This is a mini-guide to Chinese characters. You can either click "Start" and you will be guided from one section to another or you can click on the right-hand side to go to the section of your choice.

Chinese writing is logographic, that is, every symbol either represents a word or a minimal unit of meaning. When I write the character , it not only has a sound, niu, it has a meaning, “cow.” Only a ...

However, among all of these writing systems, Chinese characters, Hanzi, hold a special place in my heart as being the most elegant and aesthetic. Despite the practical limitations of Chinese ...

Mastering Chinese is daunting, in large part because learners must memorize thousands of distinct characters. So it is both a revelation and a relief to learners when they discover radicals. Radicals ...