Dr. JIANG, Yong (?勇) - Professor of Chinese Language and Literature, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. "The authors of this book have conducted extensive research on Chinese lexicology, etymology, phonology and grammar, and now share their expertise with Chinese language learners. Learning Chinese characters takes more time and effort for those whose native language uses alphabetic writing systems. The authors solved this problem by reinterpreting some of Chinese characters in their own imaginative ways. This extends readers’ horizons and helps them to make sense of the structures of Chinese characters through the use of interesting stories and fascinating cartoons. The characters in this book are organized around topics such as people, life, nature, etc. for the sake of easy recollection. The book helps learners to build their Chinese character and vocabulary base by grouping relevant characters and their associated words and phrases in a family in a systematic way. This book is an indispensable aid for people who want to master basic and commonly used Chinese characters and vocabulary within a short time. It is also a very useful reference book for Chinese language teachers." Joshua K. Park - Juris Doctor "Learning Chinese is a daunting challenge for new learners, both in speaking and writing. While the challenge of listening to and speaking a new tongue is common to all languages, written Chinese presents a challenge on a whole different dimension. While most languages require just the memorization of an alphabet to learn the basics of how to read, Chinese seems to offer no such tool. It seems like an impossible task to memorize how to read and write hundreds of characters, and many give up early on. In that regard, this book offers a unique tool. It provides almost an alphabet-like tool that makes it unnecessary to memorize each character individually, from scratch. It also makes it possible to guess at the meanings of characters that you have not even learned?making vocabulary-in-context learning of the Chinese language also possible. And its insightful commentary regarding the shape of each character adds appreciation for this beautiful language. I would highly recommend this outstanding tool to any new learner of Chinese." Su Hyon Pak - Language Instructor "Playful cartoons and amusing storytelling may deceive serious students at first glance, but this comprehensive collection of 800 of the most frequently used Chinese characters will allow the reader to move past pinyin and learn to fully understand and appreciate the ancient language still in use today. Make use of this new and exciting way to undertake the seemingly impossible task of memorizing Chinese characters! Characters are broken down by fun explanations, quick references, examples, and color coded notes that piece together puzzle-like parts to create a whole picture of understanding.. Several learning tools such as dissection of pictograms, stroke order, and vocabulary lists are included, to name just a few. Ideal for foreign students beginning to learn basic characters as well as for students preparing to take the HSK or Chinese Proficiency Test, this text will assist readers to further understand the meaning of all Chinese characters!" Wenqing Zhang - PhD “Language is among the most important elements in a culture, and Chinese is no exception. Increased interest in China from those outside has led to a corresponding interest in the study of Chinese as a foreign language. As one of the world’s oldest and most complex language, however, Chinese may have already scared off many prospective learners whose native tongue is English or other languages. Chinese speaking feature a daunting array of variety and diversity, ranging from Mandarin to Cantonese and many minor dialects. People may suggest learners to start with a practical form of speech before proceeding to the more diverse forms. On the other hand, written Chinese is another story. Whether you agree with the idea that speech is primary, writing secondary or verse versa, what really makes Chinese hard to learn is its various characters. Note that Chinese characters have the longest history of continuous use. Learning Chinese characters poses different challenges for adults compared to children. Children usually have stronger phonological processing and vocabulary memorizing skills. They can memorize many Chinese characters without truly understanding the meanings of them. However, for adults, it could be a problem handling abundant Chinese characters without understanding them. This book tries to decompose each Chinese character and, as a result, helps readers to understand the origin and usage of each character. With the logic exposed, it will be easier for readers to make sense of parts in each character. This book will be of great use to both academics and regular learners interested in how to manage the complexity of standard written Chinese.”

Pr?logo 06 Gu?a para el lector 08 El ser humano 12 El cuerpo humano 14 Cabeza | ?1 京2 高3 亥4 亡5 ?6 首7 ?8 而9 Cara | 面10 目11 直12 ?13 艮14 良15 口16 可17 奇18 古19 ?20 音21 言22 欠23 舌24 牙25 自26 Cuerpo |身27 心28 骨29 ?30 Mano | 手31 才32 爪33 又34 史35 ?36 聿37 ?38 39 寸40 付41 寺42 ?43 其44 ?45 ?46 包47 ?48 勿49 ?50 支51 Pie | 足52 止53 正54 疋55 ?56 各57 舛58 ?59 ?60 ?61 ?62 La persona 151 人 | 人63 ?64 ?65 今66 ?67 ?68 ?69 ?70 ?71 兄72 元73 大 | 大74 ?75 ?76 央77 夭78 立79 ?80 Forma humana | ?81 己82 乙83 也84 ?85 令86 ?87 匕88 旨89 尸90 尺91 El estatus 221 Estatus de origen | 巳92 ?93 去94 子95 女96 母97 父98 氏99 ?100 者101 ?102 Rango | 辛103 士104 壬105 臣106 ?107 王108 La vida 256 La guerra 258 Armas | 弓109 ?110 矢111 至112 戈113 戊114 ?115 矛116 ?117 斤118 刀119 召120 干121 平122 ?123 Transporte | ?124 舟125 Ceremonia | 示126 卜127 卓128 兆129 Art?culos de primera necesidad 305 Ropa | 衣130 巾131 ?132 文133 白134 ?135 ?136 Alimento | 食137 米138 禾139 豆140 Vivienda | ?141 穴142 ?143 ?144 ?145 互146 ?147 ?148 ?149 向150 里151 La agricultura 356 Campo de labranza | 土152 圭153 田154 ?155 由156 申157 火158 Aperos de labranza | 力159 方160 ?161 Envase | 酉162 ?163 斗164 ?165 用166 ?167 ?168 ?169 西170 Naturaleza 396 Animal 398 Animales terrestres | 羊171 犬172 ?173 豕174 牛175 ?176 Otros animales | ?177 ?178 只179 ?180 非181 羽182 ?183 ?184 ?185 ?186 辰187 Derivados | 毛188 皮189 ?190 角191 肉192 阜193 ?194 Paisaje 438 山195 谷196 石197 玉198 金199 工200 水201 ?202 ?203 ?204 雨205 ?206 ?207 生208 ?209 木210 ?211 林212 ?213 ?214 片215 竹216 ?217 Cuerpos celestes 484 日 218 ?219 昔220 月221 夕222 Otros 496 一 223 且224 丁225 二226 云227 井228 八229 九230 十231 ?232 ?233 ?234 小235 Conclusi?n 525 ?ndice de los caracteres Pinyin 528 ?ndice de los caracteres b?sicos 535