{"id":15677,"date":"2022-08-23T13:54:46","date_gmt":"2022-08-23T13:54:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/?p=15677"},"modified":"2024-07-22T06:22:22","modified_gmt":"2024-07-22T06:22:22","slug":"resources-for-learning-chinese-characters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/resources-for-learning-chinese-characters.html","title":{"rendered":"A Collection of Resources for Learning Chinese Characters\u2013 Books, Videos, Courses, Apps, Tools"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Many Chinese learners initially avoid learning Chinese characters<\/a> due to their complexity, focusing instead on speaking and listening skills. However, reaching an intermediate level often reveals the necessity of character proficiency. The New HSK<\/a> Standard underscores the importance of characters, with each level requiring mastery of specific characters. For instance, achieving fluency across daily and academic contexts demands familiarity not only with character recognition and pronunciation but also with correct stroke order and writing speed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To help you better deal with this new challenge, we have collected some helpful resources to assist with learning and practicing Chinese characters, including books, videos, courses, apps, and tools.<\/p>\n\n\n Review:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The authors of this book are Liu Yong and his son and\ndaughter. Liu Yong is a very famous writer, artist, and educator in China. His\nteaching methodology is known for being very successful. So, he gathered the\nessence of his enlightening Chinese character teaching methodology in this\nbook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Each of the selected Chinese characters in this book includes a vivid hand-painted picture, a black and white silhouette, the evolvement from ancient versions to the present simplified and traditional versions, as well as a real-life photo game. There are also illustrative texts both in Chinese and English so that learners from different language backgrounds can easily understand. With the hardback edition, there are also matching notebooks included for learners to imitate and practice. In general, it\u2019s a very good and enlightening book for all beginners and kids. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Review:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This series of books is designed for kids who need to learn and inspire their interest in and passion for Chinese characters. There are around 650 characters that were selected because of their strong connection. The key feature of this series is that it makes good use of the inner connection between similarly constructed Chinese characters. As we all know, pictographs are the base of the construction of Chinese characters. Here in this series of books, the 3D movable design for each character can be very interesting. It not only presents the Chinese pictographs but also the process of combining them with radicals. The learning-by-playing method can easily draw kids\u2019 attention. With the illustrations and corresponding activities, learners can acquire more characters and easily distinguish similar characters. The shortcoming is that it only has written explanations in Chinese. So, it\u2019s better to have a tutor with a background in Chinese so that the learners can understand it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n More books: Recommended Chinese Characters Books<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n Review:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This is an\nink animation made in 1984, a very typical Chinese-style cartoon. The pictures\nmay seem a bit old, but the content is still very appealing and educational\nnow. Within 11 minutes, it tells the story of how Chinese characters were\ncreated by illustrating 36 Chinese pictographs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you look closely at these characters, you may find that most of them are the characters that beginners need to learn in their very first few Chinese character lessons. It\u2019s quite a good introductory video for all Chinese beginners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The 36 Chinese characters are \u65e5\uff0c\u5c71\uff0c\u6c34\uff0c\u9e1f\uff0c\u8c61\uff0c\u68ee\uff0c\u6797\uff0c\u8349\uff0c\u592b\uff0c\u9a6c\uff0c\u7af9\uff0c\u7530\uff0c\u5200\uff0c\u821f\uff0c\u9c7c\uff0c\u7f51\uff0c\u71d5\uff0c\u4e91\uff0c\u96e8\uff0c\u4f1e\uff0c\u77f3\uff0c\u706b\uff0c\u9f9f\uff0c\u864e\uff0c\u9e7f\uff0c\u8c55\uff0c\u53df\uff0c\u5f13\uff0c\u820d\uff0c\u7f8a\uff0c\u82b1\uff0c\u95e8\uff0c\u72ac\uff0c\u5b50\uff0c\u5973\uff0c\u6708\u3002<\/p>\n\n\n\n Review:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This is an official educational documentary that introduces 25 Chinese characters, including each one\u2019s origin and evolution, as well as corresponding Chinese culture. Each episode is around 5 minutes. Learners can not only learn more about the character but also its culture and uses. Since the content is so rich and dense, you might need to watch it over and over again to digest it. The whole evolution process covers from thousands of years ago to modern China. So only if you have more previous background knowledge, can you fully understand it. Still, it\u2019s quite high-quality introductory content for Chinese characters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The characters include: \u821f\uff0c\u8f66\uff0c\u884c\uff0c\u4e2d\uff0c\u9f0e\uff0c\u535c\uff0c\u5929\uff0c\u798f\uff0c\u72ac\uff0c\u864e\uff0c\u9a6c\uff0c\u725b\uff0c\u8c61\uff0c\u6587\uff0c\u90ed\uff0c\u9676\uff0c\u6559\uff0c\u4e1d\uff0c\u7511\uff0c\u8d1d\uff0c\u8d70\uff0c\u56fe\uff0c\u5178\uff0c\u518c\uff0c\u7b14<\/p>\n\n\n\n Review:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n There are 20 episodes in total. Each episode introduces where a character came from, what it means, and its evolution process. Then there is a short story about the character so that it can be made more interesting, while still educational. However, the problem is that there are no English subtitles; it\u2019s all in Chinese. So, it\u2019s better if the kids are able to understand spoken Mandarin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Review:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Writing Chinese characters is always a tough task for all learners. Especially kids, who are more impatient to practice. Based on kids\u2019 aptitudes and the features of Chinese characters, \u4e00\u8d77\u753b\u6c49\u5b57 eases the difficulty. It creates a lovely, simple painting based on each character\u2019s shape. In this case, learners can memorize characters more easily by painting. But note that it\u2019s not the real origin of each character. It\u2019s just a method to help memorize and write them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Review:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Apart from the tons of introductory content we\u2019ve\npresented so far, here are courses for learners who are ready to learn Chinese\ncharacters properly and in an organized way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Course A is a comprehensive guide to Chinese characters, which helps you understand the rules and theories. From basic strokes to character construction, you can find everything you need to know before you dive into the sea of Chinese characters. It not only illustrates the basic information about and logic behind characters, but also the fundamental rules and methods. Good preparation brings you halfway to mastery. Then, this is the course for those who have just gotten started with learning Chinese characters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Review:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Course B is a build-up from zero characters to hundreds.\nYou can learn about 250 Chinese characters in this course. They are categorized\nby topic, ranging from weather to plants. Each video lesson consists of a\nbreakdown of the characters, their origin, commonly used grammar patterns, and\nthen a stroke-by-stroke writing tutorial of the character. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to the tutorial content, there are also supplementary quizzes and exercises to do. After watching each lesson, you can practice with their writing sheets to strengthen your knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Review:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Dig Mandarin has introduced Chineasy<\/a> and its founder Shao Lan<\/a> years ago. Now not only is there the book, but they also used their advantage to create a Chinese character learning app. With its vivid illustrations, it divides thousands of Chinese characters into hundreds of short lessons. You can choose either the simplified or traditional version. After learning the basic characters, there is a follow-up lesson to make these characters into daily words. The quizzes contain tests for pinyin, listening, character shape, and meaning. If you would like to get more functions, you can pay to learn characters by HSK level and practice writing them. For elementary learners, this is a method you should definitely try.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Review: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Unlike many apps\u2019 fancy interfaces, Skritter is designed to be very direct and simple. For learners who are strongly self-driven, it can be quite efficient. There are vocabulary lists for hundreds of Chinese books, and you can choose any one of them as your target book. For those who already have a particular textbook, this app can be very useful as your character review helper. Its quiz part also contains various elements. Apart from the definition, pronunciation, tone, and example sentences, it also strengthens stroke order. You can learn to write and memorize characters with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Review: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Zizzle has already collected over 850 key Chinese characters from the HSK basic and intermediate levels. Zizzle has created a very different character memorizing method from other apps. Each character has a particularly ridiculous short story to help you learn the pronunciation as well as the meaning. It also uses pictograph characters to make pictures that will help you better memorize the shape of the character. They basically put everything together in a short story. No matter whether you are an adult or a child, you will have fun in the learning process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Review:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sun Wukong is a very well-known monkey character in Chinese culture. All Chinese kids know him. This app is designed based on Wukong\u2019s little stories. Each lesson is a story-based game that helps teach several characters. There is also a distinguishing part for learning characters, which is quite helpful for memorizing them. This app contains 1200 Chinese characters in all lessons. A lesson per day for 10 minutes sounds reasonable for kids. Plus, cute stories can be very interesting for kids. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Review:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a kind of Chinese character dictionary. Besides Pinyin, there are also etymological explanations in Chinese, English, and French. It also shows you the ancient versions of each character. The fun part is that it generates a graph with branches of related characters. You might find several other related characters to learn and distinguish between. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Review:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This online dictionary is not only for Chinese learners but also for native Chinese speakers. It lists all pronunciations, simple explanations, detailed explanations, and character origins. The stroke order of each character is also represented. Sometimes it might be too comprehensive to quickly locate the item you need to know. And it\u2019s mainly explained in Chinese with very simple English definitions. So using this website is already a sign that your level is intermediate or advanced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Books for learning Chinese characters<\/h2>\n\n
\u300a\u6c49\u5b57\u6709\u610f\u601d\u300b Hanzi Alive\uff01<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
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\u300a\u795e\u5947\u7684\u6c49\u5b57\u2014\u2014\u6c49\u5b57\u542f\u8499\u4e92\u52a8\u7acb\u4f53\u4e66\u300bMagic Chinese Characters<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
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Videos for learning Chinese characters<\/h2>\n\n
\u4e09\u5341\u516d\u4e2a\u5b57 36 Chinese characters<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
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\u5b57\u4ece\u9047\u89c1\u4f60 (z\u00ec c\u00f3ng y\u00f9ji\u00e0n n\u01d0)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
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\u795e\u5947\u7684\u6c49\u5b57\u6545\u4e8b<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
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\u4e00\u8d77\u753b\u6c49\u5b57<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
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Courses for learning Chinese characters <\/h2>\n\n
Comprehensive Guide to Chinese Characters<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
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Building up from zero to hundreds of Chinese Characters<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
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Apps for learning Chinese characters<\/h2>\n\n
Chineasy<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n
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Skritter: Write Chinese<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
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Zizzle<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
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\u609f\u7a7a\u8bc6\u5b57<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
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Tools for learning Chinese characters<\/h2>\n\n
Meaningfully learning Chinese characters<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
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\u6c49\u5178\u7f51 (h\u00e0n di\u01cen w\u01ceng)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
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Writing sheet generating tool<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n