![]() To get an idea of how phonetic components can influence the pronunciation of individual characters, it’s helpful to look at a few examples. Knowing common phonetic components and radicals can make it easier to guess both the meaning and pronunciation of Chinese characters.Ĭharacters with the same phonetic component The characters are descriptive in nature and look like the object or phenomenon they represent. This method of forming Chinese characters is the easiest and most comprehensible form for beginners to learn. 象形 (xiàngxíng) characters are pictograms. The concept of 六书 (liùshū) was first created by scholars during the Han dynasty based on the composition and usage of individual characters. ![]() Pictograms represent just one relatively minor type of character out of a total of six different types.Ĭategorizing Chinese characters: Six typesĬhinese characters are split into six different categories referred to as 六书 (liùshū). In actuality, the formation of characters is incredibly complex. Although pictograms are fun and beginner-friendly, they only make up about 4% of all Chinese characters. Introducing Chinese characters to beginners simply as pictograms is misleading, however. This understanding of the language is sometimes used as a way to “sell” Chinese to new learners. It’s common to see characters such as 木 (mù wood or “tree”) and 山 (shān mountain) used as examples to show the “easy” nature of Chinese character composition. There is a widespread misconception that all Chinese characters are pictograms (also called "pictographs"), meaning that all characters look like the word or meaning that they are used to represent. Chinese characters can seem mysterious to the uninitiated.
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