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Learning
1. 一 (yī)
English: One
2. 人 (rén)
English: Man
The Chinese character for “man” is two simple strokes. The
character looks like a person with legs apart.
3. 日 (rì)
English: Sun
The character for “sun” looks like a box with a line in the
middle. It’s supposed to approximate the image of the sun. You
might have to use a little imagination, but in ancient bronze
script, this character was more circular like the sun.
4. 月 (yuè)
English: Moon
The character for “moon” originally resembled a crescent. If you
look at the oracle bone script you’ll see what I mean.
1月
2月
3月
5. 山 (shān)
English: Mountain
6. 水 (shǔi)
English: Water
7. 大 (dà)
English: Big
See how the character for “big” looks like a person with arms
and legs spread wide?
When we combine 大 with another character we just learned
(人) we get 大人 (dà rén) which means “adult,” or literally,
“big man.” However, FYI, a child isn’t called “little man.”
8. 小 (xiǎo)
English: Small
9. 口 (kǒu)
English: Mouth
The character for “mouth” looks just like an opening. Here are
some common phrases that use this character:
10. 火 (hǔo)
English: Fire
大火 (dà hǔo) big flame and 小火 (xiǎo hǔo) small flame, refer
to heat levels for cooking; you might see these in recipes
11. 男 (nán)
English: Boy
The character for “boy” is actually the combination of
田 (tián) farm and 力 (lì) work, referring to how traditionally
men worked the land. You’ll see this character on the door of
public washrooms. Here are a couple more instances using this
character:
12. 女 (nǚ)
English: Girl
13. 天 (tiān)
English: Sky
Notice how the shape of this character points upwards, towards
the sky. Two of these characters together 天天 (tiān
tiān) means “every day” as well.
There’s also:
14. 牛 (níu)
English: Cow
15. 马 (mǎ)
English: Horse
16. 羊 (yáng)
English: Sheep
English: Wood
18. 工 (gōng)
English: Work
19. 开 (kāi)
English: Open
This word can also mean “to start.” We use this character in
these ways:
开刀 (kāi dāo) surgery
20. 心 (xīn)
English: Heart
We’re not totally sure, but perhaps this character looks a little
like the organ it refers to. What do you think? Here’s how to use
this character:
21. 门 (mén)
English: Door
English: No
23. 十 (shí)
English: Ten
In counting, all the teen digits use ten as the base, that is:
But just so you know, 100 is not “ten-tens,” it’s just 一百 (yī
bǎi).
24. 手 (shǒu)
English: Hand
Can you guess how this character resembles its meaning? Check
out the lines in the palm of your hand! Here are more ways to
use this character:
25. 王 (wáng)
English: King
26. 米 (mǐ)
English: Rice
Now for the word that refers to the food staple and the Chinese
cultural icon! Here are more cases of the character for “rice”:
27. 生 (shēng)
English: Birth
The word “birth” also refers to life and the start of something.
Here are some of the many ways to use it:
English: Center
29. 上 (shàng)
English: Up
Three strokes make up this character that looks like it’s pointing
up. This character also refers to attending something or going
somewhere. Here’s how we use it:
30. 下 (xià)
English: Down
This solid list of easy Chinese characters should get you well on
your way to becoming a language superstar!