Chinese characters: how to learn them easily?

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1. Understand the logic of Chinese characters

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Before you start learning Chinese characters, it's essential that you understand how they are structured and how they work. Unlike Western alphabets, Chinese characters are not composed of letters, but of traits and components that have their own meaning.

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1.1 A Brief History of Chinese Characters

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Chinese characters have a long history, dating back over 3,000 years. They have evolved from the first inscriptions on turtle shells (ossecaille script) to the modern forms we use today. Over time, their spelling has been simplified to adapt to the needs of daily writing.

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1.2 Simplified or traditional: what's the difference?

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There are two main writing systems:

• Traditional characters : Used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, they maintain their ancient shape and are often more complex. Sometimes there are differences in pronunciation. Example: France, France, is pronounced fguó in mainland China, and fà guó in Taiwan.
• Simplified characters : Created in mainland China in the 1950s to facilitate learning, they contain fewer traits and are more accessible to beginners.

Depending on your goals (travel, study, work), it may be useful to choose one or the other, although most learners start with simplified characters. MandarinMaster trains exclusively in simplified official Mandarin, for simplicity and also because it is used much more often.

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1.3 The structure of characters: radicals and components

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Chinese characters are not random: they are constructed from radicals, which are the basic elements for understanding their meaning and pronunciation.

For example:

• The radical 氵 (three drops of water) is found in words related to water, like 河 (Hey, river) and 海 (hi, sea).
• The radical 木 (tree) appears in words like 林 (linen, forest) or 树 (shù, tree).

By learning these radicals, it becomes easier to guess the meaning of the new characters and to remember them more effectively.

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2. The best ways to learn Chinese characters easily

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Learning Chinese characters may seem complex at first, but with the right methods, it becomes possible to memorize them effectively and sustainably. Here are some tried and tested techniques to make this learning easier.

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2.1 Association and mnemonics

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Our brains remember images and stories better than abstract symbols. Associating a Chinese character with an image or a short story makes it easier to remember it.

For example:

• The character arm'er (shān, mountain) looks like three peaks lined up. It is therefore easy to associate it with the image of a mountain range.
• The character Persona (rén, person) represents a walking human figure.

Creating your own associations or using visual resources like illustrated books can greatly accelerate learning. This is what MandarinMaster does in each of its lessons and in its Zoom on social networks.

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2.2 Spaced repetition (SRS)

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The Spaced Repetition System (SRS) is a technique based on the fact that we gradually forget information if we do not review it regularly. Applications like MandarinMaster, with its dual revision system and flashcards, use this principle to make you review characters at the right time, just before you forget them.

Benefits of SRS :

• Optimization of learning time.
• Long-term memorization.
• Personalized progression according to your level.

By integrating a few minutes of revision each day with our tool, you strengthen your memory without cognitive overload.

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2.3 The importance of handwriting

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While character recognition is essential, Writing them by hand is essential to better anchor them in the memory.

Why does writing help?

• Writing activates so-called kinesthetic muscle memory.
• It makes it possible to better understand the structure of characters.
• It avoids confusing characters that are visually similar (e.g., dà “big” and tài “too much”).

At MandarinMaster, this writing exercise is very important. It is done first in each lesson by of course giving you the order of the traits to respect.

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2.4 Visual recognition and immersion

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Reading and seeing characters regularly in context makes it easier to remember them.

Tips for immersing yourself :

• Read simple texts (articles, manga, product labels).
• Watch Chinese videos or dramas with subtitles.
• Use applications that display characters in context.
• Recognize the character in the midst of other graphically similar characters.

The more you are exposed to Chinese characters, the more naturally and quickly you will recognize them.

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3. MandarinMaster: the easiest and most complete method to easily learn Chinese characters

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Thanks to new technologies, learning Chinese characters has become more accessible than ever. The MandarinMaster method was designed by Franco-Chinese experts to facilitate memorization and daily practice as much as possible.

With MandarinMaster, in 15 days you will have learned 20 characters, in 1 month 40 characters and in 6 months 240 characters! And when we say to you “learn” it is:

• Write the character
• Recognize it in writing and speaking
• Pronounce it correctly
• and position it correctly in a sentence

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3.1 The benefits of our online method

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• Practical and flexible : Learn anywhere, at your own pace.
• Interactive methods : Flashcards, quizzes, voice recognition.
• Monitoring progress : Spaced repetition systems (SRS) to optimize memory, evaluation of your mastery at the end of each daily lesson.
• Voice recognition : Improve your pronunciation.

MandarinMaster allows you to learn in a structured and motivating way, with immediate access to the necessary resources.

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3.2 How MandarinMaster makes it easy to learn Chinese characters

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The MandarinMaster platform was designed to make learning Chinese characters easier and more effective. Here is what it brings to users:

• Progressive learning : Characters are introduced logically, starting with the most common ones.
• Interactive exercises : Recognition games, writing exercises, memory quizzes.
• An intelligent review system : Based on spaced repetition to never forget the characters learned.
• An immersive environment : Exposure to characters in their context (sentences, dialogues).

With this approach, learners assimilate Chinese characters in a natural and intuitive way.

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3.3 Integrate applications into your daily life

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To maximize your progress with MandarinMaster, here are a few tips:

• Spend 20 to 25 minutes a day to learn Mandarin on the platform
• Put into practice what you learn : Read signs, write simple sentences, try to recognize characters around you, update your flashcards

The key is to stay consistent and motivated. With a method like ours, learning Chinese characters becomes more fun and accessible.

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4. Practical tips for effective progression

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Learning Chinese characters requires patience and consistency. With our method, you can make rapid progress without feeling overwhelmed or overwhelmed. Here are some additional practical tips to optimize your learning.

Did you know that The 1,000 most used characters cover about 90% of common Chinese texts ? MandarinMaster has selected the ones that come back the most for you. Let yourself be guided without taking the hassle out of your mind.

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How to do it?

• When you write the characters, observe how they are constructed (go to Resources and download the radical summary table).
• Write each character on a Post-it note (with its pinyin) and stick it in a place you visit often.
• Just follow the daily lessons... on a regular basis.
• Remember to update your flashcards

Learning Chinese characters may seem difficult at first, but with the right strategies, you can make quick and effective progress. By understanding the structure of characters, using the effective memorization techniques offered by MandarinMaster, you can make your learning much more fluid and enjoyable.

The main thing is to stay consistent, patient, and motivated. And above all, have fun learning!

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