Want to learn Chinese? :)

[lee ying]

Wll, I studied or read something about it. I´ll write something that I read.

[lee ying]

How To Write Chinese Characters


Stroke Types http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/images/titles/1103873w.gifStrokes are traditionally classified into eight basic forms, each appearing in the character "eternally" and listed below according to their contemporary names. Though somewhat arbitrary, this system has remained popular for nearly two millennia.




1. "Dian (http://www.zhongwen.com/d/194/x73.htm)" - A simple dot.
http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/images/titles/1103873a.gif
2. "Heng (http://www.zhongwen.com/d/190/x238.htm)" - Horizontal stroke, left to right.
http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/images/titles/1103873b.gif
3. "Shu (http://www.zhongwen.com/d/189/x221.htm)" - Vertical stroke, top to bottom.
http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/images/titles/1103873c.gif
4. "Gou (http://www.zhongwen.com/d/185/x95.htm)" - Hook appended to other strokes.
http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/images/titles/1103873d.gif
5. "Ti (http://www.zhongwen.com/d/180/x163.htm)" - Diagonal stroke, rising from left to right.
http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/images/titles/1103873e.gif
6. "Pie (http://www.zhongwen.com/d/186/x74.htm)" - Diagonal stroke, falling from right to left.
http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/images/titles/1103873f.gif
7. "Duan (http://www.zhongwen.com/d/181/x117.htm) Pie (http://www.zhongwen.com/d/186/x74.htm)" - Short diagonal stroke, falling from right to left.
http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/images/titles/1103873g.gif
8. "Na (http://www.zhongwen.com/d/177/x204.htm)" - Horizontal stroke, falling from left to right.
http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/images/titles/1103873h.gif
These basic strokes are sometimes combined without the pen leaving the paper. In the above example of "eternally", strokes 2-3-4 are written as one continuous stroke, as are strokes 5-6. Hence in dictionaries this character is indexed (http://www.zhongwen.com/s/bishu.htm) as having five separate strokes.

Stroke Order
Writing characters in the correct order is essential for the character to look correct. Two basic rules are followed:
1. Top before bottom
http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/images/titles/1103873i.gif (http://www.zhongwen.com/d/164/x84.htm)
2. Left before right
http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/images/titles/1103873j.gif (http://www.zhongwen.com/d/164/x75.htm)
These rules conflict whenever one stroke is to the bottom and left of another. Several additional rules resolve many of these conflicts.
3. Left vertical stroke (usually) before top horizontal stroke
http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/images/titles/1103873k.gif (http://www.zhongwen.com/d/164/x102.htm)
4. Bottom horizontal stroke last
http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/images/titles/1103873l.gif (http://www.zhongwen.com/d/164/x253.htm)
5. Center stroke before wings
http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/images/titles/1103873m.gif (http://www.zhongwen.com/d/164/x112.htm)
6. Horizontal strokes before intersecting vertical strokes
http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/images/titles/1103873n.gif (http://www.zhongwen.com/d/164/x81.htm)
7. Left-falling strokes before right-falling srokes
http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/images/titles/1103873o.gif (http://www.zhongwen.com/d/164/x229.htm)
A final rule can contradict the others:
8. Minor strokes (often) last
http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/images/titles/1103873p.gif (http://www.zhongwen.com/d/165/x201.htm)
Despite these conflicts between rules most students quickly acquire a natural feel for the proper stroke order.
Component Order Most How To Write Chinese Characters are combinations of simpler, component characters. Usually the two parts are written at top and bottom
http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/images/titles/1103873q.gif (http://www.zhongwen.com/d/165/x106.htm)
or left and right
http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/images/titles/1103873r.gif (http://www.zhongwen.com/d/164/x175.htm)
so that the main two stroke order rules readily apply. Occasionally these rules also conflict with respect to components. When one component is at the bottom-left, and the other at the top-right, the top-right component is sometimes written first.
http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/images/titles/1103873s.gif (http://www.zhongwen.com/d/176/x103.htm)
When there are several components, top components are written first.
http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/images/titles/1103873t.gif (http://www.zhongwen.com/d/171/x126.htm)
These rules usually imply each component is written in its entirety before another component is written. Exceptions may arise when one component divides another,
http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/images/titles/1103873u.gif (http://www.zhongwen.com/d/181/x243.htm)
encompasses another,
http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/images/titles/1103873v.gif (http://www.zhongwen.com/d/165/x125.htm)
or the individual components are no longer discernible in modern writting. I hopre this be all that you want to tell us..

[Jessica]

oh wow! that really helps!! thank you!

[Jessica]

姐姐 - jie jie (older sister)
妹妹 - mei mei (younger sister)
弟弟 - di di (younger brother)
哥哥 - ge ge (older brother)
爷爷 - ye ye (father's father)
奶奶 - nai nai (father's mother)
妈妈 - ma ma (mother, mom)
爸爸 - ba ba (father, dad)
lao ye - mother's father
lao lao - mother's mother
when a Chinese woman gets married she does not have to change her last name. She can keep it. The kids' last name is the same as the father's

[Zwarte Piet]

Do people always write with those letters? Or do they ever write with letters like the ones I'm using now? A-B-C etc...

[Jessica]

native Chinese people never write in pinyin and only characters.

[lee ying]

I´ve learned a new but it´s a really new thing, that I didn´t know. lol
thanks, jess. * _ * that´s why, people has to learn all meaning of the words, right.

[Jessica]

well pinyin makes learning Chinese easier.

[Jessica]

what else do you want to know? :-)

[lee ying]

ok. I want to know the meaning of ma, I saw in some questions, how work, ma?
Do you understand what I mean.?

[Jessica]

ma is used at the end of a question. it changes the sentence.

Ni chi le ma? Have you eaten yet?
Ni chi le. You ate already.

Ni hao ma? How are you?
Ni hao. Hello/Hi.

Ni you gege ma? Do you have an older brother?
Ni you ge ge. You have an older brother.

Not every question have ma, though.

Ni chong na li lai? Where did you come from?
Ni ji sui? How old are you?


Do you understand?

[lee ying]

Oh, I see , but what is the meaning of ma?.. has a meaning? *_*.
thanks for your examples, jessica you´re great. !

[Jessica]

there really isn't a meaning.

[CrOtALiTo]

I have message for you.

Jchen ，你是特殊的。


我的所有朋友，我表示，我感到自豪的網站，並問候所有命令。

[Jessica]

Did you copy them from somewhere, if so then I assume they are sentences and they make sense.
I don't understand it yet, but I will soon.
:-)

[Rusty]

I believe it is a machine translation, so there's a good chance that the sentences won't make a lot of sense. The part following your name means 'you are special'. The rest is not too intelligible.

[CrOtALiTo]

Please. you before to say above the translation machine. You try to understand the that say there.

[Jessica]

ok.

wow, Crotalito, I am special? :D thanks ^_^

[Sancho Panther]

Erm, which language are we learning here, Mandarin - Canton - Szechuan? Aren't there about 70+ Chinese languages (plus hundreds of different dialects)?

[Jessica]

Mandarin
and yes