Traditional characters 3
Presentation of the traditional characters of Unit 3: pronunciation, writing, components and etymology. You can also practice writing the characters interactively with the Animated mode.
Learning Chinese: writing the traditional characters of Unit 3
Please choose how the character breakdown is displayed:
甚 (or in 甚麼): extremely, very; used mainly in 甚麼 "what".
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Graphic components: 甘 sweet; 匹 pair, companion.
Etymology: 甚 is an ideogram that originally expressed great pleasure. It is composed of 甘 (sweetness, pleasant taste) at the top, and of 匹 (pair, companion) at the bottom, the idea being that of a shared pleasure. By extension, 甚 came to mean "excessive, extreme, very". In modern Chinese, it is found mainly in the interrogative word 甚麼 "what".
Evolution of the character:
| Bronze | Seal script | Clerical script | Regular script | Simplified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 甚 | 甚 | 甚 | 甚 | 什 |
麼 : has no meaning on its own. 甚麼 : what?
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Graphic components: 麻 hemp; 幺 very fine thread.
Etymology: This character is made of the phonetic element 麻 hemp, and of 幺 "a very fine thread". The character 麼 originally meant "fine/thin". Nowadays, the character 麼 is mainly used in interrogative expressions and colloquial words.
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Graphic components: 麻 hemp; 幺 very fine thread.
Etymology: This character is made of the phonetic element 麻 hemp, and of 幺 "a very fine thread". The character 麼 originally meant "fine/thin". Nowadays, the character 麼 is mainly used in interrogative expressions and colloquial words.
Evolution of the character:
| Bronze | Seal script | Clerical script | Regular script | Simplified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 麻 幺 | 麻 幺 | 麻 幺 | 么 | 么 |
誰 : who?
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Graphic components: 訁 speech; 隹 short-tailed bird.
Etymology: This character is made of the 'speech' radical 訁, indicating a link with communication or questions, and the phonetic part 隹 , which represents a short-tailed bird and here serves as the phonetic component.
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Graphic components: 訁 speech; 隹 short-tailed bird.
Etymology: This character is made of the 'speech' radical 訁, indicating a link with communication or questions, and the phonetic part 隹 , which represents a short-tailed bird and here serves as the phonetic component.
Evolution of the character:
| Oracle bone | Bronze | Seal script | Clerical script | Regular script | Simplified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 隹 | 谁 | 谁 | 谁 | 谁 | 谁 |
師 : (master), not used on its own. The word "master" is said 師父
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Graphic components: 𠂤 small mound; 帀 to encircle.
Etymology: 師 is an ideogram. The original character referred to a group of soldiers patrolling around the camp. By extension, 師 became a term for a master or teacher, a figure of authority in a specific field.
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Graphic components: 𠂤 small mound; 帀 to encircle.
Etymology: 師 is an ideogram. The original character referred to a group of soldiers patrolling around the camp. By extension, 師 became a term for a master or teacher, a figure of authority in a specific field.
Evolution of the character:
| Oracle bone | Bronze | Seal script | Clerical script | Regular script | Simplified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 師 | 师 | 师 | 师 | 师 | 师 |
學 : to learn
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Graphic components: 臼 two hands; 爻 counting sticks; 冖 roof; 子 child.
Etymology: 學 is an ideogram. The traditional character 學 gives a clue to understanding its composition. It is formed of two hands 臼 surrounding counting sticks 爻, a roof 冖 , and the child 子 . Together, the character evokes children under a roof, suggesting the idea of a place dedicated to study and learning.
Phonetics: the of pinyin is pronounced like an "s", but with the back of the tongue. The trick is to keep the tip of your tongue behind your lower teeth while pronouncing an "s". is pronounced "ü-eh": say "ee" with rounded lips (the ü sound after x), then "eh".
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Graphic components: 臼 two hands; 爻 counting sticks; 冖 roof; 子 child.
Etymology: 學 is an ideogram. The traditional character 學 gives a clue to understanding its composition. It is formed of two hands 臼 surrounding counting sticks 爻, a roof 冖 , and the child 子 . Together, the character evokes children under a roof, suggesting the idea of a place dedicated to study and learning.
Evolution of the character:
| Oracle bone | Bronze | Seal script | Clerical script | Regular script | Simplified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 學 | 学 | 学 | 学 | 学 | 学 |
請 : to invite, please
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Graphic components: 訁 speech; 青 blue-green.
Etymology: 請 is a phono-semantic compound. It is formed from the component 訁 'speech', which gives the idea of inviting, and the phonetic component 青 (blue-green).
Phonetics: the of pinyin is pronounced like the "ch" in "cheese", but with the back of the tongue. The trick is to keep the tip of your tongue behind your lower teeth while pronouncing a "ch". is pronounced as in English: the final stays "stuck" against the palate.
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Graphic components: 訁 speech; 青 blue-green.
Etymology: 請 is a phono-semantic compound. It is formed from the component 訁 'speech', which gives the idea of inviting, and the phonetic component 青 (blue-green).
Evolution of the character:
| Bronze | Seal script | Clerical script | Regular script | Simplified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 请 | 请 | 请 | 请 | 请 |
問 : to ask, question
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Graphic components: 門 door; 口 mouth.
Etymology: 問 is composed of 門 (door) and 口 (mouth). Originally, it represented the act of asking questions at the entrance of a house. By extension, it took on the meanings of "to question", "to ask".
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Graphic components: 門 door; 口 mouth.
Etymology: 問 is composed of 門 (door) and 口 (mouth). Originally, it represented the act of asking questions at the entrance of a house. By extension, it took on the meanings of "to question", "to ask".
Evolution of the character:
| Bronze | Seal script | Clerical script | Regular script | Simplified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 问 | 问 | 问 | 问 | 问 |