Hello, Chinese learners, in this post, we’ll talk about 10 things (10 characteristics of Chinese characters) about Chinese characters to help you understand what Chinese characters are.
10 Characteristics you must know about Chinese characters:
1. Chinese characters belong to the ideographic system
The original purpose of the creation of Chinese characters was to express meaning by shape, so that people could “know its meaning seeing a character”. See the list of pictograms
2. Chinese characters are one of the oldest scripts in the world
Chinese characters are by far the longest continuously used script in the world
3. Chinese characters are independently created and developed symbols
Chinese characters originated from graphics and have been used up to now through different stages of development. Although there are some loanwords in modern Chinese, these words only “borrow” the pronunciation of the loanwords, and their writing form is still the form of Chinese characters.
4. Chinese characters are regular, flat and square-shaped characters
From the appearance, the most obvious feature of Chinese characters is that the strokes of each character are distributed in an orderly manner in a flat box.
5. Chinese characters are philosophical symbols
The ancient Chinese condensed a philosophical thought into a simple Chinese character, such as “资”, “舒”, “忌”, etc.
6. The structure of Chinese characters is complex
The strokes of Chinese characters constitute components, and the components constitute single characters. There are multiple flexible arrangements for each stroke and component, making the Chinese characters look complex.
7. Chinese characters are powerful in word formation and very informative
In Chinese, there is no need to create new characters, and new words can be formed by the existing Chinese characters. In China, The average person can read and write in daily life by mastering only 2000 characters.
8. Chinese characters can be split
The spatial structure of most Chinese characters can be split, and different spatial combinations have different meanings.
9. The writing of Chinese characters has become a specialized art – calligraphy
Chinese characters, while assuming the function of expressing the meaning of language, also have aesthetic value, and are also the carrier used by scholars to express their feelings. The writing of Chinese characters has become a special art and is constantly developing and changing.
10. Chinese characters can be used beyond time and space
The use of Chinese characters is not limited by time and region. Documents written in Chinese characters thousands of years ago can still be understood today. The dialects of Chinese are numerous and complex, and their pronunciations vary greatly. If only spoken language is used to communicate, it will be very difficult for people in different dialect areas to understand each other, but Chinese characters have eliminated this communication barrier. As long as people see Chinese characters, they will have no difficulty in understanding each other.
Hopefully, these 10 characteristics of Chinese characters can help you understand better and further this special writing system!
We are now on YouTube. Just follow us there and don’t miss out any updates!