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Reading and Writing Chinese Traditional Character Edition: A Comprehensive Guide to the Chinese Writing System
£13.20
This is a compete and easy to use guide for reading and writing traditional Chinese characters.
“Reading and Writing Chinese” has been the leading text for foreign students and teachers of the Chinese writing system since it was first published. This completely revised edition draws on the lessons learnt from the use of the book in classrooms so as to provide a more convenient and up to date introduction to written Chinese. Over 1,100 new combinations of characters have been added, increasing the total vocabulary significantly to about 4,500 items. There are also new notes on usage to give students insight into the contemporary state of the Chinese language. The student’s ability to read Chinese and write Chinese are reinforced throughout.
For each of the basic 1,062 characters, the pronunciation, definition and derivation are given, with examples of the use of most words and a chart showing how to write each character. Memorization tips and cautionary cross reference to look alike characters are also provided, as well as notes to help clarify those overlooked aspects of the Chinese writing system.
Key features of this book: The Student’s 1,020 List and the Official 2,000 List. Over 2,000 characters and 4,500 vocabulary items. Pronunciations given in standard Hanyu Pinyin Ronamized form Memorization hints and stroke order diagrams. Hong Kong/Taiwan and China/Singapore forms. Traditional and modern radical systems. The best-selling student’s guide”
“Reading and Writing Chinese” has been the leading text for foreign students and teachers of the Chinese writing system since it was first published. This completely revised edition draws on the lessons learnt from the use of the book in classrooms so as to provide a more convenient and up to date introduction to written Chinese. Over 1,100 new combinations of characters have been added, increasing the total vocabulary significantly to about 4,500 items. There are also new notes on usage to give students insight into the contemporary state of the Chinese language. The student’s ability to read Chinese and write Chinese are reinforced throughout.
For each of the basic 1,062 characters, the pronunciation, definition and derivation are given, with examples of the use of most words and a chart showing how to write each character. Memorization tips and cautionary cross reference to look alike characters are also provided, as well as notes to help clarify those overlooked aspects of the Chinese writing system.
Key features of this book: The Student’s 1,020 List and the Official 2,000 List. Over 2,000 characters and 4,500 vocabulary items. Pronunciations given in standard Hanyu Pinyin Ronamized form Memorization hints and stroke order diagrams. Hong Kong/Taiwan and China/Singapore forms. Traditional and modern radical systems. The best-selling student’s guide”
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Additional information
| Publisher | Traditional Character Edition (6 Oct. 2016), Tuttle Publishing |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 352 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 9780804847155 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0804847155 |
| Dimensions | 15.24 x 2.29 x 22.86 cm |
by Multilingual reader
Beware! This appears to be based on the simplified script version and, as so often happens, not all of the changes have been made as thoroughly as they should have been.
As an alternative, I suggest the FAr East 3000 Chinese Character Dictionary.
by jean hockey
Good!
by Lingering
I am only a 100 pages in or so but so far the thing that I have found most useful is the helpful hints on how to remember characters. It has an easy to read format and works wonders for someone who likes to have a list of things to work through to learn something.
by Eugene Nyunt
At the outset you should realize that this book exists in two slightly differing forms. One provides instruction on simplified Chinese characters, and the other deals with traditional forms used in Hong Kong and Taiwan. This review is in relation to the latter ‘traditional’ version.
The volume isn’t so much a dictionary as a handbook, although with the Pinyin index at the rear it’ll be adequate for that purpose. That said the entries in the main body don’t provide anything in the way of example sentence structures which you’d imagine is de rigueur for lexicons. What are included are variant meanings. And though initially tricky the additional stroke index also permits a search for characters where you don’t yet know the attached pronunciation.
The multi-use value of McNaughton’s public-transport friendly volume is the inclusion – on both the front and back inside covers – of radical lists. The front section presents the traditional ordering of roots; this is tied in with the Pinyin index and quite straightforward to use. The list at the back transcribes how the Han-Ying Cidian/The Chinese-English Dictionary arranges things. The author states that this latter group might be more useful for the learner. Incidentally, he recommends learning both.
As I suggested this isn’t really a workbook, and you’ll definitely struggle to cram in your calligraphy if that’s what you’re intending. Even so the book presents each character at a more than sufficient size, with the stroke order in separate boxes to aid learning.
Also for all characters here (several thousand in fact) there’ll be – at the bottom right corner of each rectangular box – the simplified version should it differ from the traditional form.I have both versions of Reading and Writing Chinese, and for the most part it’s this (traditional) version I take around with me. Obviously if you’re just starting out you might like to obtain both, to avoid incorrect writing. I have noticed that my own teacher has on occasion written something down for me in a way which is slightly unfamiliar, so trusting any book as definitive might be a bit too much.
On a final note the author makes an interesting point; one which relates to – in his view – the relative ease of moving from the traditional Character forms to the simplified ones rather than vice versa. He also observes that an isolated focus on simplified writing will exclude so much of recent Chinese literature. From my own limited experience in this regard, and while shopping at my local Chinatown I did spot “newspaper” written in the stacked traditional.
by John richard Clarke
What so many books forget is how difficult it can be to read chinese characters in normal print size unless you have spent a few years in the subject. This is a catalogue which with a bit of practice will lead you swiftly you find what you need. I would consider it an essential for anyone learning to write the language.
by Paula Pérez Romero
I really recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn traditional characters. Very well explain and completed.
by lyj_e1
If you want a concise book on how to write Chinese then this is the book for you. The first 1062 Chinese words come complete with the definition and brushstroke diagrams to teach you the correct method of writing in Chinese. Great book for beginners or for those who have ‘forgotten’ over the years to write in Chinese.