7 Best Tips to Memorize Chinese Characters
Memorizing characters is an important part of learning any language.
But learning to do it quickly and easily is the real trick. That’s why I created this simple little exercise.
After you learn it once, you’ll find it easy to use the technique again and again. It can be done in the car, at home, or even on the subway!
Table of Contents
1. Choose the Best Possible Materials
There are many books and materials on Chinese characters available.
However, some of them may be very hard for you to understand because they are written in an extremely complicated way. On the other hand, there are also a lot of low-quality books and materials that may make your studying harder because they are not well written.
So, always choose the ones that are easy to understand.
If you feel confused by any of the books or materials you are reading, just move on to the next one. Don’t spend a lot of time trying to understand something that is hard for you. This will only slow down your learning process.
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2. Memorize the Radicals Which Make Up each Chinese Character
Radical is the basic unit of a Chinese character. It is the building block of every Chinese character.
In fact, every Chinese character has at least one radical in it. However, there are some Chinese characters that have many radicals in them.
It is very important to learn the radicals that make up each Chinese character. If you know what radicals are in a Chinese character, you will be able to recognize that character anywhere in the Chinese language.
This is extremely useful when you are reading a Chinese book or looking at a Chinese character in a Chinese dictionary. You can then instantly know what that character means.
However, learning all the radicals that make up each Chinese character is not necessary. What is necessary is to memorize the radicals that are used most frequently in the texts you are learning. These are the ones that you should concentrate on the most. And, the rest will follow automatically.
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3. Memorize Phonetic Components of Chinese Characters
A phonetic component of a Chinese character is its pronunciation.
All Chinese characters have at least one pronunciation in them. However, some characters have several pronunciations.
Each of these pronunciations represents a different word. And, each of these words has a different meaning. So, knowing the correct pronunciation of a Chinese character is very important.
To remember the pronunciation of a Chinese character, just think of the different sounds it makes when you say it out loud. For example, the Chinese character “土” means “earth”. When you say the character “土” out loud, it makes the sound “tat”.
4. Write Chinese Characters Out in Your Own Handwriting
Write out all the characters you have just learned in your own handwriting. By doing this, you will internalize those characters in your muscle memory. They will be there automatically whenever you need them.
Furthermore, by writing them in your own handwriting, you will be able to recognize those characters instantly if you see them in a book or on a character chart. This will also help you remember those characters better.
5. Write Chinese Characters on 3×5 Index Cards
Next, write the Chinese characters for the radicals on 3×5 index cards.
Write the radical on the front of the card. Then, write the simplified Chinese characters that represent the radical on the back of the card. Do this for all the radicals in a language you are learning.
This way, you will always have the radical on one side and the simplified Chinese character for that radical on the other side of the card. This will help you remember those characters better.
Read each of the characters you have written on the index cards 10 times.
Say the word or name that goes with each character out loud as you read it. The words will help you internalize the characters.
And, after a while, the words will start to flow naturally from your mouth when you are speaking or writing Chinese.
This process is very similar to how you learn English by reading and saying the alphabet. In both cases, the more you do it, the easier it will become.
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6. To Remember Chinese Characters, Diversify Your Exposure
The best way to remember something is to “diversify your exposure”. In other words, give yourself many different ways to think about the thing you want to remember.
This way, you will not only have a strong mental image of the thing itself. But, also, you will have an image that is strongly connected to the way you want to think about it.
Which means you will have a much stronger connection to the thing you are trying to remember. Here are some ways to diversify your exposure:
Reading Chinese Texts and Literature
Reading Chinese literature will expose you to an enormous amount of characters. This is the best way to get a strong, long-term memory of thousands of characters.
The reason is, when you read Chinese, you are reading and internalizing it in both your conscious and subconscious mind.
In addition, you will be able to understand and remember the meanings of those characters as you read them. This is a very important step in learning a new language.
Watching Chinese Television Shows and Movies
If you watch a lot of Chinese television shows and movies, you will be continually “diversifying your exposure” to a large number of new characters. Plus, you will be reading and internalizing them in your mind while watching the show or movie.
This is a great way to increase your proficiency in a foreign language.
But, you need to make sure the shows and movies you are watching are good. Bad Chinese TV shows and movies will only serve to frustrate you.
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7. Use Spaced Repetition System to Memorize Chinese Characters
The spaced repetition system (SRS) is one of the most powerful memory techniques you can use.
The idea behind SRS is simple: you should study something until you almost “forget” it. Then, you take a short break and study the same material again. You repeat this process many times until you have “remembered” the material.
In the beginning, your spacing interval should be very short. For example, maybe just 30 minutes between studies. But, as you progress, you should increase the time between your studies.
You can use SRS with anything. But, I personally use it when I am learning something new. For example, if I am learning a foreign language, I will learn a few characters every day. Then, after a few days or a week, I will take a break and review those characters again.
Anki is one of the best spaced repetition software available.
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Can Japanese People Read Chinese?
In Chinese, the order of words is different, but it is still true that Japanese People can understand a Chinese text, though they cannot pronounce it.
Is Chinese Harder Than English?
Yes. If you want to become a good writer of Chinese, it will take you much more time and effort than if you were trying to write in English.
But, the good news is, if you are willing to put in the time and effort, you will find it is really not as hard as you think.
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Conclusion
The way to get good at learning a new language is by using the above seven tips over and over. And, the more you do it, the faster you will learn.
So, go ahead and give these tips a try. I guarantee you will see some improvement.
