• •
• 0 ••••••••••••••••••
Ice-cold lad y
J7.J< UJ ~A
(pages 147, 42, 41, 16)
I ..• ..• .•....................................................................................................................................................•
The lamb is going home I
J\ $@]
*
(p ages 13 2, 40, 23,
93)
..• .•. .·····•••'"-""···............................................................................ ··- .. ········· ...........................--. ..........................•• '
Everyone is safe
A A 3fZ- ~ (pages 21, 14 5)
'' '' '' '' '' ,' ,, ,' ',,,,, ' '_,' ' ' ' ' ' .
•
..• •
..• •........................•....................................•.....•..••••••••••••••••••••..•......•........................•.................
It rains too much
j§ij 7.}< fr.. ~
(pages 95. 19,
107)
0 • ooooooooOOoooo• oOOOOOOOOOOOOO• •000000000000000000
154
oOOOOOOOOOOOOO•o••••oo••oooooo4oO••ooooooooooo4ooooooooooooooOoo•ooooOOOOOOOOOIOIIO•oo000000000000000000000.0000000oOeOOOOOOOOeo•oe••oooo~4oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo~oooooooOOOOOOOOI0000.000000I00000000000
ADVANCED SENTENCES
.•••
.:•
•·~· · ·············· · ········· · · · ·············
•
The younger sister is going to Japan
· ····· · ········t· ·· · · · ··~·
P*:P* ~ f3 7-1-' (pages 48, 141, 55)
• .••.
.• •
•
•
. . . . ._. 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . 0 . . . . . 0 • • 0 ' . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 • • • • • 0 . . . . . . . . . . 0 ....... 0 • • 0 0 • 0 . . . . . . . . . . . 0 • • • • 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 . . . ... . . . . . 0 . 0 0 . . . . . 0 0 . . . . 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 . . . . . ... . 0 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 . . . . . . . . ··~ 0 0- . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 0 • 0 • 0 . . . . . . . . . ._.._• • 0 • • • 0 0 0 • 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 • • • • 0-0 . . . . . . . . ....._• .. _ . 0 • • 0 0 0 0 • 0-0 . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 ........ 0 • • .._....._. . . . . . . . . . . 0 • • • •..._. 0 0
How much does this flower cost?
~1t
tb 9/?
(pages 113, 139, 1s1, 131, 101, 133)
• .•
.••
•
•...........................~ · ···........................................................................................................................................................ .................................................................... ~~··································•
Grandfather returned from the forest
i}i}f~~~* §1
*
(traditional Chinese) ;
00M~*f\@H~
(simplified Chinese)
(pages 141, 17, 33, 37)
1i
••
.•.•
..•• .
········~······· ·······~· · ·········· · ··············~··························~·····~·· .. ···········~~············· ···················~· ·····················································•J••••••·································,······························· ··
Madam Lin is returning in May
**~A Ji .F.J §1 :i;:
(pages 33, 18, 82, 56, 23, 141)
•••• • oo~oooo~oooooo o ooooooo~oooooooo•••oooooooooooooooooooo o o~ooooo~oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo o oooo o ooooooooooooo•o ooooooooooooooooooooooo o ooooooooooo o oooooooooooooooooooooo o oo~oooooo o oooooooooooooo~oooooooooooooo•••••••••••••oooo • • o
156
ADVANCED SENTENCES
•ooooooooooooooooooo o a o oooo•
.••
.. .••
•• ........•...•.....•••.• ,...........•....•..••...••.........•
· · ~··· ······ ···· · ··············
Mama is pregnant
~~ ~~ J\ ~± T
(pages 77, 115)
••
••
............................... . ...............................................................................................................: The brat is clapping his hands
l
•
•
~
J\ T tB =f.
1
(pages 132, 96, 101)
• fE
'"' .••••
i•
•
• • 0 • • 0 • • • • • • ..._• • • •.._. . . 0 . 0 .._. 0 •
. . . . . 0 .......... 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 • • • • 0 . ... . . . . . . 0 0 . . . . 0 . . . . . . ... . 0 0 . ... . 0 • • • • • • . . . . . . . . . . 0 4 • • • 0 • • . . . . . . . ... . 0 . . . . . . . . 0 0-0 • • • • •. . _ . 0 • • • • • • • • 0 • • • 0 0 • • • • 0 • • • 0 • • • • 0 ._._. . . . . .._._• • 0 • • • • 0 . 0 · -·
•
._. . . . 0 · - ·
. . . . . . ..._. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 •
• • • 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . · ·-·
. . . . . . 0 0 · ·-·
• • • • • • • • • • 0 ....... 0 • •
The mermaid princess burst into tears
fa I \ ' -+- 0.1;1 /\.. '"' './4 .:E /\. 7<:: l
I
\
I
I
(pages 24, 141, 27)
n-
. ..••• .l '•••••,.••••••••••••••••••• ••••••••••••••-••••U••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••u••••••••••••••oo,ooo•••••••••••••••••••,.••••••••••oo•••••••••U••••••••••"
The rich girl stinks
'i'~~ *~
(pages 121, 19, 99)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .-. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , ••••••• f . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ADVANCED SENTENCES
157
••• ••
. ,
The Story of Peter and the Wolf
'wolf'
IJil
Once upon a time, on the edge of a forest clearing, there lived a boy named Peter. Early one morning, Peter left his home to go for a walk in the dark forest, leaving the gate to his house open.
••• ••
162
••• ••
While t he duck was swimming, a bird flew down beside it and mocked, ' What kind of bird are you, if you can't fly?' To which the duck indignantly replied , ' What kind of bird are you, if you can't swim?'
,,,
A nearby du c k, noti c ing that the gate w as open, d ecid ed t o go for a qu ick swim in Peter's ya rd .
164
165
While the duck and the bird were arguing, a sly cat crept slowly towards them. The cat thought to itself, 'I wi II catch that Iittle bird while it's arguing with the duck!' But, before the cat could pounce, Peter warned the bird, who flew to safety.
â&#x20AC;˘
,,,, 167
Hearing Peter's call , his grandfather, who hadn 't realized that Peter had left the safety of the house, scolded him: 'Suppose a wolf came out of the forest!' he chided . straight towards them.
169
Hearing Peter's ca ll, his grandfather, who hadn't realized that Peter had left the safety of the house, scolded him : 'Suppose a wolf came out of t he forest!' he c hided.
Peter scoffed, 'Boys like me are not afraid of wolves!' But at that very moment, unbeknown to them, a big, hungry grey wolf w as stalking through the forest straight towards them .
169
II
â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘
--
When Peter had returned to the safety of his home, the hungry wolf slunk out of the forest. In a flash, the bird flew up into the tallest tree, but the duck, who could not fly, was no match for the speed of the wolf. With one huge gulp, the wolf caught the duck and swallowed it whole!
Seeing that his friends were in trouble, Peter fetched a rope and climbed into a nearby tree. As the bird distracted the animal, Peter lowered a noose and caught the wolf by its ta i I.
While the wolf struggled, the noose became tighter and tighter until, at last, the wolf could struggle no more. A nearby hunter, who had been trying to track the wolf, spied Peter in the tree and offered to shoot the wolf, but Peter had another idea.
l
â&#x20AC;˘
With the wolf safely tied up, Peter led the hunter to a zoo in a nearby village, where the wolf stayed for the rest of its days.
176
=
three
1 (san )
One plus two is three.
REFERENCE Building Block Plates Index of Characters and Phrases
Building Block Plates
~
"''
A
~
person (ren
2
3
/\. dog (quan )
)
16
26
40
~ feather (yu 3 )
182
22
51
BUI LDING BLOCK PLATES
Ill mountain (shan1)
42
j{_
woman (m/)
~ moon (yue
4 )
32
t'r bamboo (zhu
46
~~
bird (niao
56
I
work (gong )
3
2 )
39
50
)
1
60
•
•
a white ( bai2)
62
mtiger ( h u3)
64
r~ door (men2)
.tt=- cow ( n iu 2)
74
,~ horse ( ma3)
76
.3S. jade (y u 4 )
fit boat (zho ul)
81
-one (yi 1)
82-83
.$.bug (chong 2)
l}<
66
78
84
water (sh ui3)
70
JII river (chuanl)
80
~tall/length (chan g2) 85
86
n knife (dao l)
88
~pig (sh i3)
........., roof (mian2)
92
91
BUILDING BLOCK PLATES
183
'' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' ,,,,,,,,, ''''''''' '' '' '' ' ' '' '' '' '' '' '' ' '- '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' §
94
103
F
household ( hu
4
)
eye ( m u')
104
98
100
105
106
'• • =
i:i
2
to talk (yan )
108
114
184
BUI LDING BLOCK PLATES
lll
110
± soldier ( sh i
4
)
116
± scholar (sh i 117
4
)
'
L
4
walking (c huo ) 112
83 field ( t ian
2 )
118
122
gj
wine vessel (you
128
'l to wrap up
3
)
123
~
1
-Xi weapon (g e )
124
132
130
JL how many Ci)
1 x(bao )
136
140
j l ghost ( g u i3 )
-
135
4
iJ' to reveal (sh i
)
142
138
144
125
146
!R. to owe ( q ian
4
150
)
148
BUILDING BLOCK PLATES
185
Index of Characters and Phrases Chineasy teaches mainly traditional Chinese (see p. 11). Where the traditional and simplified forms of a character are different, the traditional form is given first, followed by the simplified form. Where no distinction between forms is noted, the traditional and simplified forms of the character are the same.
~ID!K
account/bill (zhang
*~
4 )
achievement/generosity 4
(da qi
:bD
to add
:*:A. Ji
2
adult (da ren ) 1 (jian )
adultery
** ~
3
4
angry (huo da ) apricot (xing
tk
4 ) 2·
argument (nuan )
AI
artificial (ren
~a~
2
1 gong )
to ascertain (cha ming
2
to ask (wen ) to assist (fu
1±
at (zai
t~
2 )
4 )
auspicious (xiang
'rT
2
A
2
bank account (zhang hu ) to bark (fei
4
4
to bark loudly (da fei
4 )
4
be carefu I (x iao beautiful (mei
1iA.
3
1 xin )
beautiful lady (jia ren 1
Jtt
* ** ~~~
belly (du )
CICI
,~
big (da
)
4 )
4
bird (n iao bitter (ku
3
3
3
blazing (yan yan
47
~
burning hot (yan
2
blessing (fu to blow
2 )
1 (chui )
) 1 (mie )
3
38
) I
87
I
122 2
57
)
2 )
129 3
2
2
84, 127 2
29
)
67
buyer (mai jia )
101
~tltt
to calculate (ji
115
:bDtN
California (jia zhou
m~~~
cat (mao)
SA
Caucasian (bai ren
~
to cause (yin
~
character (zi
104
27
115 109
to buy (mai
3
131
) 3
to buy back (mai hui 3
2 )
131
1
131
4
109
)
1
1 )
90
1
134 2
1111/1~
2
63
)
1 )
23
4
97
)
to charge in (chuang
,J,r.P
3
77
)
3
1
101
cheat sheet (xiao chao )
~
2
53
to check (cha )
ta-¥
1
to clap hands (pai shou
:JJ' a,ij
1
*I* ~*~~* l:lj *I l:lj
75
)
'Jti!R:. 'Jt ~I!*:.~ ~ 1#.1'!*:. 1#.
*
cleqrly (fen ming to come (lai
2
3 )
101 89
)
2
33
)
to come back (hu/ lai 1
'ltRI!R:.~
to come out (chu lai
tt
commerce (mai mai
3
2
2
37
)
44
)
131
4
3
)
1313.
to compare (bi
)
151
-~~
to compel (po )
113
M
to congratu late (he)
41
3C'G' iX
to construct (jia
143
Ill~
77
bleating of sheep
INDEX
AI$.
129
)
2
ox
36
bug (chong)
50
)
to blame (ma )
1&
71<4
31
)
4
~
31
buffalo (shui niu
17
)
big fire (da huo
1:11:1
m
115
4
*1t$ :X.JJ.l..
186
2
4
.E:r
47
bud (miao
41
)
to believe (xiang xin
*I
a~
87
3
1
*t:J1s
18
bright (ming
71
to bathe (mu )
~
i:S
27
)
:;1\:lljt
'J''G'
90
bow (gong)
39
bamboo (zhu )
lljt
)if\
~~~~~
bored (men)
143
)
2
~FID!KF
Hl'f*
58
)
4
~
27
body (ti
61
2
rc~ll)j]
:J$T
)
4
81
85
4
1 ( j ia )
l
boat (zhou)
30
4
4
1
1
to cook (chui ) country (guo )
90
)
contented (an xin
2
149
4
131
1 )
87 149 79
43
1
XJ.llr:l 1111-J:A
crowd (zhang )
~
to cry (ku)
*~
3
crater (huo shan kou ) 4
1
4
1
to cry out (da ku ) to cry out in anger
71<~
crystal (s hui j ing )
~3::/~3::
customer (mai zhu
7J<r,t7J<n fKI f:f-T
3
3
dam (shu/ men
2
)
)
1
daughter (nan) 4
day (ri zi)
ft
deer (lu )
2
1 )
2
determination (zhi
4
43 72
~~~
Europe (ou)
131
~
even (jun
150
~*
every day (tian tian )
73
*~
everybody (da
48
A.A.
everY,one (ren ren )
~r:l ).jJls.J....
exit (chu kou
93 110
)
to distract (fen
1
1 xi n )
89
137
to distribute evenly
to divide (fen
89
4
19
!).';! I IA.l
7C r,;n
to dodge (shan )
1*XJ.ll
3
tD ~
t8
2 )
4
end (mo ) 4
to enter (ru )
65
1
149
1 )
137 1
1
1
21
1 jia )
4
2
93
2
21
3
44
)
2
2
expert (da ren ) to explain (shen
113
1 )
119 1
extremely big (tian da
4
21
)
4
eye (mu)
98 1
fairy (xian nu
3 )
49
4
102
to fasten (kou ) fate (xing
dog (quan) 2
door (men ) 2
3
4
145
)
4
fear (pa )
87
~~~
:t?J
dream (meng )
5f*
to dress up (ban )
iU~
to drip (lin
路~~~路~ 9
to drive (jia duck (ya)
~~~
dusk (xi
4
) 4
)
1
1 )
2
dust (chen ) 1
east (dong) 4
to eat (dan )
2
1
m
fine (jia )
*:k JJJ.I X 7k.
finger' (zhi
2
,.
115
3
fire (huo
3
151
)
28
) 1 )
93
25
139
fish (yu
107
five (wu
101
flames (yan )
)
3
82
) 4
29 4
71
SfL
flames of fire (yan yan
90
~~~
flat (ping
134
~
to flee (ben )
106
71< JJJ.I 71< 7k.
flesh (rou )
133
:(t
flood (shui zai )
53
mrt
flower (hua)
29
58
1
2
61
118
)
3
4
2
1
fire disaster (huo zai 2
139
)
3
66
1
2
female worker (nu gong )
{i
45
a dozen or so (shi ji )
female phoenix (huang
26
dormant volcano
+mt+JL
51
to find out (cha chu)
68
3
EE
feather (yu )
~~
doorway (men kou )
(xiu huo shan )
~I
134
36
field (tian
67
3
1
{ili~
~
1 )
doctor (dai fu)
r, r:~ ;n r:~
~*
1
Elvis Presley (mao wang
3
. 1 2) ( JUn yun
**-
)
*A
116
)
4
27
搂
1 (zai )
dish (min
4
(da mei
$
49
eldest younger sister
~It~rti:
109
)
83
27
125
detailed (xiang
3
*P*
63
4
disaster
45
97
daytime (bai tian
lill
3
)
8~ ~li楼
1 (duo )
1
3
dagger (bi
I\
17
Dlij
~
74
2
30
126
4
56
3
1
1
1 )
)
145
) 1
to fly (fei
4
93 151 103
INDEX
187
4
2*
foam (mo)
*1*
folks (da huo )
4
3
2
~/M.
to follow (cong )
~
forest (sen )
.
1
~
to forgive (shu
*
foundation (ben
jft_
fountain (quan
gg
four (si
f!¥.1~¥:
fresh (xi an
2
) 3
)
)
4 ) 1 )
~7}<.
fresh water (dan shui
Jill
friend (peng
fE
from/due (you )
4
2
3
)
) 2
*-P~/J\:fl
'*/)* **/** mill~. ~~~~~
~
home (jia
17
~~~
horse (ma )
4
2
front gate (da men ) 4
4
future (wei lai
2
76
33
m;JL
how many (ji
71
m~?IJLJZ? how many days? (ji3 tian 1)
139
82
:fbj>
how much (duo shao )
107
41
@]A_
Hui people (hui ren
72
A.RIA..f*
human body (ren ti
57
*A.**
I am furious
37
) 3
gall bladder (dan )
57
to gallop (feng )
147
gas pedal/accelerator
121
2
43
to get out (chu) ghost (gui
4
3
1
3
~
(fu jia nu
135
)
fl1i
to go (qu )
121
)
1
127
horses running (biao ) 4
3
104 138
)
1
3
2
2
2
3
3
)
24
)
38 35
2
3
4
(ben ren huo da )
141
2
god (shen )
143
3
97
P:J'L'
good Chao)
~/1/J\
good intention (hao xi n
~~/~J\~
grandch ild (sun )
~=fi~J\=f
granddaughter (sun nu )
-t+
grandson (sun zi)
1.!
grass (cao )
~
grass (cao)
1*
greed (lan )
-¥
group (huo )
~-¥
hand (shou )
~~
handrail (fu shou
'L'
happiness (xing fu
~A.
heart (xin
3
1 )
1
1
1
3
2
3 3
2
3
4
1 ) 1
heaven (tian ren
*·•·• f'01 .- n
'*~ ~jA./I*JA.
1m 1ili 'J'.5a *-R!J\:1:*
2
)
3
97
2
)
146
1
147
ice (bing ) 1
idiot (dai )
36 2
idler (xian ren
2
69
)
to illum inate (zhao
3
imp (xiao g ui
3
43 135
)
~
in vain (bai bai
B*
3
38
) 2
in the coming days (lai ri 2
2
1
it (ta ) 4
4
3
B*itt B*A.
Japanese language
55
)
109
n.4 b·en3 yu 3)
Japanese person
133
( .4
55
n b en 3 ren 2)
Japanese woman .4
3
3
55
2
128
1113:/~ 3:
(n ben nu ren )
129
3:
king (guo wang
48
3:~/3:~
king (wang
29
IJ\11/IJ\~~
kingdom (wang guo
100
]]
kitten (xiao mao )
~
knife (dao )
145
$.fi3i Rl=l 1=1
lamb (gao)
86
~131
language (yu )
21
58
78
)
B*~/
'"'
)
150
jade (yu
(
4
63
)
Japan (ri ben
B*~A.
89
)
1
*J3/* f3 as
4
immortal (xian )
133
101
)
1
ice (bing )
in general (da"' ti
133
3
•• " " ••• .-,. ,. -~ " " " ,... ~ ••, ...-... ,.., ., ,., ,. .,, ,. • o• •• , ,.,..,
I
3i
4
INDEX
3
household (hu )
147
frozen (dong )
girl from a rich family
P:1-
93
87
68
1
*~~~
1 )
•P IF
(you men)
:±1
119
)
\
2
188
30
119
2
5~P~ I5~fl
~
helmet (jia
33 4
3
71
2
2
2
79
)
79
) 2
3
1
2
)
79 134
1
88
1
41 3
to learn/practise (xi
109 2
)
63
•• • ,. , .,. " " " f' 01 .., -. r • • .-.• •,. , ., ~- " " " • • • • ooo • •• • • •,. • .,. ,. , ., ,...,. ,., -. • • • • • •,. n ~-- " ' " ,..,.,. .--o o ,. ,-,. , • • ,., ,..,,, " " " -~ • • • • " " 0 0 1 .-. .. ..-oo " oo o ••• ..._, ,.-,., • • • ,.., , ..-. ,. ...,., " " " • " " " "" .-,.., " " " " " " • • • l'oo •• • •O "' • ·•·• • • • o n • • • " """ " " " " ' " .., -. r oo • •• • Oo• ..-. • ••" h 1 f'O • o
3
tr.
left (zuo )
~,/~/1*1
leisure (xian
1~
letter/trust (xin I ittle (shao
3
2
) 4 )
)
1
longhorn beetle (tian niu lucky (ji
2
2
)
)
I.DU\/1-D~l
lynx (shan mao )
8/fJL
machine (ji )
H~
mad dog (guang quan )
1
1
1
4
3
4
~
odour (chou )
99
67
B'5J
of (de)
137
109
~~IOOi.if
official language (guo yu
133
T-"9:.
offspring (zi nu
75
)fij
oil (you
117
)fij 83
oil field (you tian
134
-
one (yi )
60
2
3
2
3
120
) 2
2
82 3
2
138
one's self (ben ren )
113
on·eself (zi
99
)
*~,Q/
main entrance
68
originally (ben lai
~
2
3
2
~
~
A.-¥ ~
:3:: ~
~**
A.i!!A.~
*A.I*A. ~
4
139
)
T
17
man (fu) 2
3
manpower (ren shou )
101
1
107
11'1any (duo) 3
79
master (zhu ) 3 ) 4
medical industry (xing lin 2
mermaid (ren yu
2
)
2
messenger (lai ren
mile (li
3
2
1
3
)
)
4
moon (yue) 2
morality ( ren pin
3
1
1 )
3
~'
*H
4
must (bi
4
~*
4
71
120
platform (tai
89
plum (li
56
police (China) (gong an
3
)
141
)
97 1
-~
1 )
3
141
ttl~
police (Taiwan) (jing cha
it.?I~F
poor (pin
A.l=l
poor household (pin hu
}J
population (reh kou power (li
2
2
36
CJ
)
141 131
2
4
2
)
llll
48
2
)
tB&!
)
101
plain (dan
83 4
141 1
0
)
2
1 )
105
net (wang)
)
91
private (d)
1 )
2
)
:*:JJJ.I:*:i:J:.
3
to obey (ru )
3
93
~~~
3
1
34
99
1
not yet (wei
1
Province (shan dong ren
.b.
natural disaster (tian zai
~[]
54
prison (liao
~JJJ.I~'!k.
*
person frol1'1 Shandong
107
name (ming
nine (jiu
16
)
~
myself (zi ji
3
2
111
~a
18
person (ren )
)
1 )
2
to plagiarize (chao )
87
11'1utual (xiang
11
4
people (zhong ren )
:*:11±-T .I:T0:3:: $
)
93
24
19
)
2
'f!fi A.!A A. A. 1-D*-AI 1-D*A.
1
peaceful (an)
37
22
4
4
~
101
pine (song
42
mouth (kou)
148
)
pig (shi
77
mountain (shan
34
)
124
24
)
mother (11'1a )
Mrs (tai tai
)
2
to pat (pai )
I:X
)
molecule (fen zi
2
139
)
1
120
male phoenix (feng
me/1 (wo
4
to owe (qian
male (nan)
2
3
(da men kou)
34
4
ordinary (fan
4
121
)
1
18
:*:fll=l
109 97
madam (fu ren )
2
)
)
~A.
1
3
3
)
4
)
104 24 90
) 4
4
pregnant (da du zi)
115
. ( pnnce wang 2 z1.3).
97
1
princess (gong zhu 2
)
141 93
)
140
4
public (da zhong public (gong
4
1 )
141 1
3
)
18
)
to publish (chu pin quality (pin
3
3 )
44
23
INDEX
189
3
~
quantity of flowers (duo
~I
queen (nu wang )
D,~/0~
question indicator (ma
5JJ.i~
quiet month for business
3
2
)
139 79
2 )
4
4
(dan yue )
~
rain (yu
*~
rain shower (da yu
~**
rainforest (yu lin
) 4
3
~7]<
•
3
3 )
2 )
3
rainwater (yu shui
3 )
1
rank odour (shan)
/Jls
:IJD )fil
2
to reach (da ) to refuel (jia
1*
rest
@]
1
71' ==-
rich (fu
:l\:J51:l\:F ~
JII
2
4
.........
4
rich household (da hu
4 )
4
shout (xuan )
95
fltlt±
shrine (shen she
127
~
113
~a
71 92
1
rough (cu)
126 2
2
~IJ
round trip (lai hui
SJL~
to row Chua)
07]<
safe (ping an
Dffl
saliva (kou shui
Ill 7]<
to scare (hu )
±
scenery (shan shu i
t1t
scholar (shi
a
to seek (zhao )
El1~
self (j i
-~~
self-confidence (zi xin
1:!1 Jq]=f
to sell (mai
sentence (ju
IX
sentence (ju zi)
89
2
1 )
145
3
3
72
)
3
64 1
3
73
)
4
117
) 3
3 ) 4
4 ) 4 ) 4
serene (an xiang
PT m1tff 1l
seven (qi )
sequence (ci
4 )
1
1
3
several (han ji
INDEX
*·•·• f'01 .- n
3 )
2 )
4 )
Jlfffjc ~
IJ'\ ~A.!~ A.
t±
± ± =f ra~/IEl E3
4
130
) 1 )
144
1
2
tO sit (ZUO
4
115
) 4
to sit at (zuo zai six (liu
143
)
4
4
115
)
4
82
)
stze d a 4 xtao 3) 0
(
133
0
1
57
skin (fu) sky (tian
1 )
small (xiao
20 3
132
) 3
society (she soil (tu
143
)
3
114
)
soldier (shi son (zi
69
4
4
116
)
3
96
) 1
space/room (jian )
67
1
sparkles (jing ) 3
53
4
~7]<
spit (kou mo
1N
spring water (quan shui
tJ\ 3R/
state (zhou )
*s
to stroll (guang )
73
) 2
I
2
to steal (pa )
73
113
4
39
)
4
lll
0
sunrise (dan
109
)f
to surround (wei
131
=-
~
sweat (han )
1.37
ll)J
to talk (yan )
137
ftliE:
talkative (dao )
149
~
tall/length (chang )
143
Jru5§
tea (cha )
83
+
tear (lei
52
) 4
53
) 2
22
)
4
145
2
108 1
89 2
2
ten (shi
)
102 4
stupid (beh
3
80
13.
1.39
2
to sneak out (shan ren )
aa
05*
23
sun (ri
102
~~ 1::;
190
37
)
2
•• " " ••• .-,. ,. -~ " " " ,... ~ ••, ...-... ,.., ., ,., ,. .,,,. • o• •• , ,.,..,
104
80
1 )
40
)
95
60
)
2
*IT
120
)
roof (mian'2)
*@]/*@]
sheep (yang
133
shield (gan
142
)
4
river (j i ang
~
l\.IJ'\
54
1
95
23
)
river ( chuan ~)
)I
~
sharp (jian )
/'\
139
1
shell (bei
38
right (you
1
1 )
(shan dong)
~!.!n
c:t
l3ia
*I Ill *
94
121
1 (xiu )
to reveal (shi
Ill
Shandong Province
...J-
2 you )
to return (hui
m~Jll~
77 72
3
several days (j i tian
4
85 129
)
99
)
83
2
•• • ,. , .,. " " " f'01 .., -. r •• .-.• •,. ,., ~- " "" • •• • ooo • •• • • •,. • .,. ,. , ., ,...,. ,., -. • • • • • •,. n ~-- " ' " ,..,.,. .--oo ,. ,-,. , • • ,.,,..,, , " " " -~ ••• • " " 0 0 1 .-. .. ..-o o " oo o ••• ..._, ,.-,., • • • ,.., , ..-. ,. ...,., """ • " " " " " .-,.., """ " " " • • • l'o o •• • •O "' • ·•·• • • • on ••• " """ " " " " ' " .., -. roo • •• • Oo • ..-. • ••" h1 f'O • o
this (zhe4)
113
*.F.l -
this month (ben3 yue4)
59
~ I
three (sanl)
82
I
e!§
thunder (lei2)
119
to tie together (kun3)
m
*s
woods (lin2)
33
work (gongl)
60
worker (gongl ren2)
61
.A.rs~/ .A.Il3J
world (ren2 jianl)
69
102
~
to wrap up (baol)
136
tiger (hu3)
64
1¥
year (nian2)
145
today (ben3 ri4)
59
IJ.!~
years (sui4)
107
tomorrow (ming2 ri4)
59
:tlfa'g
yes (hao3 de)
137
too big (tai4 da4)
19
Yk
you (ru3)
71
too much (tai4)
19
~
younger sister (mei4)
48
to transform (hua4)
151
tree (mu4)
32
twins (zil)
97
two (er4)
82
!lull
two mountains (shenl)
43
to argue (chao3 jia3)
164-65
~1±
~~
unrestrained (zi4 zai4)
115
J.ttl~
bird (niao3)
160
USA (mei3 guo2)
79
tD
button (kou4)
163
utensil (qi4)
27
frai~Ni
cat (maol)
161
villain (xiao3 ren2)
133
qtct
chirp (zil zil )
167
volcano (huo3 shanl)
45
,, , ,~
duck (yal)
160
walking (chuo4)
112
~
the end (zhongl)
179
water (shui3)
70
m~
grandfather (zu3 fu4)
160
weak (ruo4)
122
,~/."9.1
horse (ma3)
177
weapon (gel)
124
B.A.!~ A.
hunter (lie4 ren2)
161
~
wel l distributed (yun2)
137
a+!ft!Jl
miaow (miao3 miao3)
166
8 lit
whirlwind (biaol)
126
nJll nJll
quqck (gua3 gua3)
167
white (bai2)
62
T-
son/boy (zi3)
160
whole (quan2)
79
~
weapon (gel)
174
Whole-heartedly (quan2 xinl)
87
~R
wolf (lang2)
161
wide expqnse of Wqter
71
/~
I=El
ml B~
S
** * 1t * H~~~/~@!
s IJ\A X Ill ' L
7.}< ~ ~ ~
'G'/it.'G' ~ )g3
(miao3)
~
wine (jiu3)
123
~
wine vessel (you3)
123
& "9:.
winter (dongl)
147
wizard (wul)
60
P:..A. lll*P:..A./ lll*"tl:..A.
woman (nu3)
46
woman (nu3 ren2)
49
woman from Shandong
54
.A.
Peter and the Wolf
Province (shanl dongl nu3 ren2)
INDEX
191
Acknowledgments The entire Chineasy project started out of a desire to teach my own children, MuLan (~.ll) and MuAn (~~)to read and appreciate the Chinese language and culture and
a personal curiosity to see if I could tackle the enormous task of deciphering the Chinese language of my childhood. Thanks to Bruno Giussani and Chris Ande.rson I was given the opportunity to share my private project on the global TED stage with a much larger audience than I ever intended, and I wish to thank Gary Sheinwald, Daria Pescador and Robert Leslie for their endless encouragement, constructive criticism and support during the four-month preparation leading up to my T ED talk. To execute the project I enlisted the help of Crispin Jameson and his Brave New World team, who have done a beautiful job. Throughout this process I also had the great pleasure of working with Noma Bar, whose fascinating illustrations have made my Chinese characters come to life. Isabella Schoepfer's assistance as project manager has been vital. I also want to thank Dimple Nathwani who has be.en looking after me for the past six years! I very quickly realized that Chineasy was taking on a life of its own, and as more people have come on board the project has grown even bigger. The endless discussions with Crispin and Noma, designers Darren Perry and Carissa Chan and my research assistant, Vanessa Lu ( 81~1Ji!). about each illustration and every single design detail have become my daily routine and I still bring my 'homework' back to MuLan and MuAn for their 'approval '. It sometimes feels like standing in front of a pair of critical judges! I would also like to thank Judith Greenbury, who is the reason why I first chose to write a Chineasy book. She is turning 90 years old in February 2014 and I want to make sure that I wish her a happy birthday here. Throughout the whole project a number of people have continued to help and support me: Myron Scholes, Susan Bird, Lulu Wang, Bi ll Gross, Chase Jarvis, Tim Ferriss, Stefan Sagmeister, Phi lip Rowley and the Woo family- to all of you, thank you. And last but not least, Lucas Dietrich of Thames & Hudson gave me the opportunity to serve those who are willing to go on this incredible journey with me. I left home at the age of 14, and have run around the world to try to understand myself, and my place in the world, ever since. I have looked for meaning and answers while walking barefoot through the Colombian Amazon, while sleeping in the Botswana desert listening to lions and hyenas, and while pushing myself to the limits of my endurance in some of the harshest, and coldest, climates in the world. After all the searching and fuss I finally realized that the answer to my question could be found where I started- home. I hope my calligrapher mothe.r Lin FangZi C~*~T-) and ceramic artist father Hsueh RuiFang ( liflliij]5=) can finally stop worrying about me, their rebellious daughter, now that I have found my place, and as I raise my own rebellious children.
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