Questions about the Chinese characters, called Hanzi, about their characteristics and everything that relates to them.
7
votes
11answers
511 views
Techniques for learning and retaining characters
For many of us, memorizing characters is a difficult thing. In Chinese, just because you can speak the word doesn't mean you can read it. Just because you can read it doesn't mean you can write it. At ...
9
votes
5answers
298 views
How do we choose the correct characters for a westerner name?
Since there are many characters that share a common pronunciation and sometimes also the same tone, how do we properly choose which character best represents our name? Is it totally arbitrary or are ...
14
votes
5answers
343 views
How can one determine the radical for a given character?
Many times, when reading Mandarin, I will happen across a character that I don't know. Usually, the radical along with some context will clue me into the meaning, but if I can't determine the ...
0
votes
3answers
166 views
What are the relative literacy rates in for simplified and traditional characters?
I'm trying to decide whether it would be better to use traditional or simplified characters for an iPhone game I'm making. If something is written in traditional, how many people will be able to read ...
10
votes
2answers
203 views
Reading handwriting
How can I get better at reading handwriting? Are there fonts that look like it, or web sites with examples for practice? Are there some common shortcuts that people take when writing by hand?
3
votes
4answers
116 views
Searching for characters by parts
Are there any online or computer dictionaries that allow searching for characters by any sub-part of the character? Occasionally it I see a character the parts of which I can already type. But I ...
7
votes
3answers
199 views
What's the actual difference between 文 and 语?
Both mean "language" with some other related meanings.
A friend of mine told me that while 文 refers more to the written language, 语 is more related to the spoken one.
Is this a difference and is it ...
4
votes
5answers
163 views
Is there a site that can split characters into radicals?
For example, let's examine character heaven. It has a Ren radical (men). And then we add a strip to become Tha (big). And then we add another strip to get heaven.
Now, is there a site to do so?
I ...
