People often ask me, “As a non-native Chinese speaker, how are you able to read and write Chinese characters?” With this question in mind, I thought it was necessary to answer by providing a mini-Chinese lesson! Now..how fun is that? Today, I am writing to hopefully elucidate some of the key fundamentals you need to know in order to be able to successfully write, read,l and most importantly understand and interpret how Chinese characters are both used and written.
First of all, each Chinese characters can be thought of as a square-shaped “sign,” each representing a block that is independent. Generally speaking, a character may consist of one, two, or three strokes each standing for an independent unit.
Secondly, the basic elements of Chinese characters are strokes. In order to understand how to write Chinese characters, you must know how to write each stroke. Remember, the knowledge of strokes will lay the foundation for character writing.
There are a total of 31 different kinds of strokes used in Chinese writing. Among these are eight basic strokes that are commonly used. The following strokes are listed below:
1. The horizontal stroke
2. The vertical stroke
3. Left-slanted stroke
4. Right- slants stroke
5. Dot
6. Up-lift stroke
7. Hook
8. Bend stroke
Lastly, stroke order is very important when writing Chinese Characters. There are 10 fundamental steps that you must follow to master the Chinese stroke order! The following stroke order steps are listed below:
1. Middle before sides
2. Top to bottom
3. Left to right
4. Horizontal before vertical
5. Inside before outside
6. Outside to inside
7. Top left corner first
8. CUtting strokes last
9. Diagonals right to left before left to right
10.Dots always written last
I am certain that you are more than capable of writing Chinese characters correctly! Whether you are a native Chinese speaker or non-native Chinese speaker, just remember anything is possible when you set your mind to it! Now go have fun and learn some strokes! 🙂
awesome!!! This article might inspire many people to learn and engage in Chinese culture or activities.
My German is not too good so this abstract from Eurekalert will do.Contact: Dr. med. Stefan SchillingDeutsches Aerzteblatt InternationalVitamin D defniieccy in geriatric patientsThe great majority of geriatric patients in a German rehabilitation hospital were found to have vitamin D defniieccy. Stefan Schilling presents his study results in this week’s issue of Deutsches c4rzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2012; 109[3]: 33-8).In order to establish the vitamin D status in geriatric patients in Germany, the researchers measured 25-OH vitamin D in 1578 patients in the geriatric rehabilitation hospital in Trier after they had been examined on admission.Insufficiently high concentrations were found in 89% of patients, and 67% had severe vitamin D defniieccy. Vitamin D affects the calcium and bone metabolism, and it is also attributed with numerous other effects. A sufficiently high concentration of vitamin D, and its effects on the muscles, seems to help reduce the risk of falls and thus of fractures.Older people seek exposure to the sun less often than young people; the risk of skin cancer is another reason for restricting sun exposure. In contrast to the fluctuations in vitamin D levels between the summer and winter halves of the year that is observed in young people, the old patients in this study (average age 82) did not display any seasonal fluctuations.According to the recommendations of the Institute of Medicine, daily supplementation with 800 IU of vitamin D is therefore advisable in people older than 70.