The writing tag has no wiki summary.
3
votes
2answers
183 views
How to (hand) write Chinese character faster
Are there any resources / how-to sources about how to write Chinese characters faster than normal while still being readable? It took me forever to take note while in class.
2
votes
4answers
323 views
Writing Chinese Characters is Sloppy
Since learning Mandarin through Rosetta Stone, Youtube videos, and friends, I've begun to keep a journal of mandarin characters and phrases.
I first draw the character, along with the pinyin and ...
7
votes
11answers
513 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 ...
4
votes
4answers
362 views
Written Cantonese input?
Although traditionally Cantonese speakers just use standard Chinese (mostly Traditional in my experience) for writing and reading, written Cantonese does exist as you can read about in this Wikipedia ...
2
votes
2answers
166 views
What is the correct measure word for 问题 (question)?
I'm not sure if I should say 一件问题 or 一项问题. I know I can get away with 一个问题, but I'd like to know the "correct" measure word.
Note: I would like to use the tag measure-word, but I can't. I used ...
2
votes
1answer
269 views
Why 福 is often used upside down?
On Chinese houses, people often place scriptures for luck, health, wealth, etc.
Often, they use the word 福 [fú] turned upside down, like this:
What is the reason for it?
4
votes
1answer
130 views
When is it appropriate to use 亲爱的?
In English it perfectly fine in a business context and for someone you have never met before to use Dear XXXX at the beginning of a letter or email.
This causes some difficulty when moving to another ...
3
votes
1answer
119 views
Where can I find Codecademy for Written Chinese?
Recently, my wife has been learning to program JavaScript using Codecademy. I like how it walks people through exercises step by step, and builds up concepts, etc. All the marking is automated, and ...
4
votes
3answers
378 views
What are the normal forms of valediction in Chinese?
For example, how do they normally sign off letters? We normally use 'Yours Faithfully' or 'Your Sincerely' but we might not be so formal in emails and instead just 'Regards'.
What is standard ...
3
votes
2answers
217 views
Are there differences in writing between Chinese languages, such as Mandarin and Shanghainese
There are already many questions about the different spoken languages that can be called Chinese. This question on the other hand asks about the written one(s?).
Well, to start, is the written ...
6
votes
1answer
152 views
What are the different kinds of poems in Chinese?
In the question "Are there poems in Chinese that rhyme?", a debate started about what is considered a poem in Chinese.
The texts I presented — 《三字經》 (Three Character Classic), 《百家姓》 (The Hundred ...
7
votes
1answer
187 views
How do native speakers structure their essays?
When analyzing Chinese speeches or essays, I often have difficulty understanding how their the authors organized their ideas.
In North America, for example, a common template for writing an essay is ...
17
votes
3answers
521 views
How many characters do I need to learn?
How many Chinese characters would I generally need to learn to be able to handle most text in typical every day circumstances?
How many would be required to be considered fluent?
Are there any good ...
10
votes
2answers
204 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?
6
votes
1answer
86 views
General guidelines for learning stroke order
A friend asked me for a brief description of the general guidelines for writing Chinese characters. What's the simplest way to describe those "rules" that apply across most characters?
5
votes
4answers
227 views
Input of Simplified Chinese on Windows
What options are available for input of simplified Chinese on Windows computers?
Is it possible to draw characters using a mouse or stylus, or perhaps input using speech recognition?
