Chinese Language Flashcards

Information used in creating these flashcards was retrieved from WinFlash Flashcard Library: (http://
www.openwindow.com/pages/wfusers.htm). The information was developed and contributed by Richard
Harding Gardner. Additional symbols, definitions and tones taken from the Mandarin Tools Online Chi-
nese-English Dictionary (http://www.mandarintools.com/worddict.html). There are 215 basic characters
for beginning Chinese language students. The flashcards are color-coded, the simplified characters in
pink and the traditional characters in yellow. These Chinese Language Flashcards are copyright pro-
tected. You may view, download, and print this material only for your personal, noncommercial use.

© 2006, Karla Stirling. All rights reserved

Notes from Richard Harding Gardner

Credits:

I used TwinBridge Chinese system to insert the characters into Microsoft Windows 95 Paint to create
the bmp graphic files. The mnemonics and etymology of the characters are taken from Volume 1 of
FUN WITH CHINESE CHARACTERS (Federal Publications 1980 - ISBN# 981 01 3004 X). These
three volumes published from a series of cartoons first published in the Singapore Strait Times, are a
wonderfully light-hearted and charming introduction to Chinese characters and traditions. I recommend
them as study aides or gifts.
nǚ zǐ
woman; girl; infant, child,
daughter son
woman kneel- pictography of
ing or striding arms out-
forward stretched
in swaddling
clothes

hǎo ān
peace, con-
good, excel-
tentment
lent, right
woman under
your roof
woman + child
zì shǐ
Letter, sym-
Pig, hog
bol, character,
swine
written word
pictography of
books cher-
belly, paws,
ished like a
back and tail
child in under
your roof

jiā jià
to marry a
house, family
man
a pig under
adds home to
your roof gave
woman
prosperity
an incentive
for a woman
to marry
qī mù
Wife
tree / wood
women gets
broom on
marriage
wields it, tak-
ing care of
house and
home

lǐ qī
to roost /
plum / plum
perch / nest
tree
to live in pov-
tree children
erty
are fond of
to seek refuge
also a Chi-
nese surname tree + west
rén dà
man; person;
big; great
human
man with
pictograph of
arms out-
man astride
stretched
the world

tiān fū
husband; dis-
heaven; sky;
tinguished
day
person
big man with
big man with
head touching
hairpin quali-
the sky, where
fied as pro-
the dawn
spective hus-
comes from...
band and dis-
tinguished
man
tài lì
too; over; ex- stand / rise up
cessive legs standing
big man un- on firm ground
derscored

xiǎo shǎo
less / few /
small / petty /
lack
young
small cut
from division
smaller
(/ \) of an ob-
ject (J) mak-
ing smaller
jiān tián
point (of nee- rice field /
dle); sharp; grain field/
shrewd; farm
pointed pictograph of
(ideograph) ploughed field
small of top of
big

lì nán
man / male /
strength /
masculine
force / power
a field where
pictograph of
strength is
a clenched
exerted
forearm
rì yuè
sun / day moon / month
formerly circle pictograph of
with rays, now old moon
squared off waning

bái
míng
white; snowy;
brilliant / empty; blank;
bright / bright; clear;
enlightened plain; pure;
the sun and gratuitous
the moon! = first ray of sun
brilliant Ming over the
Dynasty horizon
dàn jīng
dawn / day- crystal /
break/ day brilliant /
appearance of sparkling
sun over the three suns
horizon into crystal-
lized pattern

jiǎ
1st heavenly zǎo
stem; 1st in
early /
order; armor;
morning
from + (ten) in
sun at height
square, clari-
of man's hel-
fied by line ex-
met also "first"
tended, similar
thus first sun
to "helmet"
thus any kind or early morn-
of protective ing
cover
xiū dōng
rest / cease East
man resting sun peeping
against a tree thru tree

shàng
xī
up / above /
West
ascend
bird roosting
pictograph
in nest
(combination
east+west =
all things)
xià zhōng
down / below / center /
descend middle /
pictograph neutral
(below hori- arrow thru
zon) center of tar-
get

nú yǒu
slave / servant friend
woman under derived from
the hand two hands
shaking
cōng
gē
haste; hurry;
alarm spear / lance
originally: pictograph of
heart peering ancient
thru the lattice weapon w/
of a window hook and
crossbar
now heart lost
in the haste!

wǒ nǐ
you
I / me
person +
hand grasping
same weight =
spear assert-
(male) you
ing my-ness
yě tā
also / in addi-
he / she
tion to
(that) person
(joining man
+ also
to his) drink-
ing horn

mù jiàn
to see
Eye
originally eye
squared off
on top of legs
pictograph -
two eyelids
and a pupil
kàn kǒu
it depends; mouth /
think; to see; opening
to look at; pictograph
hand held up
to shield from
sun

yán xìn
letter; true; to
to speak; to
believe; sign;
say; talk;
evidence;
word;
many "lines"
above mouth man standing
by his words
man transmit-
gōng zuǒ
work; worker; Left
skill; profes- Chinese sur-
sion; trade; name
craft; labor;
hand which
pictograph of holds the car-
carpenter's penter's
square square

yòu shé
Tongue
Right
tongue stick-
hand which
ing out of the
feeds mouth
mouth
huà
dialect; lan- ěr
guage; spo-
ken words; Ear
speech; talk; squared off
words; con- pictograph
versation; (with earlobe)
what some-
one said;
words (variant
sign) + tongue

qǔ qǔ
Take a wife
to take; to get;
to choose; to hand on ear
fetch; over woman
hand on ear
xiōng bā
elder brother
Eight (8)
mouth with
divide / sepa-
legs
rate - symmet-
rical symbol -
very divisible

duì
exchange or shuō
barter, to speak; theory;
cash; story
originally: de- words being
rived from exchanged
elder brother's (pontificating)
“breath into “by elder
words of en- brother”
couragement”
- elder brother
dividing things
up
shí gǔ
Ten (10) old; ancient
symbol of also Chinese
completeness surname
- extent in two ten mouths =
dimensions - tradition
joins E,W,N,S
and center

jì xīn
Heart, mind
reckon; calcu-
late; plan; pictograph
scheme
sayings + ten
implies ability
to calculate
nù pà
indignant; to be afraid; to
anger; pas- fear;
sion; rage (white heart)
slave (hand+ variant of
woman) heart + white
bonded to
heart

shēn zì
from; self;
body; torso;
oneself; since;
person; life;
status; preg- nose sticking
nancy; out of body
originally:
pregnant
(pictograph)
chǐ zhǐ
Teeth to halt; stop;
stops (foot) in stand still
a man's bottom of out-
mouth = teeth stretched foot
(5 toes re-
duced to 3)

zú
foot; to be suf- pǐ
ficient; piece of cloth;
man being a bolt (of
stood on by cloth);
foot uncompleted
(originally cir- circle flowing
cle signifying into a circle
foot at rest)
 zhēng
bù
straight; up-
a step; a right; correct;
pace; walk; exact
march;
Chinese 1st
stages in a
month of year
process
ideograph of
right foot fol-
lowing left
foot

shì
zǒu
right; yes; am;
are; is; to be walk; run;
hasten; depart
ideography
locates sun upper part
over modified "bending"
character lower part "to
stop"
thus bending
and stopping
= walking
tǔ zuò
earth; soil; to sit; seat
ground, dust two men talk-
earth = two ing face to
layers from face on the
which plants earth
sprout

chū shēng
to be born; to
go out; issue;
give birth; life;
produce
to grow;
stalk thrusting
earth produc-
out of pot
ing a plant
lays ground-
work for
growth
xìng bèi
surname; fam- shells; valu-
ily name; ables
name pictograph of
of woman cowrie shell
born

jiàn guì
expensive;
cheap; inex-
dear; honor-
pensive; lowly
able; noble;
two spears precious;
shattering the
basket filled
value of cow-
with precious
rie shells
cowrie shells
mǎi mài
Buy Sell
modified net loading "buy"
and cowrie with simplified
shells "out"
(traditional
form used for
bargain buys,
etc.)

shuǐ
water/ river yǒng
surging wa- everlasting;
ters with a perpetual; for-
central main- ever
stream and 4 but come and
surging wa- go, but water
ters flows forever
variant form water + added
uses only 3 foams and rip-
drops of water ples
bīng quán
Ice spring;
radical water fountain
dripping and pure + water
freezing into
icicle

yǔ lòu
funnel; to
Rain
leak; to let
raindrops fal- out; to divulge
ling down
rain under a
from cloud in roof + more
the heavens water as radi-
cal
yún xuě
cloud; (abbr.) Snow
for Yunnan; rain + hand
surname;
rain you can
humid vapors hold in your
rise, con- hand
dense, and
form clouds

diàn léi
(surname);
lightning; elec-
thunder;
tric; electricity;
electrical; rain clouds
over his fields
(crop of) field
means thun-
+ motion
der
sǎn chuān
umbrella; river, stream
parasol; the main
the traditional stream is
form has four joined by
persons under smaller
cover streams on
either side on
which it de-
pends

shān niǎo
Bird
mountain, hill
bird in a cage
a range with
three towering
peaks
dǎo wū
Island Crow
birds perch on same as "bird"
peak but with eyes
(mountain) omitted
sticking out of (can't see
ocean and eyes on black
forming an is- birds?)
land

fēi yǔ
feathers,
Fly
wings
flying crane
pictograph of
with neck
a pair of wings
tucked in, and
wings
xí
to practice; to
study; habit; shān
young bird try- to fan
ing to fly wing or feath-
trad combines ers + one leaf
"wings" + of a door
"sell"

yú
yú
fish (noun)
Fishing
field suggest-
ing harvesting fish + water
food
(trad form has
bottom as
form of fire
suggesting
cooking the
fish)
lu yáng
stupid, simple (surname);
trad fish + sheep, goat
nose frontal picto-
corrupted to graph of
fish + speak horns, etc

xiān gāo
lamb, kid
Fresh
sheep ready
fish + sheep
to stand on it's
despite salt, four feet (or to
ancient man stand on the
preferred to fire, ready for
eat them fresh eating?)
měi yì
beautiful, ad- justice, right-
mirable eousness

sheep + big trad the ag-

gressive
a gentle
spear of "I"
(person)
becomes sub-
grown big, a
dued like a
mature person
sheep
with disposi-
tion of a simplified: bal-
sheep anced justice

yáng xiàng
covert, desire
ocean, foreign
sheep + saliva
sheep + wa-
mouth water
ter, so water
far away from
sheep =
ocean and by
extension,
"foreign"
huǒ yán
Fire blaze; flame;
pictograph of inflammation;
two sticks rub- -itis;
bing together
with flames two fires

huī
tán ashes; dust;
chat; talk gray

words next to (product of)

the fire fire (things
that you can
hold) in the
hand
zāi shān
Calamity, dis- incite; insti-
aster gate; stir up
fanning a
fire under your flame
roof

shāo hēi
black; dark;
burn; bake;
Heilongjiang
roast
Province
fire + spear (abbrev.);
piled on a
modified
pedestal (as
flame under a
in tempering
window black-
in a kiln)
ening it
mò diǎn
ink; Chinese (downwards-
ink right convex
black + earth, character
Chinese ink stroke);
blocks made o'clock; (a
of soot mixed measure
with gum, an word); point;
earthy sub- dot; decimal
stance point;

cǎo miáo
(surname);
grass; straw;
Miao tribe;
draft (of a
sprouts;
document);
shoots
careless;
rough; manu- grain stalks
script; hasty; growing in a
field = shoots
 huā
yè
Flowers
Leaves
grass + man
simplified: turning head
borrows char- over heels
acter for har- (metamorphos
mony is) ie: that part
of the plant
that under-
goes radical
change

yīng
chá (surname);
Tea English;
brave; heroic
grass, picked
from tree-like mature man,
plant, is dried in a large
under cover space, thick
with vegeta-
tion = brave
man in the
jungle
 bǐ
zhú
pen; pencil,
Bamboo writing brush;
pictograph of to write or
two whorls of compose; the
bamboo strokes of Chi-
leaves nese charac-
ters hand
holding bam-
boo

suàn xiào
laugh; smile
regard as; to
figure; to cal- man shaking
culate; to his head like a
compute bamboo in the
wind
two hands +
abacus made
of bamboo
hé qiū
cereal; grain; autumn; fall;
tree + ripened harvest time;
head of grain a swing;
in autumn,
grain ripens

chóu shuì
Tax
sad; melan-
choly grain + ex-
change
autumn of the
heart
 sū
revive
tū
traditional: fish
bald; blunt;
+ grain +
bare
grass, the
top or head of weed that re-
man after vives easily
grain harvest
simplified:
power, equally
balanced on
both sides +
weed

hé nián
Year
and; together
with; with; man bearing
peace; har- sheaf of grain
mony; union; - the job of the
year
grain + mouth
gān xiāng
(surname); fragrant; in-
sweet; Qing- cense; (of
hai province food) savory;
(abbrev.); appetizing;
mouth with sweet;
something scented;
worth holding popular;
- ie: sweet

niú jiàn
piece; article
ox; cow; bull
a measure
originally pic-
word for thing,
tograph with
clothes, item;
two horns,
now only one
 bàn
láo half; semi-;
incomplete;
cattle pen; (after a num-
prison ber) and a
formerly cattle half;
inside a corral from cutting
but now under ox into two
a roof halves,
lengthwise for
exact division

bàn gào
to tell; to in-
companion;
form; to say;
associate;
mate to do with the
mouth what
man + half
the ox does
completes the
with it's horns,
whole
gore
mù ròu
shepherd; flesh; meat
tend cattle, pictograph of
cattle + modi- pieces of
fied "oversee" dried meat
with right wrapped in a
hand holding bundle
a rod

pàng yǒu
to have; there
fat; fleshy,
is; there are;
plump
to exist; to be;
flesh + half a
hand grasping
bull
the moon
 běn
roots or stems
lái of plants; ori-
to come gin; source;
this; the cur-
originally pic-
rent; root;
tograph of
foundation;
growing wheat
basis; (a
or barley
measure
now rice + word);
tree the har- pictograph of tree with
vest "comes" root emphasized by
horizontal stroke show-
ing the ground

tǐ guǒ
fruit; result;
body; form;
style; system; field on top of
tree (crop of
man + root=
trees)
man's root
kè cháo
subject; class; Nest
lesson; three fledg-
modified lings on top of
words + fruit fruit

wèi
mò 1-3 p.m.; 8th
earthly
end; final
branch; not
stage; latter
yet; did not;
part;
have not; not;
tree with tip
tree + second
emphasized
horizontal
by horizontal
stroke empha-
stroke
sized (not yet
attained the
end)
mèi jiě
younger sister elder sister
woman + not woman + stool
yet with two rungs

xiǎng
ài to think; to be-
lieve; to sup-
love; affection pose; to wish;
regular form: to want; to
breathe into miss;
heart with gra- inspect (eye be-
cious motion hind a tree) over
heart
simplified:
breathe into + inspect in the
heart of mind=
hand in hand
hope, ponder,
think
yì
recall; remem- wàng
ber; reflect
to forget; to
traditional: overlook; to
sound over neglect;
heart + sec-
disappear or
ond
perish over
simplified: heart
heart + sec-
ond heart

kuài
quick; fast
heart + picto-
graph of man
and hand
drawing a
bowstring
qī
to roost / dōng
perch / nest East
to live in traditional:
poverty sun peeping
to seek ref- thru tree
uge
simplified: tree
+ west tradi-
tional: tree +
wife

jiàn shuō
to see; to
to speak; to
meet; to ap-
say;
pear (to be
sth); to inter- words being
view; exchanged
(pontificating)
originally eye
by elder
on top of legs
brother
chǐ
Teeth bèi
stops (foot) in cowries; shell;
a man's valuables;
mouth = shellfish;
teeth traditional:
pictograph of
cowrie shell

jiàn
cheap; inex- guì
pensive, lowly
expensive;
simplified: one
dear; honor-
spear shatter-
able
ing the value
of simplified basket filled
cowrie shell with precious
traditional: two cowrie shells
spears shatter-
ing the value
of traditional
cowrie shell
mǎi
Buy mài
modified net Sell
and cowrie loading "buy"
shells with simplified
(traditional "out"
form used for
bargain buys,
etc.)

diàn
yún
lightning; elec-
Cloud
tricity
humid vapors
(crop of) field
rise, con-
+ motion
dense, and
form clouds
sǎn
Umbrella niǎo
the traditional Bird
form has four bird in a cage
persons un-
der cover

wū
dǎo
Crow
Island
Trad same as
birds perch
"bird" but with
on peak
eyes omitted
(mountain)
(can't see
sticking out
eyes on black
of ocean and
birds?)
forming an
island
 xí
fēi
to practice; to
Fly
study; habit;
flying crane
young bird try-
with neck
ing to fly
tucked in,
and wings trad form
combines
"wings" +
"sell"

yú yú
fish (noun) Fishing
field suggest- fish + water
ing harvesting
food
trad form has
bottom as
form of fire
suggesting
cooking the
fish
shén
God; un- xiān
usual; myste- Fresh
rious; soul;
fish + sheep
spirit; divine
essence; despite salt,
lively; spiri- ancient man
tual being; preferred to
eat them fresh

yì
justice, right- hù
eousness a household;
trad. the ag- door; family;
gressive
spear of "I"
becomes sub-
dued like a
sheep simpli-
fied and bal-
anced justice
tán dǎn
chat; talk brush away;
words next to dust off; a
the fire brush or
duster; to
dust;

shāo
zāi
burn; bake;
disaster; ca-
roast
lamity;
fire + spear
fire under your
piled on a
roof
pedestal (as
in tempering
in a kiln)
diǎn
o'clock; (a yè
measure leaves
word); point;
simplified:
dot; (decimal
borrows char-
point);
acter for har-
to divine +
mony
mouth (ie:
orally)
the cracks of a
heated tortoise
shell + black

sū
Revive
bǐ
traditional: fish
pen; pencil
+ grain +
hand holding grass, the
bamboo weed that re-
vives easily
simplified:
power, equally
balanced on
both sides +
weed
lái
to come tǐ
originally pic- body; form;
tograph of style; system;
growing man + root =
wheat or bar- man's root
ley now rice
+ tree
the harvest
"comes"

ài
kè love; affec-
tion regular
subject; class;
form: breathe
lesson;
into heart
modified with gracious
words + fruit motion
simplified:
breathe into
+ hand in
hand
yì
shǒu
recall; re-
member; re- hand; con-
venient;
flect
traditional: pictograph
sound over
heart + sec-
ond heart
simplified:
heart + sec-
ond heart

yú
měi
stupid;
beautiful;