Understanding Chinese: A Guide to the Usage of Chinese Characters

by Rita Mei-Wah Choy

This straightforward guide explains how Chinese characters are used and expressed in combinations; how sentences are formed; and how to say the same phrase in Mandarin or Cantonese. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0941340139
• ISBN13: 9780941340137
• Release Date: May 2000
• Publisher: China West Books
• Length: 577 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

a gem...clear, concise..Mandarin and Cantonese..wonderful.

this book is so good I got 2...because it will be dog-eared in no time...it is great for learning Mandarin or Cantonese characters,the lack of simplified characters is no big deal. William McNaughton's book covers that..and gives the trad. ones also as a guide. (ISBN-0804835098). if you are a serious student of Chinese,you can't just have one book!...or not learn both trad. and simp. character forms. traditional characters are beautiful.. ask any Chinese calligrapher's opinion...they will opt for traditional.

Excellent for beginners and advanced learners!

Rita Choy is one of the best writers for Chinese helpers. She has put together several books that I find most useful. I have lived in Taiwan for quite sometime and her books have been very useful in finding meanings. Her cross listed index is a life saver I use it almost everyday. I cannot imagine anyone who is studying Chinese not buying her books. Regardless of the simplifed vs. traditional characters. If you learn simplied first you will have much trouble learning and reading traditional.

Excellent book WITHOUT a flaw!

This book is wonderful and I do not consider that having only unsimplified forms of the characters is a flaw. While simplifid characters are more useful in Mainland China, they are not used at all in Taiwan, Hong Kong or Singapore and are only used rarely in Chinese communities in the U.S. and Canada. This book is most useful when visiting one of these places or studying there, since it is well nigh impossible to find an unsimplified guide or dictionary in most book stores.

Recommended for those with basic spoken knowledge of Chinese

I read this book with the intention to learn how to write Chinese and associate the Chinese characters with what I already know in spoken Chinese. After 1 month of practicing, I can see the difference in my knowledge of written Chinese (although my knowledge is still far from complete). And I have only studied less than half the book!! I especially like the fact that the book provides translation in both Mandarin and Cantonese. Because of that, I could learn both the Mandarin and Cantonese pronunciations. Furthermore, the book is very helpful because it also provides phrases associated with each character. Just as in English where phrases sometimes connote different meanings compared the meaning of the sole word (eg.pass vs. pass away), so can be said for Chinese. Therefore, in learning Chinese, it is important not only to know the meaning of a singular word but also to know how the word combines with other words to form a phrase. Also recommended, "Read and Write Chinese: A Simplified Guide to the Chinese Characters" by the same author--published a year later. A more compact guide without the phrase part (mentioned in the last paragraph).