When we think about Chinese, we often think first of characters. But Chinese is much more than what we see on the page. Beneath those characters is a language with a remarkably structured sound system, a unique grammar, and its own way of organizing meaning.
Continue reading “The 10 Keys to Chinese: How the Language Works from Within”Category: Homophones
棋手vs旗手vs骑手
Homophones are a very interesting characteristic in Chinese language. Homophones are words with different meanings which are pronounced in the same way but are written differently. In this post, we will learn three homophones of 手. Continue reading “棋手vs旗手vs骑手”
List of the wrongly written homophonic characters
Homophony is a very typical feature of the Chinese characters. There are plenty of homophonic characters. Many homophonic characters are very easily confused. Here are the list of the wrongly written homophonic characters. Continue reading “List of the wrongly written homophonic characters”
Frequently misused homophones in Chinese set phrases
Chinese set phrases are special fixed phrases, originally from ancient classics or books, historical stories or people’s verbal stories. The meaning of a set phrase is always implicit and not the simple sum of the literal meanings of the constituent components. Continue reading “Frequently misused homophones in Chinese set phrases”
How to differentiate between 必须 and 必需?
必须 and 必需 have the same pronunciation, but they can not be used interchangeably. Here are the tips on how to differentiate between 必须 and 必需. Continue reading “How to differentiate between 必须 and 必需?”