Chinese Characters Made Easy : A Beginner's Guide to Learning 1,000 Chinese Characters

This highly-visual book introduces an effective new method to learn over 1,000 Chinese characters using visual stimuli and pictographs.

Learning the fundamental hanzi characters used to write Chinese can be challenging, but this book is designed to speed up learning by presenting the 1,000 most common characters using a mnemonic approach. In a fun and accessible way to learn Chinese, each character is associated with memorable visual and verbal clues. For example, the Chinese character for person is superimposed over a sketch of a smiling man. The visual clue is "a person standing on two legs." By seeing the distinctive shape of the hanzi, learners create a mental image of its meaning.

Each character is presented as part of a group of characters which share similar traits. These groups use common root symbols known as radicals; they are also categorized by themes such as colors, numbers, animals, or body parts. Pronunciations, meanings and common vocabulary compounds are provided for each character in the group. The free audio download available online helps you learn pronunciation for all of the characters and vocabulary in this book. The introduction explains the basic history and structure of Hanzi.

Key features of this Written Chinese Made Easy include:

• Chinese character (hanzi) phonetic symbols
• Easy-to-remember drawings and stories for ALL characters
• Thousands of vocabulary words
• Online audio for pronunciation practice

All audio content is alternatively accessible on the Tuttle Publishing website

Michael L. Kluemper was a JET Program participant from 1990-1993 and has been teaching about Japanese language and culture since then. As a board member of the National Council of Japanese Language Teachers from 2001-08, Kluemper served on national task forces for the implementation of the Japanese AP course, National Board Certification for teachers, and various advocacy campaigns. He now teaches Japanese at Ballard High School in Louisville, KY.

Kit-Yee Yam Nadeau is currently an elementary school teacher of Mandarin in Louisville Kentucky. A native Cantonese speaker, born and raised in Hong Kong during the British rule she started her English education at a very young age. Along with her native Cantonese and English, she also studied Mandarin, the universal language of China and Chinese culture. After moving to the USA, she taught Mandarin at a local Chinese society's weekend school for children. This led to her being asked to teach in the public school system. There she designed curriculum and participated in textbook development workshops in the USA and China. Kit carries on her Chinese traditions as an accomplished student of traditional Tai Chi, Tai Chi Fan, and Tai Chi Sword. She enjoys mahjong and Chinese cooking in her spare time.