Chineasy - The new way to read Chinese (by Shaolan)

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THE NEW WAY TO READ CHINESE
by S H AOLA N aj!i\_

with illustrations by NOMA BAR

•..•., r

•.. r~

HARPER
DESIGN

An Imprint ol Harper CollinsPublisheni

For Mulan caJI) and MuAn (·~)

On the cover: The character for 'fire', *-..

(Illustration by Noma Bar; art direction by Crispin Jameson;
© Chineasy Ltd)

CHINEASY: THE NEW WAY TO READ CHINESE Copyright © 2014 Chineasy Ltd.

The story on pages 159-179 is based on Prokofiev's Peter and
the Wolf (1936)

Chineasy"" is a trademark of Chineasy Ltd, London

Published by arrangement with Thames & Hudson Ltd. London.

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in
any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of
brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information
address Harper Design, 10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022.

HarperCollins books may be purchased for educational, business. or
sales promotional use. For information please e-mail the Special Markets
Department at [email protected].

First published in North America in 2014 by
Harper Design
An Imprint ofHarperColtinsPublishers
10 East 53rd Street,
New York, NY 10022
Tel: (212) 207-7000, Fax: (212) 207-7654
[email protected]
www.harpercollins.com

Distributed in North America by
HarperCollinsPublishers
10 East 53rd Street,
New York, NY 10022
Fax: (212) 207-7654

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013951753

ISBN 9780062358028 CKF8)

Author and Concept: ShaoLan Hsueh Bi*Ji!.

Graphic Design: Brave New World Publishing Ltd
Art Director: Crispin Jameson
Principal Illustrator: Noma Bar

Digital conversion by booqlab

CONTENTS

1: INTRODUCTION

The Calligrapher's Daughter
How to Use the Book

2: THE BASICS

Building Blocks, Compounds, Phrases
Advanced Sentences

STORY

Peter and the Wolf

3: REFERENCE

Building Block Plates
Index of Characters and Phrases

Acknowledgments





•

•

8

The Calligrapher's Call me optimistic, but I see the melding of these
Daughter two cultures, East and West, as being instr:ument.al
in creating a more culturally literate world. I also
I was born in Taipei, Taiwan, the daughter of a think that the East and West must understand
calligrapher and a ceramic artist, so I grew up each other in order for global economic growth to
immersed in art and with a deep appreciation of be sustainable. There is, however, a giant roadblock
the beauty of the Chinese language. Speaking and preventing the East and West from communicating
writing Chinese is an integral part of who I am and effectively and connecting on a deep, cultural level:
how I see the world. But it was only when I had the Great Wall of Chinese.
children of my own that I properly understood
what a difficult language Chinese is to learn. The Chinese language has long been considered
the most difficult major language to learn, largely
Being of Taiwanese descent while raising my on account of the vast number and complexity
children in the UK has made me acutely aware of of the characters. When I began to teach my
the differences, but also the similarities, between British-born children Chinese, I realized just how
Eastern and Western cultures. The ultimate goal challenging its characters are for a native English
of Chineasy is to help bridge the cultural gap by speaker. It was like torture for my children! So
demystifying the Chinese language, which acts as I spent many years looking for a fun and easy
a barrier to so many people- my children included! way to teach them how to read Chinese.

Chineasy is hugely personal to me. I have done After years of searching, I didn't think that any
many different things in my life. I consider myself of the methods out there were engaging enough.
to be part geek, part entrepreneur, part dreamer, So I did what any entrepreneur would do: I created
and this project is a culmination of all these my own method to learn how to read Chinese
elements. My experience in technology ventures characters - Chineasy. And you know what? It works.
and my background as an entrepreneur with an
artistic upbringing have given me the building Chineasy's goal is to allow people to learn to read
blocks to make Chineasy possible, but it is my Chinese easily by recognizing characters through
childhood and my children that have inspired me simple illustrations. The magical power of the
to make Chineasy a reality. I am proud to share Chineasy method is that, by learning one small set
Chineasy with all who want to learn and appreciate of building blocks (see p. 10), students can build
the beauty of the Chinese language. many new characters and phrases. Master a few
sets of building blocks, and your learning can be
Why Chineasy? accelerated to a whole new level.

China is home to ancient traditions, breathtaking With very little effort, students can quickly learn
artwork and what is currently one of the world's to read several hundred Chinese characters and
strongest economies. It comes as no surprise to phrases, and gain a deeper understanding of the
me that recent years have seen a cultural trend historical and cultural references of the vocabulary.
of Eastern migration by both young people and Even though there are tens of thousands of
business-minded individuals. Everyone is starting Chinese characters, only a few hundred are actually
to pay more attention to China, Taiwan, Japan, necessary to comprehend basic Chinese literature,
South Korea and other Asian countries as they and to begin to delve into Chinese culture and art.
become increasingly popular tourist destinations
and increasingly important as cultural , financial
and industrial hubs.

......... ....... ...... ... ·-····· .................................,. ~··························-············· .........' .......................................................................... ' .....................................-....................... ···-··· .................................

THE CALLIGRAPHER'S DAUGHTER 9

How to Use the Book

····························-~····························· : ••

..:• : :•• • . .·.• ·.· .:
A quick overview ..i ·...··.··..._ .. ..: : ~: oooooooooeoooooooooo•oo•·····~o·•·••••••oooooooooooooooooto

Each character in this book is introduced in its ":: •!
Chinese form, followed by its English translation
and then its pinyin (the approximate sound of .... :
the character; see p. 13). Each building block and ... .·.. ....l• •••_ ... .•0 :•
compound character (these terms are explained .• !
below) has a short introduction that teaches .. "
you some fun historical and cultural facts as you
are learning the language. Also included are I• .,, :• l ··..1. I ····· I! ·-
unillu.strated phrases (e.g. see 'heart' on p. 87)
that will help to expand your vocabulary. •......•••• ..•....•••• l ......... i••••
':•• • • • ••• •• • • •• • •• • • •• • • • *•• •:I
At the end of the book there is a handy index !l••........... ~
that lists every character and phrase taught in
Chineasy, and provides you with its traditional .. . . .•••• •••• ••• •••
and simplified forms (see opposite) and its pinyin.
• • l i
Chineasy methodology
...•••• ..• .• .. ..••• ••..l :•
The Chinese language is traditionally taught :••••••I•
through a series of between roughly 180 and : ...· : : :
215 radicals. These radicals are then used to form .. ···: ... .! 1 .... ....,.......:••
the characters of the Chinese language. Chineasy .. : .
has broken down this c:;o llection of characters ::: .·· -: ~ ••••
into their most basic and recurring forms, ::: ! ·- ..• • 0'
allowing students to learn fewer and simpler
radicals that we have ter:med 'building blocks'. •••• ••••••••••••••• ••••• • -· ··········••ooooooo ••••••••

One building block (e.g. the character :k for 'fire', fire burning hot

see p. 28), or a specific compound form of the (building block) (compound)
building block (e.g."" 'fire', see p. 28), cah be
combined with one or more other characters to ·····························-·················••ooooooooo, .,...............................................................
make a compound character (e.g. ~'burning ot a
hot', see p. 29). Two or more independent .. .. ..•• •• •• • :00••·... 6
characters can be placed next to one another to . . .• • • • ...:••
make phrases (e.g. ~~'blazing', seep. 30). •
In compounds, a whole new character is created; .: : •
in phrases, the placement of characters next . ..•••• ••• ... .:
to one another gives a new meaning to the ..••• ..-:
collection of characters. This principle of building ...••
blocks is what makes Chineasy so easy! ...•• .•• ...••
...••• ....•••••
...•• .
•. •• ••• ••••• •• I I••••

..•I••••• • ..•• .. ... ... ..••
....•• • • •• • • ••••• • t·
..• .... •

••

. .. .••• ••• . .••. ••
:• .o• ::• .. .•• ••
: .• . . ...• •
: ..o·· : : .. ..... ..• • •
....0 . ... . .•······••••o• ••••••• ........•...............................•
:• :• :•
• • •. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . oo - • • • • • • • • • • • OIOJOOOOIIOOOO

:••• burning hot burning hot •••••

·~···················· ··· ········· ·· ································~··················· ··· ····································

blazing (phrase)

o •• a o ~ · oo o o u oo o oo o O'! o o o o o o o • o oo-oo o~oo- ,.,._... o • o oo o o -o ••o • oo o oo ooo o oo o •o oo o o oo u oo •'- ooo o -o o o o.o oo o o o o ooo o-oo oo o o oo o o -oo o.o• oo oo oo ooo ••• ooooo o ...... ooo • o oo oo.o o o oo-o o •• o o oo oo-o oo o oo o o o o-o• o t oo 0'! o o o oo o o •• o ••• 0'!0 o-o o o "" o o oo oo ooooo o o o o t o • o •• o 0-0 o 00 o o._. o oo o o o o o o • to o oo o o~••o-o oo o • ,_.., o o

10 HOW TO USE THE BOOK

Traditional or simplified? . . .········~····················~····························· ..- .. ....-. .. .. ..:·········· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·· · · -- · · · · · · ·· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·~

Chineasy teaches mainly traditional Chinese, which .. ... .....•· .: :: :l: 0 ..• ;
is the written language of Taiwan and Hong Kong. .: ...~ ~
Simplified Chinese was adopted in mainland China ... .•• ••. :
in 1949, after the end of the Chinese Civil War 0 • •• !.
and the establishment of the People's Republic
of China. Both traditional and simplified forms . .:•0 •'.. !••
still share a great humber of characters. Chineasy
specifies in the character captions when the ~
simplified form is used instead of the traditional
form (e.g. 'to follow' ahd 'crowd' on p. 17). Where . .•••• •I• .••• ............•,...••••••••••
no distinction between forms is noted, the ....•••••••••• ··············
traditional and simplified forms of the character ..••• .I• .:•••••
are the same. -.••• ..••
• -•J• --...i•• .••••
The evolution of Chinese ..••••.
.•••••········· ·········•••••J •
As in the case of all languages, Chinese has ....••••• -·...• ••• •• •• ••
continuously evolved throughout the course of its ....••••• .. .. ·-•.••· -.•••J .
existence. Political change, geographic expansion ..•• -• •••
and philosophy have all influenced the stylistic • .... .••••
form of Chinese characters. Throughout the book, •. l

Jtyou will see references to oracle-bone If!~ 1

(c. 1400 scE), bronze script ~Jt (c. 1000 scE), .l•••••••••

seal script J{C (c. 220 scE) and clerical script • • ••

~-(c. 200 scE) characters. These terms refer to 'east' in traditional 'east) in simplified

periods in the evolution of Chinese writing from Chinese Chinese
which the modern Chinese language is derived.
..... .. .. .. .. .. ..••_.. . . ....•••••••••••••••••• · · · · · · · · · · - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .k,
The most ancient Chinese characters were developed ... . .. . .••... .. .. .. .. .. .. ... .. .. ... .. .. ... .. .. .. . . ..• •
as logograms, and therefore do not usually indicate
how they should be pronounced (see p. 13). However, •• . .•• ••
as the Chinese language became more sophisticated, •
two or more building blocks were used to form new :: l ..! ••
characters; in this case, one of those building blocks . . .•
was chosen as the basis for the new character's . . l:
pronunciation. For example, account/bill ~ (zhang4 )
on p. 85 comprises the building block for 'shell' .. .:•
(associated with wealth - see p. 130), indicating ! •: .•••• ! ••..••
the meaning of the compound character, and the .•••• .•••
character for 'length' (chang2) , which influences :• •••
the pronunciation. (See also 'at' on p. 115.) ::

. .•••• ••I .•••• •
.......•••••••••••• ............ .••• .••••
...........!•. •.••••··········
.••••
.l•• ·..••••••••••••
......•••••• .•••
-.I• ···..•....•
!• . .....•••.• I•• .:. ••••.,

•: :

~~
,,•••••l• •

- .·. .. .':.
.... ......···~·· ~ .. :.
OoOO o I•• I tOO OoOOo lt - o•ooo 101 oooooo u lOll 001.-
•• •••• ••••• • • ••• u ·- · ••••

'sun' in oracle bone 'sun' in seal script

..•.•••• 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. _,.oottoootooootOUotoooooooooo~ot•oooooooo .... o o o • o t o o l o o o o U . ,

.•• ...:. .....: ..::I• • :
!•
:•••••••:•••
.:• •..:
.l•••.....,...... . ............,............::••••••• ...:: .:.
·-.I•••••• ·...................·........••••••••••••• ••
• I•• :
••
..••l••:•• ..l .•...........•...:••

l• •···········

!••. •

...•••• .. .. ......... •
. .:••• :

••

.: I.
::
!:• : :

:• :•
t.~
.... ........ ... ... . ......•••~.••.•.•. •• ~····•••

..:...

'sun' in clerical script 'sun' in modern

Chinese

OO OOO OOOO OOO OO OOO O ~OOOOO OOO OOOOOO .. OOOOO OOOO·OO O OOOOOO O•OO•ooo OOOOOO OOOO•O OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO•OOO .. OOOOO ~ OOOOOO OOOO•o•o I OOOOOOOO O •OO O"OOO • • • OO 000 OO . . . . . 0000 00.0-4 0 00 OfOOOOOO.O.o-OO . .. . . . . . . . . 1 0 • • • 00 OO -OOO O ~OOOOO ~- · · -O OOOO .. OO +-O -O OOOO O o o • •·OOOO<t-O • • • • O O O O · · · · . .. . . . . . . . . . . ._. . . . . . ... . .. . . . . . . . ..

HOW TO USE THE BOOK 11

...........................-.····-· ..·.......,.......
W riting 101 :: .........................
:::.•. : :.::
Every child who studies Chinese has to go :t.. ....··..·•..... ~ ::•
through this exercise when they learn how to ~•.. .·..••.·.,.· ..••••••
write. Each character has to be drawn neatly . -·...•••••• ..•
inside a square. You can see that a single tree fits
into a square the same size as the squares used •
for 'two trees' and 'three trees'. .,•• . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,..•••...•........• ••

.:•••• .••
.:••
-.:•••••••••••••••~.............. •••••

••••

••••

You should see a slight alteration of the shape tree person
from the original 'tree': in order to fit two trees
side by side in the square, you must make thinner .............................. .~···· ......................~ .•_...........................................................
trees. When three trees are stacked together, all ·.• ..·::
the trees are shorter in order to fit into the square. ... .·•: •
.···..:= ••
·... ...·::: ,, •.. ••.....

.. ...: ...· ··••••• ....

In Chinese, certain building-block characters have I ..· ·!:iI•I•••••••••·············· ..••••
..••
an alternate form that appears only when used .I• ..···••·" .•••
.••••
as part of a compound. These characters are i .•••• ......··.·:::•••••••...•••••••
..••
traditionally known as 'pianpang' 1i5!? I •
• • ...••
On the right, you can see an example of this 'I• ,• i : ... ••

=in the 'person' A 1 compound form in the -··••• ..I••....,

compound 'group' 1.*. Other examples of this two trees =wood person compound

form
alternate character form can be seen in 'dog' ....•.•..•.•..•.••
.... . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. ... .. ..:... .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. ... .. .
·· ...1 ••• ......
~~ ..........................•

/ .•· !
••' I•

,• I

i" :

!

I

i••
= ='"'"fi:. ~ on p. 26 and 'fire' j( on p. 28. . ..!!I:••j ' '•,• · • II :•
I••••••
f •
,. i.!:•••l:••••
.i................. . ... .••
Such compound forms are indicated by a note ..••••••••••••••••
..••l•••••t••
under the main caption for the building block. .:•••••
...•• ..•••••••
:•
i:••
aot; I ••••••••••••••••
I •.•" ·"::•:·
See p. 35 for more information about I
writing Chinese. ••

Even though there are several different spoken I.• ...••. .' .. .••••• ..··!:••• / . ··........ Ii
Chinese dialects, such as Mandarin or Cantonese,
they all share the same written characters; it is I•• •••,• ••••• ·...: .• •••••••••••••••••'••Jt
only the pronunciation of these characters that
wi ll differ from one dialect to another- often :•••\•'••••••••••••••••••••
completely.
three trees = forest group

The 'pinyin' pronunciation guide used in this
book corresponds to Mandarin only, which is
the most widely used Chinese dialect and counts
over 960 million native speakers (out of a total
of over 1.2 billion Chinese speakers) - see
'Speaking 101' opposite for more information
about pronunciation.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . · -· · • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • • • • ._• • • • • • 0 0 . · - · 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-00 • • • • • • · · ·-· • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 . 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • •

12 HOW TO USE THE BOOK

. ..............................................................
Spacing 101 .. . . . .·· ...• •• :•0 :• •
••
How can you tell if you are reading a character : ••• •
(*)or a phrase (~fi))? A character, whether it's a . . . . .: •••
building block or a compound, fits within one square. 0 ,•' :

When you see two people squeezed together ! ·~. ; .... :
in a single square, you know it's a character - for •• 0 ..0

example, the simplified character 'to follow' M. ..··.·.. . .. ...:I . :
·• •• •
A phrase, on the other hand, is spaced across
two or more squares. That means, if you see two ... :
or more characters spread across two or more .. ···. ...· .. ::!
squares, then you know it's a phrase - for example, ·• • ..· •

'everyone' A.A.. ::
.... .. .!• ••• •• ••· :•
The beauty of the Chineasy method is that you can .!•••............. . ,.•....•...••.•..l. · ....:
construct many new 'words' by combining existing .•
characters. Chinese characters rarely appear alone; .••. . ... .~
it is often only in the context of a phrase that the ..........•••• . •.••• •......••......••.•• ..-·..·,·::·:~.~·•.····························::
meaning of a character becomes clear. Learning .•• ..· ··.: : :
phrases is a giant but easy step towards improving j ..· ·..:• j • • •
your Chinese study. . .. .......... ••• •. ; ..::
• . .. ··.•.. ...::......~· .:~.
.••ll•• ..:
.• ..~.
.. .... . .. . . .·· .. ·..·. .....:.•..•. ~. ...:....
. .. ..
. .•l• .. ••.·.• •:.••.
............• J ••
•••• •• .........................··-···················-······.·.·.. ·:••...·• :••
•. 0 •. ·-·· ••• ...' .....'

to follow

.. .. ..•·····························~•·····························• ............................... -:············· ..········· ....••
•
• ;•' .••••• •••••
. ..:
.'
.•'• .11..'• ...l• ..•••.
...•••••• .:••• .·····················•••o••••••••••••••••l
.•••••••••••••••••••••••••1l•••••• ..••••• ...........:••••••.•
• • .•t· •••o•••·········· •
..••••
.••••
..••
• .. ... . ............:••.

.••····················· ......•.........
. .•••• ••••
..•••• .••••
..•• .. .•••• ......... .•
.••. . . .... . . . .... . . ..... . .
....•••.•-····················· ············..l•...•••• ..
·····....••••-.···············....
1 person person l
••·······································~························································································

everyone

Speaking 101

To teach Mandarin Chinese to non-native speakers,
most teachers use pinyin, the only standard
phonetic system for transcribing the sound
of Chinese characters in the romanized alphabet.
Chinese is a tonal language, so the pinyin system
uses a series of either numerals or glyphs to
represent tone. For instance, the pinyin for 'person'
can be written as either ren2 or ren. Chineasy
uses the numerical pinyin system. After every
English translation, you will see a word in brackets
followed by a number; this acts as a guide to the
pronunciation of the character. See, for example,

p. 16 A person (ren2) .

Tone 1 = high level tone
Tone 2 = high rising tone
Tone 3 =falling rising tone
Tone 4 = falling tone
No number = neutral tone

• • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • • • • • • 0 • . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . ~··· . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .-. . . ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . ~-··· . . .. . . . . . . . . ... . . . . ... . . . . . . ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 . . . . . . . . . ~· • • 0 • • • 0 . . . . . . . ~· . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . ... . . . . . . . . ... , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

HOW TO USE THE BOOK 13



THE BASICS

Building Blocks, Compounds, Phrases
Advanced Sentences

A person (ren2)

Hello. people! Our first

building block is 'person'.

This building block

traditionally depleted

a human in profile.

Today it looks like the

profile of a man walking.

............... . ............ --·· - ..., , ., ....

1 person (ren2)

This character is the
form of 'person' that is
used as a component in
certain compounds (see
explanation on p. 12).

It is known as ¥A.~.

which translates as 'single
person side-radical'. See
'group' on p. 29 for an
example of th1s character.

....... . ...............................................................-..-.......... ..._........-.....•..............................................•............................................................................................................

16 PERSON BU;LD I NG B L OCK

to follow

big man

M to follow (cong2) f:A crowd (zhong4 ) This character depicts a 'Man' is the compound
man stretching his arms for 'big' with an extra
This character comprises 'Two's company, three's wide. Imagine that he is line across the top of
two building blocks for a crowd.' Three building saying, 'It WC!S this big.' the character, like wide
'person'. One man leads, the blocks for 'person' make a shoulders. This line
other follows close behind. crowd. This is the simplified represents the pins in a
This is the simplified form; form; the traditional form man 's topknot hairstyle.
the traditional form of this of this character is ~.
character is ~.

......................... ............._...........................................................................'····to·······...................................·-···~······· '!'" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' . . . . . 04 · · -· · · . . . . . . . . ~· · . . . . . . . . . . ._. . . . . . . . . ......... . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._. . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . ..

PERSO N COMPOUNDS 17

*.A. adult

(da4 ren2)

Height doesn't always
indicate maturity, but.
in simple terms, an adult
is just a big person.
big + person = adult

l\.f:A public ' ...••• n
. • • . . • . . . . • . . . . . . . . . .. . . . • bi g • • • • . . • • . . • • • • • • • • . • • • . • • • • • . . • • • . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . per so . . . . . . . . • . . . • • . . . . . . . . . . ••
(da4 zhong4 ) •..
••.. ' .. ........ •.... .•
The public is made up of
a large group of people. adult
big + crowd = public

f:AA. people

(zhong4 ren 2
)

A crowd is made up of
many different people.
This phrase also means
'everybody'. crowd +
person = people

~A madam l big crowd l
~--·········•*••••········· · ···•··•·••·•••···•••••···•••·••·•••••·· ····················~··········· ..••...•••.....••.....••.•.:
(fu1 ren2)
public
In ancient Ch ina. a woman
became her husband's
property after marriage;
she became her husband's
person. man + person
=madam

..•....................... ·c··-ro.wd • •••••• ...... ···········--···----·--···--.p....e.-..r..s..o...n............................••

people

.:• man person .:•

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

madam

...........................•..•.•..... ..············································~···································································································· ·······~······································································

18 PERSON PHRASES

t oo much *. too much (tai4)

•.0 too much too much .• This compound comprises
'big' and a stroke under
• ••0 the character, suggesting
something even bigger.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ._. . . . . . . . . . . .._• • • • • • • • • ._. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . < 0 0 0 0 0 • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. It also means 'extremely'
or 'excessively'.
Mrs
*.*. Mrs ( t ai4 tai4 )

This is a strange phrase.
To have double too much
means 'Mrs' or 'wife'.
Do you think this phrase
is accurate? too much

+too much = Mrs

*.*.. too big
(tai4 da4)

A straightforward phrase:
if something is too big,
there is too much of it.

too much + big = too big

*..~ doctor

(d ai4 fu)

This phrase has two
meanings. When
pronounced 'da~ + fu',
with a neutral and soft
tone, it means 'doctor'.
When pronounced 'da4
+ fu1', it means 'senior
official'. Both are rather

archaic. big + man = doctor

• too much • • • •• • • • • • ••• •• ••••••• •• ....big ......................~•••00
,. '
:0

• • t • ' . . . . . . . . 0 • • . . . • • • . . . • • • .... • . . . . • • • • ....... • ........ . . . . . . . . . . . • • • . . . •

too big

: big man !
.•~• .•••..•....•.....•...•............•...........•...•.....••......••.....••.•.•••..•••••••••••••.••.••••••.••••..•.•..........•.•0

doctor

........................................................................_.........._.................................................................................................................~...................................................... ......................

PERSON PHRASES 19



1 person person i AA everyone
I.•..•.•.............. ................ ······•· ...................................................................................I
(ren2 ren2)
everyone
person + person =
: . ... .... ..... ..... .... sky .... . ... .. . .... . . ................ ...... .. .. . .. ....... person ...... . .::•
everyone
•\ ,, .......... ...............................
~A heaven
heaven
(tian ren2)

sky + person = [literally]

sky person = heaven or
a person with universal
1nsight

~* extremely big

(tian1 da4)

What could be a bigger
space than the heavens?

sky + big = [literally] big
as the sky = extremely b1g

~~every day

(tian1 tian 1)

As we have already seen
opposite, the character
for 'sky' also means 'day'.
day + day = every day

! sky big i
'······-·············..··············.............-+••·······-··········..···"···-- -··-···-··-··--··-·'
extremely big

l sky/day sky/day I
•·••·•··•••··•·•··•·•·••·•·· ····· ...... ·· ······· .................................................................................•

every day

Depending on the size
of the building block, this
character means either
'mouth' (if it is small) or
'to surround' (if it is large).

•• · •••••• •· Oo ·• •t · ••~o· .. ••••• ·• •l · >fttu - uoo •· •••• •· ••••" •••• · •••

Q to surround ( wei 2
)

Can you tell the difference
between these two
characters? It is nearly
impossible, but the
d ifference is usually made
evident by the meaning
of the compound. It's
useful to remember that
'to surround' never appears
alone, so if you see a stand-
alone Q, it is the character
for 'mouth'.

..............-.........·····........ .·············.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

22 MOUTH BU ILDING BLOCK

shout quality

to cause to return

QQ shout (x u an 1 ~ quality 3 IBl to return (hu?)
)
(pin ) This character is a
combination of a small
A mouth emits sound. Imagine that each mouth This character is a 'mouth' and 'to surround'.
Two mouths emit even is an opinion. The quality combination of 'mouth' Imagine that it depicts
more sound! This is a rare of something is judged by and 'big'. It also means a swirling whirlpool,
character, so use it to show what people say about it. 'because of' and 'reason'. continuously turning
off to your Chinese friends! I like to remember it by back on itself.
This character also means thinking that a big mouth
'item', 'product' or 'grade'. causes problems (although,

in this case, r::l means 'to

surround').

......... ....... ...... ... ·-····· .................................,. ~··························-············· .........' .......................................................................... ' .....................................-....................... ···-··· .................................

MOUTH COMPOUNDS 23

AD population .I••...................... .p.. er so n..... ......... .... ... ' ·••· ...... ................ .....m....o...u..t..h..........................:I•

( ren2 kou3) ... •· ·

When we start counting populat ion
how many mouths we
need to feed, we are !·.................... p..e. r.s. on...........······ ···· ............••.. ··········- ·q···u··a···l·i·t··y·.. . .................:i
talking about population.
m orality
person + mouth =

population

A~ morality

(ren2 pin3)

Remember, it is always
wise to judge the quality
of a person on the basis
of their mora lity.

person + quality = morality

§l A Hui people

( hui2 ren2)

'Hui' is used to refer to
Chinese speakers of
Muslim ancestry. They
are one of the fifty-six
recognized ethnic groups

in China. to return + person

= [literally] returned people
= Hui people

A.fl mermaid

(ren2 yu 2)

In ancient China, this
phrase referred to the
giant sa lamander. Today
it means 'mermaid'.

person + fish = [l iterally]
fish person = mermaid

..i to return . . person -···-········-··/:••

•••••••••••••••••

Hui peop le

·····-·l person fish ··-·······-···-··i•

•. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

mermaid

-................ .. .... -... ..... ....................................... ..........._...........................................................................................................................................................................

24 PERSON PI IRASES

~fish ( yu 2
)

Traditionally a fish shape
in oracle-bone and seal
inscriptions, this character
originally referred to 'an
aquatic vertebrate', but
has since been extended
to mean ' fish'. Its simplified

form is i!.

....... .· · ····· ················ ····· ········ ······· ····· ·· ··· ··· ······ ··· ······· ··········· ···· ··· ········ · ······ ··· · · ···· ·········· ······· ····· ·· ·· · ···· · ·········· ··········· ·····~· ··· ·····4 ················ ·········· ·· ···· ······ ···················· · ·············

FISH BUILDING BLOCK 25

lC dog (quan3)

*The regular form of this

character is 'big' with
an additional dot on the
upper right side. The
earliest form in oracle-bone
inscriptions was a drawing
of a dog, with the extra
stroke representing its tail.

... ... . · ·······~···· ...•....•................................

~ dog (quan3)

This character is the
form of 'dog' that is
used as a component
in certain compounds.
See 'to stroll' on p. 113
for an example.

....... ..............................................~.-~..._...................... ......................................................................................................................................................... .~ ....................

26 DOG BU IL D ING BLOCK

to bark to cry utensil

.:•·························b·-·i·g····-···-···-····················· ....., ...... -· •· to ba rk . ......................:• This character is a
combination of 'mouth'
-· ••·- · ' .. .,, and 'dog'. When a dog
opens its mouth to emit
to bark loudly a sound, it is barking.

i....................... ...b...i.g...··················· .......... ............ '' ········· '..t..o . ..cry ····················l ~to cry ( ku )
' ..,,. . . .
This character is a
to cry out combination of 'dog'
and two 'mouth' building
..••.............. ........ ' .... big ··· ······· -·· ·· ···· - ..utensil - -- ...........•......•...• blocks. As the crying
sound of a human sounds
... ···· · ·• -· similar to the whine of a
dog, this character means
achievement/generosity 'to cry'.

a utensil (qi4 )

This character is a
combination of 'dog'
and four 'mouth' building
blocks. It can also mean
'instrument'.

:ko}t to bark loudly

(da4 fei4 )

big + to bark = [literally]
big bark = to bark loudly

:k~ to cry out

(da 4 ku 1)

This phrase can also
mean 'to burst into tears'.

big + to cry = [literally]
big cry = to cry out

*a achievement/

generosity (da4 q i4 )

This phrase can also mean
'great talent'. big + utensil

=[literally] big utensiI
=achievement

············· · ·· · ······ · ·········· · ······ · ··· · · · ··· ·· ··· ·· ······ · ····· ·· ································· · ·············· · ···· ···· ··········· · ···· · · · ·· · ·· · · · · · ········ ··· ···~· · ·· ·· ······· · ····· · ···· · ······················· · ········· · ····················· ..•. .. ..•. ..

DOG COMPOUNDS AND PHRASES 27

J< fire (h uo 3
)

The building block for

'fire' represents a central

flame with a smaller spark

on either side. It reminds

me of a campfire. I like to

remember this character

by thinking about a person

waving their arms, saying,

'Help! I'm on fire!'

·······················•·············••·····•············•·•·

·"" fire ( hu o 3
)

This character is the

form of 'fire' that is used

as a component in certain

compounds. When you

see a compound with this

character, it is normally

related to fire or something

hot. See 'lamb' on p. 41

for an example of this

character.

...... ....................... ...................................................................................................................................................................... .~ ...................................................................

28 FIRE BUILDING BLOCK

burning hot flames

"*!K burning hot (yan2) #f.:k flames (yan4 ) In ancient China, fires This character is a
were used mainly for combination of 'mouth'
This compound comprises The building block for cooking and for warmth. and 'fire'. It means 'to eat'
two 'fire' building blocks 'fire' represents one flame. When people gathered or 'mouthful'. Chinese
stacked on top of each Multiply that by three and around the fire, they were food, especially food from
other. They are burning you have a roaring fire. considered to be part of Sichuan Province, can be
twice as hot as before. the group. very spicy, like a fire in
This character also means your mouth as you eat.
'inflammation'.

......................... ·-····· .................................,. ~··························-············· .........' .......................................................................... ' .....................................-....................... ···-··· .................................

FIRE COMPOUNDS 29

*:R."!IRJ.L.. blazing I

(yan2 yan2) ·!....~-····.........b...u...r.n...i.n...g....h...o..t.......·············.........................b...u...r..n...i.n...g....h...o...t...................:1

A blazing fire burns with blazing
incredible heat. You see
this character used to
describe weather, e.g.

'blazing summer' ~~

;t: S. burning hot +

burning hot = blazing

~~ flames of fire

( yan4 yan4)

This phrase might seem
redundant, but there are
different types of flame,
such as flames of passion.

flames + flames = flames

of fire

*.{X folks

(da4 huo3)

In ancient China, to light
the fire meant that it
was time to cook. People
who would gather around
the fire to eat together
were 'partners', 'mates'
or 'companions'.

big + group = folks

: flames flames :

: :

• • • • 0 • • • • 0 . 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ···• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • • • • • 0 . .. . . . . . . . . . • • • • ·• . . . . . .... 0 • • • .. _. . . . . . . . . 0 • • • • 0 • • • • 0 . . . . . . . . . . 0 • • • • 0 • • • • 0 • • • •

flames of fire

...
.:

••·
· · · · · · ·· ·· ·· · · · · · · · · · · •· • big ., . . . .. . • • . • . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... ...................g••r..o•••u•.p•••••••••••••••.••••••..••••
...•...

folks

, · • • • • • • • • • • • • • • · , 0000000000000 . , 000000000000 ooo•oo •••••oooooooooooo•••••~•••••••4ooooooo••••oooo4ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooootoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo••••••o••••••~4ooooooooo•••••••••••••••••••••••~•••••••••••••••••••••oooooooooooooooooo

30 FIRE PHRASES

A lesson in burning anger! **angry
(huo3 da4)
Fire (X) is one of the five elements in traditional Chinese
medicine. Each person is born with a unique composition of all When a person burns with
five elements; it is this unique blend of elements that forms the rage, we can assume that
basis of your personality and constitution. The 'qi' (vital force) they are angry. This is quite
of the five elements waxes and wanes in daily and seasonal an informal term. fire + big
cycles. The theory behind Chinese medicine is that a person =angry
becomes sick owing to an imbalance of these elements.
** big fire
Practitioners of traditional medicine believe that when there
is an imbalance of the fire element, it results in a person (da4 huo3)
suffering from anxiety, restlessness and insomnia. So the
element of fire is associated with a person's temper. A very simple phrase.
Theoretically, when a person's fire accumulates, so does
the person's temper. They become angry! big + fire = big fire

.l fire big ::

• • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 • • • • 0 . . . . . . . . . 04- 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . · - ·. . . . . . . 0 • • 0 • • . . . . . . 0 . . . . . . . . . . 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

angry

: big fire :
•••••••••••••••••••••••••• •• ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

big fire

........................................................................_...._......_........................................................................................................................................................................................

FIRE PHRASES 31

The building block for 'tree'
represents a tree trunk
with hanging branches.
When this character is
used as an adjective, it
refers to a wooden texture.
When it is used to describe
a person. it means 'clumsy',
'dumb' or 'numb'.

_.......... ....-....,,, ...-................................................................. ............................................................................................................................................................................

32 TREE BUILDING BLOCK

woods forest

foundation to come

~ forest (sen1) ~ foundation (ben3)

Two trees together mC~ke Three trees make a forest, The foundation of a This character is a
a wood, which is greater which is greater than a tree house is the first step combination of 'tree' and
than a single tree. This or a wood. When used as in its construction, and two 'person' building
character is also a common an adjective, this character traditionally foundations blocks. In ancient China,
surname, pronounced 'Lin'. means 'dense', just like a were made of wood. 'to come' was represented
It's C!Ctually my mother's thick cluster of trees. This chC~racter also by a character based on
surname. means 'origin'. wheat, which had been
brought to China from
Europe. The simplified

form is*·

......................... ·-····· .................................,. ~··························-············· ......... ' .......................................................................... ' .....................................-....................... ···-··· .................................

TREE COMPOUNDS 33

'** originally ! foundation/origin to come l

(ben3 lai2) ~--·~······················~·········~·······~.................................................................................

origin + to come originally

= originally

.21-' A one's self

(ben3 ren2)

Remember: a person's
origin often influences
their sense of self.

origin + person = [literally]

person's origin = one's self

*A messenger

(lai2 ren2)

Before the age of
electricity, all messages
had to be sent by person.
This is quite an old-
fashioned or poetical
phrase. to come +

person = messenger

•••• foundation/origin person .••••

• ••
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 . 0 0 . 0 • • • • • • • 0 • • . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • • • 0 . 0 • • 0 . 0 • • • • 0 • • • • 0 • • _, • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • 0 • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • • • •

one's self

: to come person l
• •.. , 0000000000000000 .. ,,. 00000ooooooooo.-.oo-..~ooo.-,.ooo.-.oo•Y""Otoo.-•t•••·••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••ooooooooooooooooooooooooo•••••"

messenger

. ..............................• ··················································4···············~··························································································~~································~·······································

34 TREE PHRASES



apricot idiot

not yet end

~ apricot (xing4 ) This character is another In ancient inscriptions, It looks as if the topmost
combination of <tree' and t his character depicted branches of this tree have
This character is a 'mouth'. Noth ing is more a realistic tree, with leaves plateaued, Indicating that it
combination of 'tree' and idiotic that the thought and foliage indicating an has ended its growth. Make
'mouth'. I would wait under of a talking tree! The ever-growing, living tree. sure that the upper line is
a tree with my mouth character also means 'du ll'. The character also means longer than the lower one!
open to catch an apricot. 'future'.
The character also means
'almond'.

• • • 0 . ~ · • • • • u ·~ 0 • • • 0'! • • • • • • • • • • ._• • ~··- . . . . . . . . . ~ • • • • · -· . . . . . . . . . . ~·· • • • • • • • • • • • • u • • 0'4 • • • · -· . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 • • • • · -· · . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . · -· · • • • • ' ' ! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' " ' · -· . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 . . . .._• • • • • , . . . . . . . .

36 TREE COMPOUN DS

1• not yet to come i• ** future
................................................................................................... ...... ,................ t••······· (w ei4 lai2)

future not yet + to come = future

:.•......................t..o...._r..e...t.u...r..n......._................................................t..o....c. ..o..m....e......····················.:• @] * to come back
(hui2 lai2)
to come back
to return + to come =
[literally] to return from
where you have come =
to come back

*@] round trip
(lai2 hui2)

to come +to return =
[literally] to return to
where you have come =
round trip

~-*' medical

industry ( xing4 lin2)

Today it is easy t o forget
that all medicine was
once derived from nature,
and made from products
from the forest. such as
fruits, herbs and leaves.
apricot +woods = source
of medicine = medical
industry

.. to come ·••• • ..0 0 • .t..o ..r.e...t.u...r.n.... ..-.....................••
'0 ••••••• 0 0 ••••0 ........... 0 "*• .-•••.• .-......... .-.-.-.-.......................................' '

round trip

.l apricot woods .i

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ••••••••• ••••••••• •••••••••••••••••••••••••••• •••••••••• ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

medical industry

............................................................_................_......................................................................,............................................................................. .................... ...............-··········

TREEPHRASES 37

This character is a rest body
combination of 'person'
and 'tree'. I like to
remember it by imagining
a person resting against
a tree.

This character is a
combination of 'person'
and 'foundation'. A person's
foundation is their body.
This is th e simplified form;

the traditional form is ft.

A -1:* human body

(ren2 t i3)

person + body =

human body

*-1* in general

(da4 ti3)

This phrase can be used
to mean 'in general',
'more or less' or 'basically'.

big + body = in general

.• person body .

••• ••••
. . . . . 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • • • • 0 . 0 . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 · -· • • • • • • 0 " . . . . . . . . . . . . -4 • .._• . • • • .._• • • • • 0 • • - - · · 0 • • • • • • • • • 0 0 . . . . . . . . .

human body

1•·············•········· ...b...i.g···-··· ......................................................b..o...d...y...........................1•

in general

·················· ·······································································································································································~······--··························~············································

38 TREE COMPOUNDS AND PHRASES





beautiful II\\

fresh

/1\\ bleating of sheep

lamb

~ beautifu l (mei3) This character is a This character is E1 ~ b leating of sheep
combination of 'fish' on combination of 'sheep' and (miel)
This character is a the left and 'sheep' on the 'fire'. It represents a lamb
combination of 'sheep' right. Original ly it referred over a fire, which in certain This character is a
and 'big'. In ancient China, to a fish breed, but today parts of China would combination of 'mouth'
sheep were considered has been extended to have been how lamb was and 'sheep', and refers to
auspicious. This compound mean 'fresh'. prepared. the sound emitted from
is also an abbreviation for a sheep's mouth - 'baa'.
the USA (see p. 79).

......... ....... ...... ... ·-····· .................................,. ~··························-············· .........' .......................................................................... ' .....................................-....................... ···-··· .................................

SHEEP COMPOUNDS 41



to get out to cry out in anger

immortal two mountains

~ to get ou t (chu1) nm to cry out in anger iili immort al ( xian1) 111111 two mountains
(shen l)
In the past, the Emperor (duol) This character is E1
sent people in exile beyond combination of 'person' This compound can either
the mountains. As a result, This character is a and 'mountain'. Remember be a surname or r-efer to
this character used to combination of 'mouth' that a man who lives as two mountains. It's another
mean 'exit'. Today it means and 'mountain', and can long as a mountain w ill rare cha~acter that you can
'to get out'. also mean 'noise of rage'. appear immortal to use to show off to your
other men. Chinese friends.

......... ....... ...... ... ·-····· .................................,. ~··························-············· .........' .......................................................................... ' .....................................-....................... ···-··· .................................

MOUNTA IN COMPOUNDS 43

tB Q exit ·!....~-····...........t.o....g...e..t...o...u..t..........·············................................m.....o..u...t..h.........................:1

(chul kou3) exit

A mouth that tells you
where to get out is an exit.

to get out + mouth =exit

*tB to come out

(chul lai2)

This is such an easy
phrase. to get out + to

come = to come out

tB ~ to publish

(chul pin3)

How do you get a
product out to the
people? You publish it.
of course! to get out +

product = to publish

: to get out to come :

: :

• • • • 0 • • • • 0 . 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ·· ·• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • • • • • 0 . .. . . . . . . . . . • • • • ·• . . . . . .... 0 • • • .. _. . . . . . . . . 0 • • • • 0 • • • • 0 . . . . . . . . . . 0 • • • • 0 • • • • 0 • • • •

to come out

quality/product :
....: to get out
••...........•......... ··•·•...•...., ······•·· ................ ......•......... ...................••..••••.•••••••••••. •••.•••, ••

to publish

. ............................... ·•·•·•··••·•··••••• ······························4···············~··························································································~~································~·······································

44 MOUNTAIN PHRASES

·~····.....................f..i.r..e...........................................................m....o...u...n...t..a...i.n..............···········..• X l.U volcano

volcano (huo3 shan1)

fire + mountain volcano

X l.U [:::] crater

(huo3 shan1 kou 3)
volcano + mouth =

[literally] the mouth

of the volcano = crater

i*X l.U dormant

volcano
(xiu1 huo3 shan1)

rest + volcano = [ literally]

at rest volcano = dormant

volcano

: fire mountain mouth ;

• •

• • • • 0 • • • • • 0 • • • • • • • • • • " • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • 0 • • • • 0 • • • • • • • 0 • • 0 • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _._._. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 0 0 ....... 0 .. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • 0 • • • • • • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._._. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

crater

.•••..........................r..e..s...t ............................................................f..i.r.e............ ···········-······...·················· moutain ..•.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

dormant volcano

............................................................_................_......................................................................,............................................................................ .................... .........................

MOUNTAIN PHRASES 45

"J(. woman (nu3)

This character traditionally
depicted an outline of
a woman kneeling on
the floor, showing her
obedience to a man. I am
very frustrated by the
origin of this character!
When used as an adjective,
it means 'female'.

. ................ ............... ·•·•·•··••·•··••••• ······························4···············~··························································································~~································~·······································

46 WOMAN BUILDING BLOCK

Why two women together 1& argument
means 'argument'
~r1~~2~a lly, two women
Sadly, it seems that when women are together, they quarrel.
The character showing two women together represents were believed to be unable
'argument'. This meaning is a product of Chinese history. to be in the same room
without arguing.
In the old days, it was inevitable that women in Chinese
households ended up arguing. For hundreds of years, Chinese ~adultery (jian1)
married couples lived together with their parents-in-law and
the rest of their extended family. It was not unusual for four Any man with three women
generations to live under the same roof. And sometimes is cheating on someone.
mothers-in-law took revenge on their daughters-in-law for
'stealing' their sons. It was also common practice for wealthy
Chinese men to have several wives (for example, my great-
grandfather, who was a landlord in Taiwan, had three). To make
sure that their own sons would inherit the lion's share of their
husband's wealth, mistresses and wives sometimes ganged up
on the newest concubines that their husbands brought home.
No wonder that domestic conflict was often the norm!

By now you may have noticed that, in Chinese, a character rarely

appears by itself. You often need to add another character in

order to clarify the meaning in different contexts. Many phrases

are constructed by repeating a character. On the next page,

!I*you will learn that means 'younger sister'. In rea l life, you will
more frequently see 9*9* (where !I* is repeated) to express

'younger sister'. This is very common practice in the Chinese

language; see the example on p. 156. The meaning of the phrase

is made absolutely clear by repeating the character. Other

examples you will see in this book are A.A. ('everyone', p. 21),
~~('every day', p. 21), 8 8 ('in vain', p. 63), ~~ ('mama';
see 'mother', p. 77) and 0 0 ('grandfather'; see 'public', p. 141).

As in the case of many English words, a character may have

different meanings depending on whether it is used as a noun,

a verb or an adjective. For example, "9:.. is 'woman', but when

talking about 'a woman', you will more frequently see the phrase

A A"9:.. (p. 49), where "9:.. is the adjective 'female' and is the

noun 'person'.

Another example is 'forest'. The character~ on its own

means

'forest' (p. 33), but when we talk about 'a forest', we often use

the phrase~** (p. 156), where~ is the adjective 'forest-like'

used to describe the noun ** 'woods'. B~ can mean
A final example is 'tomorrow'. The character

'bright',

'brightness' or 'tomorrow' (p. 57). But you more frequently see

the phrase B~ S used to refer to 'tomorrow' (p. 59), where B~

is used as an adjective to describe the noun S 'day'.

• • 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .._• • • ._• • • • • ._• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • · · • .• • • • • ·· · • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

WOMAN COMPOUNDS 47

to obey younger sister

daughter greed

~[] to obey ( r u2) 9* younger sister ~ daught er (nanl) This character is a
combination of 'woods'
This character is a ( m ei4 ) This character is a and 'woman'. It also means
combination of 'woman' combination of 'woman' 'a great number ' or 'a lot'.
and 'mouth!. A woman in This character is a and 'to surround'. Young 'A lot of woman' means
ancient China didn't speak combination of 'woman' g irls were traditionally 'greed' - that's so negative!
her own opinions, she and 'not yet', so the literal kept in their fami ly homes,
obeyed. This compound translation is 'not yet a surrounded by their family,
also means 'is like' (see woman'. It is used to refer to protect their modesty
p. 65) and 'if' (see 'to to a younger sister. for their eventua l marriage.
forgive', p. 87).

• • • 0 . ~· • • • • u ·~ 0 • • • 0'! • • • • • • • • • • ._• • ~··- . . . . . . . . . ~ • • • • · -· . . . . . . . . . . ~·· • • • • • • • • • • • • u • • 0'4 • • • · -· . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 • • • • · -· · . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . · -· · • • • • ' ' ! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' " ' · -· . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 . . . .._• • • • • , . . . . . . . .

48 WOMAN COMPOUNDS