When you are determined to learn Chinese, are you quickly blocked by the “big mountain” of Chinese characters? Those complicated strokes, changeable pronunciations, and the numerous polyphonic characters similar-shaped characters and homophonic characters make you feel so confused that you even begin to doubt whether you can learn Chinese well. Don’t worry. You are not alone in facing these difficulties. Today, let’s specifically talk about how to overcome these obstacles in Chinese character memory and help you conquer the difficulties in remembering Chinese characters.
1. Polyphonic Characters: Varying with Contexts for Precise Memory
Polyphonic characters in Chinese are really troublesome. Their pronunciations change in different contexts, making it hard to figure them out. For example, the character “好” is pronounced as “hǎo” in “好人 (hǎo rén, good person)”, meaning kind and having many virtues; while in “爱好 (ài hào, hobby)”, it is pronounced as “hào”, meaning having a strong interest in something. Facing polyphonic characters, we can overcome them in the following ways.
(1) Establishing a Context Bank
Whenever you encounter a polyphonic character, record the words or sentences corresponding to its different common pronunciations. For example, for the character “行”:
When pronounced as “xíng”: “行走 (xíng zǒu, walk)”:
Tā měi tiān dōu huì zài gōng yuán lǐ xíng zǒu duàn liàn.
他每天都会在公园里行走锻炼。
He walks and exercises in the park every day.
“行动 (xíng dòng, take action)”:
Jǐng chá xùn sù zhǎn kāi xíng dòng, zhuā bǔ zuì fàn.
警察迅速展开行动，抓捕罪犯。
The police quickly launched actions to arrest the criminals.
“行程 (xíng chéng, itinerary)”:
Zhè cì lǚ xíng de xíng chéng ān pái de hěn jǐn còu.
这次旅行的行程安排得很紧凑。
The itinerary of this trip is arranged very tightly.
When pronounced as “háng”: “银行 (yín háng, bank)”:
Wǒ yào qù yín háng bàn lǐ yè wù.
我要去银行办理业务。
I’m going to the bank to handle business.
“行业 (háng yè, industry)”:
Tā zài jiào yù háng yè gōng zuò duō nián.
他在教育行业工作多年。
He has been working in the education industry for many years.
“行列 (háng liè, ranks)”:
Xué shēng men zhěng qí de zhàn chéng háng liè.
学生们整齐地站成行列。
The students stood neatly in ranks.
Through accumulating a large number of examples, let your brain gradually adapt to the pronunciation switching of polyphonic characters in different situations.
(2) Using Story Linking
Make up an interesting story that includes the different pronunciation usages of polyphonic characters. Take the character “重” as an example. It has two pronunciations, “zhòng (重量，zhòng liàng, weight)” and “chóng (重复，chóng fù, repeat)”. You can make up a story like this: Xiaoming was shopping in the supermarket. He cared a lot about the “重量 (zhòng liàng)” of the goods because he wanted to control his budget. After returning home, he found that he had accidentally bought “重复 (chóng fù)” goods and couldn’t help feeling annoyed.
Another example is the character “折”, which has three pronunciations, “zhé (折断，zhé duàn, break off)”, “shé (折本，shé běn, lose money in business)” and “zhē (折腾，zhē teng, toss about)”. The story can be: Xiao Li went to the woods to cut bamboo. Accidentally, he “折断 (zhé duàn)” the bamboo. He took the bamboo to the market to sell it, but because the price wasn’t negotiated well, he finally “折本 (shé běn)”. After a whole day, he was so tired that he felt he was really “折腾 (zhē teng)”. Through such vivid stories, the memory of polyphonic characters will no longer be boring and will be deeply impressed.
2. Similar-Shaped Characters: Distinguishing Meanings by Comparing Shapes and Conquering Them One by One
Similar-shaped characters are like twins or triplets among Chinese characters. They are similar in appearance but quite different in meaning.
For example, the characters “未（wèi）” and “末（mò）” differ by just one stroke, but their meanings are completely different. To deal with similar-shaped characters, we have the following countermeasures.
(1) Method of Comparing Differences
Carefully observe the differences in strokes of similar-shaped characters and connect them with the meanings of the characters. For example, for the characters “日(rì)” and “目(mù)”, “日(rì)” represents the sun and is a circle with a horizontal stroke in the middle, while “目（mù）” represents the eyes and is a rectangle with two horizontal strokes inside, just like the eyelashes of the eyes.
Another example is “己（jǐ）“, “已（yǐ）” and “巳（sì）“. “己（jǐ）” is which can be understood as one should know how to restrain oneself; “已（yǐ）” is half-closed,as if things have already ended; “巳（sì）” is completely closed,like a fetus in the womb and is related to the time of “巳时 (sì shí, the period from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., close to noon, like a moment of giving birth to new life)”. Through such intuitive comparisons, we can quickly distinguish their different meanings and reduce confusion.
(2) Method of Word Formation Expansion
Form words with similar-shaped characters respectively to strengthen the understanding and memory of them through words. For example, for the characters “辩” “辨” and “辫”:
- “辩论 (biàn lùn, debate)”: They were fiercely debating philosophical issues on the stage, using words to expound their respective views, so it’s “辩”.
- “辨别 (biàn bié, distinguish)”: Among many similar items, he could accurately “辨别 (biàn bié)” the authenticity. It means to distinguish and tell apart, so it’s “辨”.
- “辫子 (biàn zi, braid)”: The little girl tied two long “辫子 (biàn zi)”. Here it refers to the hairstyle made by braiding hair, so it’s “辫”.
Another example is for the characters “晴” “睛” and “清”:
- “晴天 (qíng tiān, sunny day)”: There is no cloud in the sky. It’s a sunny day and is related to the sun, so it’s “晴”.
- “眼睛 (yǎn jīng, eye)”: This is a visual organ and is related to the eyes, so it’s “睛”.
- “清澈 (qīng chè, clear)”: It describes water as pure and transparent. With the radical of three dots of water, it’s “清”.
From the formed words, we can clearly see the unique semantic focuses of each character and thus firmly remember them.
3. Homophonic Characters: Skillfully Resolving by Associating Meanings with Pronunciations
Homophonic characters are another thorny problem in Chinese learning. A large number of homophonic characters often make learners confused. For example, the characters “力” “立” and “利” are all pronounced as “lì”. Then how to overcome the difficulties in remembering homophonic characters?
(1) Memory by Contextual Association
Create different situational pictures for homophonic characters to assist memory. For example, for the characters “峰” and “锋”, “峰” can be associated with the mountain “峰 (fēng, peak)” that soars into the clouds. For example,
Huáng Shān de Lián Huā Fēng jǐng sè zhuàng měi，xī yǐn le zhòng duō yóu kè.
黄山的莲花峰景色壮美，吸引了众多游客。
The Lotus Peak of Huangshan Mountain has a magnificent scenery and attracts numerous tourists.
And “锋” can be imagined as the sharp blade of a knife “锋 (fēng, edge)”.For example,
Zhè bǎ bǎo jiàn de fēng rèn shǎn shuò zhe hán guāng.
这把宝剑的锋刃闪烁着寒光。
The edge of this sword shines with a cold light.
Another example is for the characters “鱼(yú)” and “渔(yú)“. “鱼(yú，fish )” is the creature that we can see swimming around in the water.
Chí táng lǐ yǒu hěn duō wǔ yán liù sè de yú
池塘里有很多五颜六色的鱼。
There are many colorful fish in the pond.
And “渔(yú，angling)” refers to the act of fishing or something related to fishing.
Yú fū měi tiān qīng chén dōu chū hǎi bǔ yú，tā de yú chuán zài hǎi làng zhōng yáo yè.
渔夫每天清晨都出海捕鱼，他的渔船在海浪中摇曳。
The fisherman goes out to sea to fish every morning. His fishing boat sways in the waves.
Through such vivid contextual associations, even if the pronunciations are the same, we can accurately remember their meanings and usages.
(2) Memory by Analyzing Synonyms
Find the synonyms of homophonic characters and determine the differences of homophonic characters by analyzing synonyms. For example, for the characters “进（jìn）” and “近（jìn）“, the synonyms of “进” include “入 (rù)”, emphasizing the forward movement of an action. For example,
Tā zǒu jìn le fáng jiān.
他走进了房间。
He walked into the room.
” The synonyms of “近” include “邻 (lín)”, focusing on the short distance. For example,
Tā jiā lí xué xiào hěn jìn.
他家离学校很近。
His home is very close to the school.
” Another example is for the characters “坐(zuò)” and “座(zuò)“. “坐” has the meaning of “就坐 (jiù zuò, take a seat)”. The similar expression is “坐下 (zuò xià, sit down)”. For example,
Qǐng zuò zài zhè lǐ.
请坐在这里。
Please sit here.”
“座(zuò)” can be understood as a seat. The synonym is “席位 (xí wèi, seat)”. For example,
Zhè gè jù yuàn yǒu hěn duō zuò wèi.
这个剧院有很多座位。
There are many seats in this theater.
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