'$r.

{, '
lP.-

teatning
Ghinesd
Gharacters
A REVOLUTIONARY NEW WAY
TO LEARN THE 8O() MOST BASIC
CHINESE CHARACTERS

lnctudes a[[ characters for the

AP AND HSK 1-3 EXAMS

Alison Matthews
Laurence Matthews
 For Annette and Helen
two of life's blessings

Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.

\vww.tuttlepublishing.com

@ 2007 by Alison and Laurence Matthews

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 Contents
Introduction.........................,...................... 5 Chapter 12 .............................................. 106
Learning Strategies.................................... 7 +,w. r.,ft, &, rk, +, 14, fl, n, &, +i,
Chinese Characters for Beginners............ 9 W, k,lL fi, ,'fi, ,fi, I5
User Guide................................................ 13
Chapter 13 .............................................. 113
Key to Character Entries......................... 20 i',
R, q, i.R, ft, tt, hfi. Jq, +., F, F, F,

Chapter 1 ....-..............2\
tr, €, i-t, fl,+*,8,4
-, =, :, J-, tr, E, tL,fi.,4:, tjt, t{, ,(, Chapt€r 14 .............................................. 120
tfr,, h,k,1h frc, tF, w, E, 1&.. g, t*.. a, q,, q, lfl.,
E, #, 6, 0ft, h, 6, ffi,.ffi, ffi, E, e,
Chapter 2 .................................................. 30
tY., fit., tn
+,tr, +, /r, lL, E, 6!, E
Chapter 15 .............................................. 130
Chapter 3 .................................................. 37
h1, N, rr, fr, x, M, 4, Jr, r;t, ft ,,t, Efi ,
a, jt, lt, fr'r, tr, E, +, +t, + ffi.t4..8, *, *, *, ii, *
Chapter 4..................................................43
Chapter 16.............................................. 139
/A, |t,a,+, h,x, H, T, q, [, i, tE.. it. r.(. tr. f.. iF.. ;. .e1. r!.. ht. E, E[,
84. L\
4*, +,, t\, fli
Chapter 5 .................................................. 50
Chapter 17 .................-............................146
t, .t, .r., 4', {6, Y, E, !b., E, Z, 16, A, *, !.8, F, Frt,-,it,tt,E,E, E, +, #,
A.E tr,,8, 1P, IP, EE, HR, E, trR, A, ffi
Chapter 6.................................................. 58
Chapter 18.............................................. 154
E,Bfr,H, n, *, r, it.,iE, *, 4, n,
t+, fr1, tlJ ^, -, tr, iE, rn,i,w, dr, +, +, +, i+
Chapter 7.................................................. 66
Chapter 19.............................................. 162
,t, RE, in, fril,UE,t1, +, +, i5, F, *, lt, +, ffi, ir, iE, *F, Jt, fi, F' H,, H, *,,
E, {-, Hi
*, ltt, 1, 0il, lF, P1F, JIF '*,,
Chapter 8.................................................. 74
Chapter 20 .............................................. 170
E, +, tr, H, EH, FE, I'C, T[, qF, 6, 4, iA, F,W..tn,*.€,'ffi, i6,86,'lH, H6, rfB, E,
/d,,F,J, E{, i1, q, irf
1?, ,#, ITJ, H, A, ?, JA, EA, iA, B
Chapter 9..................................................8l
Chapter 21 ...............177
x, t\, +, t+, ,r, ll, \fr, lc, 1+, t)., L ,t, rLl, Llt, [4, i+, i+, &., n, $i, ili, t^, L,
z, h, +, +, t') ^. 8,W., il, rE, +E, €, fle
Chapter ^,
10 ...................
. . . .. .......... .............. 90
Chapter 22 .............................................. 185
8,4, h, tP,, i , fr, '1, d1, 4, E, -i-, +,
ie, tr, $t, e, ffi,,t, +, E^, fi, 4t, &, i,
if, nj, iEL i"l, Uil, E, E, E, r, ir +,1+,=4, Si,,U, E, rEt, 11,,trt,fr,|fl
Chapter 11 . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .... S8
:
Chapter 23 .............................................. 192
f,,8, m, +t, fr, xf, t4, 4, tr, r8, H, tEt,
ilt, rS, -8, it, E, i{, 4, }+,'li, *, H, f,
,t,,1,, tH, tc,.B,, +, a ,16,
6, E4
Chapter 24 .............................................. 199 Chapter 35 ..............................................304
n, -.., H, lL,Z.$.+.@.,h,Ifr, ry, &, E{, fl, ig, E, ffi, ffi, A, !ft,.ffi,,]q i*, ik,
1h,8,8,,q, *. it.,F. ffi iit,4, E,81,6, tk, E, fl, *!
Chapter 25 .............................................. 208 Chapter 36 ..............................................314
zr, *, H, tt, iR, M,, *,e,k,ln,hE,W., E, !8, fr, #, ffi, iE, E, +, if, E, ifi, +,
,1', _tr, {8, Er, fE, iE, rE, H, iA, H, 11, +, jf. +j. s+. tl. 6. 4.. fQ, ut, {,i, rf
+, R, 1t Chapter 37..............................................323
Chapter 26.............................................. 218 .8,*,.&, i"i, gE, +€, +,4t,'ft, lE,,tiB, Xq,
rll, ifi, E, ifi, /r, {,
&, +, {+, ++, _!(, i31, iR, *t, *. +6, 4, ffir, i+, [+, a, c6, ffi, ff
i&, &, ,E, E, tra, lE, E, it, E, E, E, Eil, Chapter 38.............................................. 333
*E:!-+t-L+
tu. lE. lE. ll-
rEl. ]t!t.
$s, is, tr, ffr,ffi,E, t, Fi, qfi, tu,*,,R.
Chapter 27..............................................228 ,k,'16i, ffi, H, i.i, ffi, 6,4, H, ffi, m, l*
fr, F, *, fE, E, fi, la, fr, g, w,1,r,1r, Chapter 39.............................................. 343
rr,r\,18, ffi, rE, E, R,r!.,6,W,8,ffi
6, *, *,&, ffi, 08, ',g, IlE', 8,,t1, A, H,
Chapter 28..............................................238 fi{, !r, +, *t, {"u, tE'
+, E, flE,,8., fr,!fr, f\.;t,A, B, r,B, E,
Chapter 40..............................................353
7l(, *, $, ru.,+h, D,W,tA,Vt,$t,fr!,tu, tE,8,4, ryk, ffi, is, iffi, H, iii, M,*,q.
&, IR, E
&, 1F?, ffi, ffi
Chapter 29..............................................248
,4,8, H, rEl, ri{, 4, H.H. +, *, &,tu, Appendix: Soundwords..........................361
e. 'F. t. u. trl, rk, E. rE. fi;, 6 Pronunciation Index...............................366
Meaning Index........................................370
Chapter 30..............................................255
Fast Finder Index...................................377
'F, ffi, +E,,CE, fi,
ffi, tu,tfr,'1t,6,4, N,
-q. 3. F'. rE, :8, ro, d, iI, F, L

Chapter 3l ...............265
X, t*, fit), n, ffi , 3., ffi,,,+,'R,',i, 4,
A, +,4X, 4.LF,.tr. {S, &, &, {fi, id,
4. t+. 6t
Chapter 32 ..............................................275
4, R, Ei., #4, ii, tL, fr1, H, il,r, fi, +,
F. Fr. &(. 'd. ;q, &, .q, E, 1f,, lf ^,
Chapter 33 ..............................................284
9€, +S,#, i+, +, +, +. @.. trJ,18, ffE, 6,
14,fi.,e, ff, ^,r1, ffi, 15, +, rl, Fq,w,Fff,
rfr, B, i6, xi,

Chapter 34 ..............................................294
d. ft. ril. tr. ,E. .8., -i. Jri. tr. rP. h, t.
ti, ii, R, tg. ffi.. t*. Ift
 Acknowledgments
First and foremost we want to thank Janet and Dil for their wonderful illustrations. From
the very first day they both entered into the spirit of the enterprise with immense energy
and enthusiasm, and our Friday mornings will never be so much fun again! The initial
idea was to have a few pictograms for the basic building block characters we never
-
dreamed we would find someone who would take the task by the scruff of the neck and
attempt all 219 ! Although we all helped at times by brainstorming possible interpretations,
Janet's ability to think "outside the box" resulted in some huly inspired character pictures
and many of her interpretations will never be bettered. Similarly, when Dil brought her
gifts as an illustrator to bear on the story pictures, she quickly grasped that these pictures
had a very specific job to do and set about developing exactly the right style for them.
We will always remember her exclamations of, "Oh, I shall enjoy drawing thati' onbeing
presented with yet another bizarre story to illustrate. Her enthusiasm and sense of fun have
produced some truly memorable pictures.
Before we sat down to write all the stories we wanted to make sure that using
visualization to remember the characters would work for different ages, backgrounds and
mindsets- Our search for willing volunteers resulted in a group that covered a range ol
ages and interests in different parts ofthe world. Amongst this group was a hard core who
were especially helpful, and a big thank you goes out to Larry Fogg, Pat Halliwell, Marion
Brumby and Nigel Maggs.
To try and ensure that the introductory text was easy to understand we prevailed upon
some very good friends (most of whom have never studied any Chinese) to read it. All of
them spent time going over the text and made pertinent and helpful comments and sug-
gestions. Our thanks to Martin Adfield, John & Barbara Eastwoo{ Geoff & Jill Cory
and Nigel & Toby Brown. (We should add, though, that we take full responsibility for the
finished result).
There are people in life who can be guaranteed to listen to your ideas no matter how
off-beat they are, and encourage you to "go for it" if they think an idea will work. Debbie
and Dave Russell have given unstintingly of their time in this regard. As well as talking
over detailed points they have given us their unflagging support throughout. Thank you!
Inevitably there are also times in the writing of any book when you wonder why you
ever got started. At times like these everyone should have a friend like Judy Landis. Quite
apart from reading pafts ofthe book, Judy has kept us straight on all things American and
is our one-woman cheer-leader. Her observations are always eloquent, sound and invariably
shot through with common sense and humor Our love and thanks go to her
For her professionalism and understanding we'd like to thank Doreen Ng at Tuttle
Publishing.
Finally, it can be hard to live with two people who wander around saying things like
'1hat's the sort ofjob a ghostly dwarf would do" or "what we need here is two giants from
Shanghai." So our thanks go to Helen for her forbearance in not actually throwing anything
at us (at least, not for these particular transgressions).
 Introduction
ln a dark old castle in medieval times, someone has a bright idea: ,,If we could find a way
of putting some fire on a nail in the wall we could have a lamp in the room.,,They get the
local giant to dunk twigs in candle-wax to make the first simple lamp.
Ifyou pictured this story as you read it, you havejust leamed the meaning and pronun-
ciation of a Chinese character! This book uses stories like this as well as pictures to help
you to learn and remember 800 Chinese characters. This is enough to recognize about three-
quarters ofthe characters you would come across in an average piece ofchinese text.
The key features ofthis book are:

' it covers all 800 characters in "HSK Level A" (the first section ofthe original vocabu-
lary list for the HSK, the Chinese Government's Language Proflciency Test);
' it uses modem standard Chinese (putonghua or "Mandarin");
' simplified characters are used with pronunciations givenin Hanyu pinyin;
' the characters are introduced in a logical way, gradually building on what you have
learned;
' we arrange the characters so that the n'rost common ones are covered early on;
' key inlormation is given for each character, including guidance on how to write it;
' we include example compounds for the characters in particular we include all the
courpounds stipulated for the original HSK Level A.

Basic building block characters are introduced at the start of each chapter. We use
pictures to help you learn and remember them. "Fire,,(_tt) and..nail,,(T) are examples
of basic building blocks.
Conlposite characters come next. These are made up ofthe basic building blocks. For
example, the characters for fire (1.) and nail (l)
when squashed together make a single
new composite character (]l) that means "lamp". We can picture this as follorvs:

The basic building blocks "rest directly on the floor" in this picture. A composite
character which is made up of two parts sits on the two blocks which support it.
,Slorles are provided to help you to remember these relationships: for example that the
characters for "fire" and "nail" make up the character for,,lamp,,. The story at the top ol
this page gives you this information in the first sentence. (The pronunciation is coded into
the second sentence: more about pronunciations later).
The stories do more than encode information they also help you remember it. They
-
are based on tried and tested memory techniques which are widely recognized as being
effective and longJasting.
Everybody likes stories, and they are memorable because, without even trying, we tend to
picture the scene in our mind's eye. The most memorable stories are vivid, enjoyable and./or
 6

quirky. So using stories as a memory technique not only makes learning and remembering
easieq quicker and more effective than rote leaming itt also far more fun thanjust stadng
-
at a character and saying to yourself'this character means lamp" over and over again.
Some ofour stories are illustrated with pictures, especially in the early part ofthe book,
but as you work through the book you will find that you can visualize the stories without
having any pictures and we will give you simple tips on how to do this most effectively.
But in the meantime why not test yourself: do you remember fire + nail: ?

Is this book for you?

You can learn the characters before, during, or after learning other elements of Chinese
(such as grammar). It's a bit like learning to ride a bike and leaming to flx the bike. You
can learn to mend punctures at any point in your training (or not at all!). The point is that
an expert cyclist will need to learn the same things as will a complete beginner. In the
same way, the usefulness oflhis book to you does not depend on your knowledge olother
elements of Chinese. If you want to learn Chinese characters then this book is the right
book for you, whatever stage you are at in learning the Chinese language.
You can use this book ifyou are a complete beginner and know nothing of Chinese. If
you are totally new to characters, we recommend reading Section 3: "Chinese Characters
for Beginners" before you start, and as you go along you might choose to ignore some of
the comments about how characters are used in practice. But the chances are, if you're
reading this, that you've already learned some spoken Chinese and have at least a beginner's
knou,ledge of the language.
Either way, whatever your level ofexperience, you're likely to find the idea olhaving to
learn hundreds ofcharacters pretty daunting it's like a dragon lurking in the background
which yor.r knorv you will have to tackle sometime. You may even have tried tackling it
already and have given up. But actually, this dragon is nothing to be scared of. It's just a
question of taming it with the right tools, rather than trying to defeat it with brute force.
Bear rvith us and we'11 show you how. Learning Chinese characters is one ofthe most in-
teresting and fun parts oflearning Chinese, so don't let anyone frighten you offthem!

\\'hat's dil'l'erent about this book?

Learning Chinese characters by breaking them down into parts is nothing new: since time
immemorial students have been doing this in an effort to take some of the slog out of
learning. Typically this has involved using verbal rhymes or phmses, but using imagery
or r isualization (seeing a picture in the mind's eye) is much stronger Memory techniques
r.rslng imagcry were well known to the Romans; and a Jesuit missionary working in
China called Matteo Ricci used such methods to devise a system for Chinese characters
lour hundred years ago. In modern times, the systematic use of imagery for learning the
meanin-qs of characters was pioneered by James Heisig (for Japanese characters, which
are inherited from Chinese). !o this book forms part of a long tradition in terms of the
techniques it uses. But it is the first
modern book to set out a consistent set of images
lbr the meanings of Chinese characters. It also goes one step further by extending this
technique to cor er pronunciations too.
 Learning Strategies
\Yhich characters should you learn first?
We said that learning Chinese characters can be treated as a self-contained module that
can be studied separately from other aspects of Chinese such as grammar, conversation
practice, etc. Because of this you are free to learn the characters in the most sensible
and logical order The order in which we introduce the characters in this book takes into
account a number ofthings. The main three are these:

' we build up systematically, introducing each character before it is needed as a part of

other characters;
' we ease you into our system gradually, so there is not too much to lealx all at once;
' we introduce the most common characters early on and the rarer ones later

For all these reasons, it is best to work through the book "in the right order,,, at least
for the early part of the book (Chapters 1 to 6). That way you'll be learning the most
common characters first, and whenever you meet a composite character you will have
already learned its component parts.
From Chapter 7 onwards, there is quite a lot offreedom to pick and choose ifyou want
to. Ifthere is a particular character that you would like to learn right away, then simply flnd
it in the book (using one ofthe indexes), and learn it there and then. The cross references
will tell you where to find any parts ofthe character that you haven,t come across before,
including any basic building blocks that it uses. You can then learnjust those parts that you
need to make up the character you are interested in.

How much do you need to learn about each character?

You can choose how much information you learn about a character, and when. It is perfectly
OK to learn just the meanings of characters, leaving pronunciations until later. Meanings
alone may satis$r your interest to begin with, and will enable you to try your hand at
translating things like signs and menu items. But to leam Chinese properly you will have
to learn the pronunciations too, and this is built into the stories (as you will see shortly).
Your eventual aim should be to have an "integrated" view ofeach character:

' its meaning

. its pronunciation
' its role in words (compounds)

only then will you fully understand all the nuances of what a character ,.really,, means.
But there's no rule to say that you have to master ever,'thing for each character before you
move on to the next one.

Working with a textbook

Ifyou are using this book in conjunction with a class textbook, you can take the characters
you need for a chapter of that textbook, find them in this book (tracing their component
parts using the cross references) and then use our pictures and stories to learn them.
 8

It's not even necessary for the rest of the class to be using the same method. Learning
is an individual and very private process. Nobody else even needs to know how you are
learning the characters everyone is free to use whichever method they choose.

Learning on your own

Ifyou're working on your own, try working through a few characters a day (maybe l0 15,
but it's up to you). Go at a pace that suits you; it's much better to do small but regular
amounts than to do large chunks at irregular intervals.
It's a good idea to keep a note of which characters you've learned each day, and then
to "test yourself" on the characters you learned the previous day, then on those from three
days ago, a week ago, and a month ago. Each time you test yourselfyou will fix them in
your memory for longer. Thts expanding timescale idea is built in to some of the "test
yourself" panels in the book.

The learning environment

Find a quiet place where you can do your studying without being interrupted all the time.
Bus and train journeys to and from work or college are often good times, but different
things work for different people. You may find learning easier in the mornings than the
evenings, or maybe it's the other way round. Whatever works best lor you, try to schedule
Iearning times for yourself accordingly. A routine where you stick to the same time ofday
is best of all, as your brain will get into the "habit" ofbeing ready to learn at that time.
Take time to visualize each story in your mind's eye (there is more on this later). Write
the character on a pad or in a notebook to get the "feel" of its strokes and think about its
meaning and pronunciation as 1ou u rite it.

Don't be too hard on yourself

Don't worry if you forget some of the characters you thought you had learned this
happens to everyone ! (We give some "troubleshooting" tips later on). One encouraging
fact from the research that has been done on memory is that if you learn something and
then forget it, re-learning it is quicker than first time round, and makes it stick for longer.
At times it will seem as il there's a long way to go, and it's important then to remind
yourself of how far you've come. At the end of many of the chapters there is a progress
chart showing what percentage of written Chinese you have covered so far Because ofthe
way we have ordered the characters you will find that you make huge strides very quickly.
For example, by the end ofChapter 4 you will already have learned 20% ofthe characters
that you would meet in an average piece of Chinese textl
 Chinese Characters for Beginners
Read this section ifyou are new to Chinese characters (but don't bother leaming any ofthe
characters you meet there'll be plenty oftime for that later!)

The origins of characters

inese characters really aren't as strange and complicated as some people try to make out
Chinese
in fact they're no more mysterious than m musical notation. The first characters started
out ds piclures;
as pictures: L-
l-J rnourh 4\ rree
As time went on, they were gradually simplifled and abbreviated until many ofthem
now look nothing like the origiral objects:

$ car $ ho,r"
Then, when people wanted to describe things which weren't easy to depict, characters
were "glued together" to make more complicated composite characters. We have already
met the character for "lamp" rvhich is made up of"fire" and "nail". Another example is the
character !] which means "good" or "to be fond of" and which combines ;ft "woman"
with T "child". Nowadays most characters are composites, that is, made up of two or
more parts, either side by side or one on top of the other When characters are joined to-
gether like this, they get squashed so that the overall character is still the same size. For
example, the character fi
is narrower when it is part of Ef and shorter and fatter when it
is partof (never mind for now what these characters mean!).
So we can divide characters into two types: basic builcling b/ocfu, the simple characters
originally based on drawings, arrd composite characters that are made up of two or more
basic building blocks. We illustrated this idea by regarding a compositc character as a
building block which sits on the two blocks which support it, whereas basic building
blocks sit "directly on the floor."
But it doesn't stop there. Composite characters car, themselves be used as parts ofyet
other characters. This corresponds to building higher with our building blocks, as in the
following picture:

Pronunciation
The main thing you should know is that each character is pronounced in Chinese using one
syllable (and it works the other way round too each syllable of Chinese corresponds to
a character).
-
Each syllable is fairly simple: the basic pattem consists of a consonant plus a vowel (or
vowels), with the possible addition ofan "n" or "ng" at the end. Some typical syllables are:
\Yu ta ji bei dao zerr ben tang jing
 l0
In addition, each syllable is spoken using one of fo:ur tones. Tones indicate how the
pitch ofthe voice varies when the syllable is spoken. There are four tones in all, and they
are indicated by an accent over one ofthe vowels in the syllable:

lst tone (high) be

2nd tone (rising) bd
3rd tone (falling then rising) bi
4th tone (falling) blr

The system we use for indicating the sounds of Chinese characters using the letters
of the alphabet is called Hanyu pinyin (or pinyin for short), and is the system used in
China for the benefit of foreigners (e.g. on signs in railway stations). Note that in this
system many ofthe letters are pronounced differently fiom their sounds in English. There
is a short description ol pinyin in the Appendix, but to learn how to pronounce Chinese
properly, you really need a Chinese speaking teacher (or possibly tapes). This book is
about learning the pronunciations for each character (this one is "wei", that one is.,tang,',
etc.), rather than teaching you how to say them aloud.

How characters are used in written Chinese

Chinese was traditionally written in columns, top to bottom, starting with the dght hand
column and working leftwards. But it can be w tten left to right, like English, and these
days you will see both. Technical books in particular are likely to be printed left to right,
like English.
Although each character has a meaning, it's not really true that characters are equivalent
to "words". As you have just seen, each character corresponds to a syllable, and in Chinese
(as in English) some words are just one syllable while other words consist of two or more
syllables joined together Some syllables (like
"if" and "you" in English) are one-sy1lable
words on their own; other syllables like ("sen" and "tence" in English) link together to
form multi-syllable words. Many syllables do both: they're like the English word "light"
which is happy on its own, but which also links up to form words like "headlight" or
"lighthouse".
In Chinese w ting, the characters are written in a long line, with no extra spaces
between words. It is as ifEnglish were written like this:
If you can un der stand this sen tence you can read Chi nese too.

Compounds
A compound inChinese is awordmadeup from two or more characters. That is, acompound
is a multi-syllable word. If two characters are paired together to form a compound, they
simply appear one after the other in a sentence, but are treated as a single word like "Chi"
and "nese" above. Most compounds have only two characters. The flavor of a character
often comes out in how it coJnbines with other characters to make compounds, and so for
many characters we give examples ofcompounds that they appear in.
 ll
Compounds and Composites
So what's the difference between pairing two characters to get a compound, and combining
t\l,o characters to get a composite character?

A compound: tdi
/\
r6n glves
t/\
dir6n
big person adult

A composite character: .v. r!, tu

nu yE glves ta
woman also she

Two characters in a compound are simply written one after the other, full sized and
the resulting word has a pronunciation which has two syllables in fact it is simply the
-
pronunciations ofthe two characters one after the other Often (but not always!) you'll be
able to guess the meaning ofthe word from the meanings of its individual characters.
On the other hand, when two characters are combined to get anew composile charqcter
(the process we saw with "fire" + "nail" = "lamp"), they are squashed or distorted so that
the new character fits into a square the same size as each ofthe original two. The meaning
of the new character may be related to the meaning of its two parts, but it frequently
appears to have no connection with them at all! Finally, the new character will also have a
single syllable as its pronunciation (so that if it is a word, it is a one-syllable word) and this
pronunciation may, or may not, come from one ofits parts.

Writing characters
Being able to read Chinese characters is satisfying, but it's also rewarding to be able to
write them (and this is a great way to impress people who aren't leaming the language!)
We'l[ show you how to write each character, starting with basic instructions in Chapter l.
Don't worry ifyou're not "good at drawing" you don't need to be. Characters these days
-
are much more likely to be $,ritten using a ball-point pen than a calligraphy brush.
As well as being fun, writing the characters yourself is a very good way of getting to
know them, and we recommend that you practice writing the characters as you learn them.
You'll be learning the oldest writing system in the world which is still in use today.
You've seen that characters are often made up ol two or more parts (for example ffi
is made up of ;f and &;.On a more fundamental level though, each character is made
tp of strokes, where each stroke is made with a single, continuous motion of the pen: a
straight line, a curve, a bent line, a line with a hook, or a dot. Each character consists of a
set number of strokes, and there is a traditional, fixed order in which these strokes should
be drawn. The stroke-order diagrams given with each character entry (in the line of small
boxes) show you how to draw the strokes in the right order. There are also some general
rules for drawing characters, which we will mention as we go along.
You might think that it doesn't really matter how the strokes are written as long as the
end result looks the same. To some extent this is true, but there are some good reasons
lor knowing the "proper" way to write the characters. Firstly, it helps you to count strokes
 12

properly for a character which you haven't seen before (and you'll need to be able to do
this to look it up in a dictionary). Secondly, it will make your characters ,,look right,,, and
also help you to read other people's hand-written characters later on. In the long run it,s
better to learn the correct method from the start because, like with so many other things,
once you get into "bad" habrts it can be very hard to break them!
Ifyou are lefthanded, just use your left hand as normal, but still make sure you use the
corect stroke order and direction. For example, draw your horizontal strokes left to right,
even if it leels more natural to draw them sht to left.

Simplified and traditional characters

In the middle ofthe 20th century, many characters were given simplifled forms. This was to
help increase literacy in China, and the simplified characters are definitely much easier to
learn and use. This book uses these modern simplified characters. However, many Chinese
communities around the world still use traditioral characters rather than simplified ones,
and of course many old documents and inscriptions were written using the traditional
forms too. For this reason, ifthere is a traditional form ola character we give it as part ol
the entry for that character so that you can see what it looks like.

Types of Chinese
This book uses modern standard ("Mandarin") Chinese. The charactets mean the same in
other varieties ofChinese, lor example Cantonese, but they will be pronounced completely
differently (and Cantonese speakers typically use traditional characters). This means that
even if two Chinese people can't understand one another when they are talking, they can
usually write to each other quite happily!

Radicals
Finally, you may have heard of "radicals" (which son.re books call "keys" or "significs"),
so we'11 quickly explain what they are. Look at the following characters:

Character: 4U il4 l+ {f
Meaning: she good mum surname older sister
They all have the same part on the left-hand side, A, which means "woman". This part
gives a clue to the meaning of the charactet and is called the "radical". As you can see,
most olthese five characters have something to do with the idea of"woman". But it's not
a totally reliable system and also, to make life complicated, the radical in a chamcter is
not always the left-hand part. Radicals have been used lor centuries to group characters
together in dictionaries, and they can still be helpful il you want to find a character in a
dictionary when you don'r krou irs pronunciation.
There is more on radicals in Chapter 24, and we will introduce some other concepts
(such as a "phonetic series").as we go along. But that's all you need for now to get started.
 User Guide
Essential reading before starting Ciapter I !

Here we introduce the methods we will be using in this book, and in particular how the
stories and pictures work. We do this using some ofthe chamcters from Chapter 1 (which
vou may already know). Firstly we'll look at how to learn and remember the ruearfugs of
characters, and then we'Il look at learning the pronuuciqtions.

Learning the meanings of basic building blocks

Some characters are so simple that you hardly need any help to remember theml for
example:
one two : three
- these, most simple characters started off as
Apart from some symbolic characters like
pictures. For example:

tr
mouth

There are no circles in Chinese characters, so the picture of a round mouth becomes a
small square. We will supply a charucter picture like the one shown on the right for each
ofthe simple characters which act as basic building blocks.
So far, so good. But not all characters are recognizable today as the original object they
represented, or indeed still refer to the same thing as the original picture. Look at this one:

)L
several
o
The character ,lL was originally a picture of a small stool, but the character picture we
have supplied is different. A drawing ofa stool would remind you that /1, meant .,stool,, in
ancient times, but not that it now means "several". It is better to see (and hence Iater recall)
a picture ofseveral Jl-like objects. Seelng this picture is much more powerful, in terms of
laying down a long term memory, than reading a written description.

How to use character pictures

The way to use these character pictures is as follows:

' flrstly look at the picture lor a shofi while, and see how the character,s shape is used in
the picture;
' then look at the character on its own, and while you are doing this, see if you can
mentally superimpose the picture ovcr the character, remembering which parts of the
character correspond to which parts ofthe picture.
 t4

This is a good way of making sure that, when you see the character again later on, the
picture (and hence the meaning) will pop into your head.
Here are two more examples:

T
not
t
tree

For 6 we have used the traditional picture of a bird flying up to the ceiling and not
being able to escape. With 4 we are back to a straightforward drawing of an object. In
modern Chinese z[ is not a hugely common character on its own, but you do need to know
its meaning as it appears as a part of many composite characters (for example, the next
two we'll meet).
But before we get on to those, how are you doing so far? Can you remember what each
of these characters means?

tr
Il you have a problem with any of them, go back to the character picture and study il
again, and then superimpose it over the character in your mind's eye as explained above.

The meanings of composite characters

Our first composite character is made up of two basic building blocks:

t[L machine

As you can see this character is made up ofthe two characters "tree" and "several" squashed
together. To learn the meaning of this composite character, we relate it to the meanings of
its nro pqns. by creating an equotion.

tree .t + several JL = machine 4,lL

Since most Chinese characters are composite, we will have many equations like this. Other
examples are:

thread 4 + work l=redLl

now f + heart rl-,. = to study A
You can see that these equations don't really make any logical sense! However, if you
can learn these equations then you can remember composite characters. For example, ifyou
see a character which has two parts, and you recognize these simpler parts to be "thread"
and "work", then you will know from the equation that the overall character means "red".

Stories and story pictures

So how do you learn these. equations? This is where the stories come in. The stories are
extremely short, often just a sentence, and the important thing is not just to read them but
to really visualize them. To help with many of the early stories, we have illustrated them
with stom picttres.
 l5
Here is our first story, which will help you learn the equation

"tree ,f + 5syslnl JL = machine tlL":

It took several trees to provide enough wood

to make the parts for the huge machine-

How to use stories and story pictures

Have a good look at the story picture above: see how the "several trees" have indeed been
illed to make the large "machine" that is taking shape. What type oftrees are being used?
\\'hat is the machine for? By asking yourself questions about the setting you,re palirg
:ttention to the story picture and you will then remember it, so that when you see the
Jharacter in litture, the parts "tree" plus "several" will trigger the story in your mind, which
',\ ill in tum trigger the word "machine".
After a while we give you stories without story pictures, but the same process applies.
Read the story and visualize at least as much detail as there would be in a story picture.
Bv doing so you will be paying attention to these details, which is what will fix the story
in your memory.
will notice that in the story for "machine" the three words from the equation are
You
:rinted in trold. This is to remind you to pay particular attention to these words when
,'reating the picture in your mind's eye.
Notice that in this example the equation is "tree ...,fr * several rrl, = machine tl[,, and yet
:ne story uses the words "tree" and "several" in the other order. We write the equation as
-tree * several"
because the character has "tree" on the left and ,,several,, on the right;
f[
rut for the story the two parts are all we need the order doesn't matter So the stories
,-ombine the two words in the order that is most natural. In this case ,.several trees,, is more
ratural than "a tree and several (of something else)". We are able to do this because it is
i ery rare for A + B to form one character and B + A to form another one (we will point
:his out on the few occasions when it does occur).

Story pictures and character pictures

\otice that the story picture for "machine" is a completely different 4,pe olpicture lrom the
character pictures we have for basic building blocks. The story picture which accompanies
rhe "tree .,F + several fL = machine {,rt" story links the thre e ideas ,,tree,,
,,,several,, and
''machine", without any reference to the shape or appearance of the
characters for ,.tree,,
:nd "several".
Character pictures, on the other hand, are based around a drawing ol the character
itself, and help you to remember the meaning of each basic building block directly from
its shape.
 l6
More about stories
Another example will illustrate some further points about the stories:

fF .u,
tree /\ + not 6 = crp fli
"I said not the tree with the cup tied to
it!" cried the horrified lumberjack to his
apprentice.

Again, look at the scene. A lumberjack and his apprentice are in the forest and the
apprentice is about to attack a particular tree when he is stopped in the nick of time by the
lumberjack. (Why is the lumberjack horrifled? What is the cup for?Well, we shall see
shortly).
Again, it is only the meaning yolu \eed to remember Don't try to remember the whole
story verbatim. Use the story as a b dge to get you to the meaning.
We should also stress that this story is simply an afu1 ro remembering lhat the character
ffi means "cup"; the story does not represent the historical reason r.r'fi.y t4 has come to
mean "cup". The stories are simply our way ofhelping you to familiarize yourselfwith the
characters and to remember them in a simple and effective way. Often the stories will be
humorous, a bit strange or bizarre, or rray even seem silly, but that is just what's needed to
make them stick in your memory.
Ifyou really picture the scenes in your mind's eye, that is all the work you need to do, and
the story will stick. Brute force repetition is not needed. Test it out, can you remember:

tree+several=? tree+not:?
At this stage it may seem quicker to simply learn the equations offby rote, but it will
be a different matter when you are have covered dozens of equations and are trying to
remember them without mixing them up. Using pictures (and later on, making your own
vivid pictures in your mind's eye) makes it much easier to remember them all, even though
on the face of it you are trying to remember "extra" information. Think about how easily
you remember the basic story of a movie despite the background "richness" of hundreds
of details, and compare this with how hard it is to remember isolated "bald" facts such as
addresses or lists.

Two slralegies for learning meanings

So we have two strategies lor leaming the meanings of characters:

' If the character is a basic building block, learn it from the character picture.
' Ifthe character is composite (i.e. made up of simpler parts), remember it from the story
(and story picture ifthere is one).
 1',7

Learning the pronunciations of characters

To help you remember the pronunciations of characters, we extend the stories. The
composite characters already have a story so we'll start with them.

Pronunciations of composite characters

\\'e simply extend the story with another sentence, whose purpose is to help you remember
the pronunciation ofthe character. The pronunciation parts of stories are always in italics
and are separated from the meaning parts of stories with a dividing line "/". (If you are
interested only in the meanings of characters at this stage, then you can just ignore the
parts ofstories after the dividing line although reading them will often help the stories
-
io stick in your mind). Here are two examples:

{,ll machine jr

It took several trees to provide enough

wood to make the parts for the huge ma-
chine. / Wen it was fnished they had to
get the giant to bring his.jeep to deliver it.

f4' cup bci

"I said not the tr€e with the cup tied to
it!" cried the horrified lumbedack to his
apprentice. /
"The giant collects the sap
from that one to cook his bscon in."

\otice that we have extended the story pictures as well as extending the stories.

Soundwords
\\e call 'teep" and "bacon" soundwortls. They indicate tlie (approximate) pronunciations
ofthe characters: the character fl1, is pronounced somewhat like the'Jee" in 'Jeep" and the
character ffi is pronounced like the "ba" in "bacon". Now there are several points to note
immediately about soundwords:

' It is the first syllable orly ofthe soundword which corresponds to the Chinese syllable;
in fact we only go as far as the first vowel sound, unless it is followed by an ,.n,, or ,.ng,,
sound.
' ltisthe sound ofthe English soundword which is important, ror its English spelling.
' The sound is only approximate. The soundword "jeep" reminds us of the Chinese
syllable ji(and not for example tang or bei); it does nor mean that the Chinese syllable
ji is pronounced e"raclly like the 'Jee" in "jeep".
 l8
Here ate some examples of soundwords and their corresponding Chinese syllables:

Soundword Chinese Syllable Soundword Chinese Syllable

pizza pi mandolin man
bored bo bandit ban
mouse mao mango mang
tiger tai bank bang
bacon bei fungus feng
powder pao tongue teng

Archetypes to represent tones

You may have wondered why a giant has wandered into each ofthe two stories above. He is
there to indicate the tonel Fo]ot qrchelrpes appear in the pronunciation parts ofthe stories,
and represent the four tones ofChinese as follows:

Giant lst tone (high) ba

Fairy 2nd tone (rising) b6
Teddy 3rd tone (falling then rising) bX
Dwarf 4th tone (falling) bi
So the two stories above tell you that the characters for "machine" and "cup" have
lst tone (because a giant features in each story). We have chosen these four archetypes
because they are universal, familiar, timeless and distinct. If you have really pictured a
story in your mind's eye, you will find that you remember which archetype featured in it.
We've said that the stories which work best for learning characters are off-beat and
humorous ones, and the four archetlpes we have chosen lend themselves to this. There
is nothing childish about using such powerful images; they are just what you need to
bypass the verbal, logical parts of your brain and plant longJasting links in your non-
verbal memory.
Now, do you remember the pronunciations oft I and f6?

Pronunciations of basic building blocks

Finally, what about the pronunciations of characters which are basic building blocks? For
these, there is no story to extend, as there was for composite characters. Also, a story
involving "mouth" by itself will tend to get mixed up with all the other stories involving
"mouth".
Our solution to this is to invent a dummy object, the same one for all basic building
blocks, and we have chosen the most basic piece oftechnology there is: a reel. Thus the
story to think of when you want to remember the pronunciation of "mouth" itself is the
story involving "mouth + wheel".
 t9

he tbllowing examples show how this works.

I mouth k6u

-1 large theel stands across the mouth of

ffi
rhe cold, dark cave, but Teddy simply puts
on his duffel coat and hops between the
spokes to get inside.

Jl several ji
There are several wheels to deliyer so
Teddy offers to load rhem onto his jeep.
lSee him careening off down the road scat-
tering wheels in all directions eyery time
he hits a bump!)

You will see that Jl is pronounced "ji", just like {.1i,. But this time it is Teddy in the
-.ep, not the giant, so that we know that "several" is pronouncedji with the third
tone, not
.;'i with the first tone.
Since wheel stories are about pronunciations, they are printed in italics.

Summary
To sum up, the strategy, when you see a character you have leamed and want to remember
:ts meaning and pronunciation, is as follows:

' If it is a basic building block, remember the meaning from its character picture, and
then think ofthe "wheel" story to get the pronunciation.
. If it iscomposite character (i.e. made up of simpler pafis), identify the pafts and then
a
use these to remember the story: the first part ofthe story gives you the meaning, and
the second part gives you the pronunciation.

But rest assured that the whole process is much quicker to carry out than it is to
Jescribel
As with any new skill, such as leaming to drive, things will become automatic after a
uhile.Ifyou study Chinese for any length oftime, youwill find that you become familiar with
many characters and start to read them "at a glance". When that happens, the corresponding
:lories presented in this book will become superfluous: like scaffolding for a building, they
rrill have served their pur?ose once the building is complete. Until that time, however, the
stories provide a systematic framework which can help you to hold the myriad ofcharacters in
place in your mind without mixing them up. And even much later on, when you find you have
temporarily forgotten a character, you can use the parls ofthe character to recreate the story
:hat ties them together, and hence "recover" the meaning and pronunciation ofthe character.
The stories will act like a longJasting index to the store ofcharacters in your memory.
 Key to Character Entries
See the User Guide for an explanation ofthe equations and stories.

Fladical and Traditionalform Stroke-order

stroke-count of character diagrams
Meaning (if applicable)

\l .n
---J- qln it rt\

/J\ kin
E tmagine you are standing in a tre€ - not
stand i(r:) * tree .Titroo = kin * an ordinary tree but your family tree, and
your kin are all aroundyol. / Some ofyour
"Kin" here means blood relatives. kin will be high enough to touch the giant's
chin.
E;*rr:a m[qin mother
[*Eiq+r qinz)

Comment Story

Serial numbers printed in black (such as 278) refer to the original HSK Level A
characters. Serial numbers printed in gray (such as 2784) refer to other characters and to
non-character fragments these are included il they are needed as parts of HSK Level
A characters. Pronunciations are printed in black if they are in HSK Level A, and in gray
otherwise. Compounds which are not in the HSK Level A list are given in brackets [ ].

Key to icons:

.- + @
Pouring rain story Wild West story Spaceship story Film set story
(see Character 15) (see Character 54) (see Character 54) (see Character 75)

Story conventions: Archetypes represent tones (see User Guide):

Giant = 1, Fairy:2, Teddy:3, Dwarf = 4, Robot = neutral
Double archetype: i on-glide (see Character 38).
Ghostly archetype: u on-glide (see Character 59).
 Chapter I
So let's get started. We'l1 be taking it very gently to begin with, so there,ll be rather lewer
:hamcters per chapter in the first few chapters than in the book as a whole.
Before we start, yon did read, the User Guide, didn't you? Ifnot, go and read it now!
Otherwise quite a lot ofwhat follows won't make sense.
You've already seen four character pictures in the User Guide. The remaining ones
rou'll need for this chapter are given below. The first thing is to study the character pictures
..n this page, to learn the meaning of these basic building blocks. When you have them
:red in your mind, turn the page and start working your way through the character entries
-.rat follow. Take your time and make sure you visualize
each story (the story pictures will
ielp with this). Finally, at the end of the chapteq you can test yourself on what you have
-:amed-

&,
also
W
person

I --\I(f/--.
K \\-ZL-*\--r'

woman ;\t-f /\
'2j{\=
CHAPTER I D,

After introducing the basic building blocks and their meanings, we are now ready for the main
ent es for the characten in Chapter 1 . For the basic building blocks we give a wheel story (for the
pronunciation), and for composite characterc we give the equation and two-part story.
For all characters we give the strcke order diagrams in the row of small boxes. To the left of
these boxes, we give the radical for the character and its stroke-count (i.e. the total number ofstrokes
needed lo write the character).
Whenever we want to explain a general point, give you some encouragement, or tell you some-
thing interesting about the Chinese language, we will write in areas outside the character entdes and
across the full width ofthe page exactly like we have here!

Radical
-
yi (yi; yi) 'l slroke
one
-
Thrs is the simplest character there is, and
it's obviously a basic building block. As such
it has a "wheel" story to help you remember
the pronunciation. The soundword is "easy"
so the pronunciatjon is "ee" (the pinyin
spelling is "yi" but it is pronounced "ee"),
and the giant in the stor) tells )ou it is
pronounced using the first tone. / One of the huge wheels of the tuck was
But, wouldn't you know it, for the very stuck fot in rhe thick nud (tnd the unicorn
flrst character we have a complication with had blunted his horn hying to shift it. They
regard to the pronunciation! Essentially, callecl in the giant who took one look ctt it
the pronunciation is yl (lst tone), but the and seid, "This trill be easy."
complication is that in practice the tone for
thjs character varies, depending on the tone wdte the stroke in a left to right direction.
of the syllable which follows it. When it is The large character is printed in a typicail
followed by a 4th tone, it is pronounced yi printed typeface. Don't worry about the little
(2nd tone), and when followed by all other lump at the right-hand end ol the stroke:
tones it is pronounced yi (4th tone). When this is like a "serif" (the small horizontal
it is on its own, or in a string ofnumbers, it line you might find at the bottom of letters
reverts to yi (1st tone). This sort ofchange like "h" in some B?efaces in English) and
only happens lor one other character in this can be ignored. The stroke order diagrams
book, which we shall meet shortly. in the boxes show you what a hand-drawn
For this first character a stroke order character will look like.
diagram seems rather superfluous! Simply

The word "one" isn't a very vivid word to use in stories where we need this character (it will be hard
to distinguish a picture of"one fee" from simply "a tree"), so when "one" appears in an equation
we will always use a u icom i\ the stoty.
We shall also do this for some other numbers: for example a brplare will substitute for "two", a
starfsh for "five", an ocloprB for "eight". For other numbers (e.g. "four", "six") we won't need to
do this as they won't appear as parts ofcomposite characters.
 23 CHAPTER I

Badical
er 2 strokes -
two

one -(l) + one -(l) = two :

- eis is a composite character, made up of
-.rne" and "one". Hence there is an equation,
-rd the story illustrates it. The second half
-': the story, separated by a slash "/", gives
,..u the pronunciation. The soundword is
--3arth" and there
is a dwarf in the story, so The zoo had one unicorn so bought
::e pronunciation is Er. another unicorn to ger a breeding pa;r.
-{s mentioned above, a biplane wlll However they failed to check the gender
.rbstitute for "two" in future stories. of the new one so ended up with two of
To write this character, wdte the top the same sexl / The dwatf occountant is
r:roke belore the bo om slroke. \ riting furious because the new unicorn had cost
::ch stroke leftto right. Note thatthe bottom the earth.
.:roke is slightly longer than the top one.
There is another character for "two"
Character 222), which we'11 meet later.

Badical
-
sen 3 slrokes
three

one -0) + two = three -.

-t:t
\ composite character, made up of "one"
:nd "two". One and two are represented by
-:e unicorn and the biplane. Take a look at
::re picture to fix the story in your memory:
re unicorn has indeed made a nice three-
:\oint landing, but he relaxed too soon!
The soundword is "sand". Remember
:hat with soundwords you go as far as the
:rst vowel soun4 and then see if there is
:n "n" or "ng" sound following it. In this
iase there is. so the pronunciation is san.
tot sa.
When writing this character note that
:he second stroke is slightly shorter than the
irst, and the third is slightly longer
Clearly you don't really need stories to
:emember the meanings of the characters
.t :..
The unicorn lands his biplane on the
beach perfectly so that all three tires touch
down simultaneously. / tJnfortunately he
fails to stop before he hits the giant,s
sandcastle!
. I and -.. lhe stories are giren lo
help you remember the pronunciations and
to get you used to how the pictures and
stories work for both basic and composire
characters.
'
CHAPTER I

-l',1 naaical
2 strokes
t t
This character means "ten" (just as an
X in Roman numerals means "ten"), but
also represents a cross shape, such as a
crossroads. Just as a unicorn substitutes for
"one" in the stories. we will use a cross or
crossroqds as a substirute for '1en".
The soundword is the fary's "cheroot"
so the pronunciation is shi. (Not ch6 it is /At the fairground, in one game you have
the soard of the soundword not its English to roll a wheel and knock down ten skittles
spelling, that is impofiant). There is more about laid out in the shape of a cross. The fairy,
the soundword system in the Appendix. conlident of not having to pay out, sits
This character exemplifles another rule smoking a cheroot.
for writing characters: when two lines
cross, a horizontal line is drawn before a
vertical one.

Badical E n
tr [""1,n
3 strokes
I

,t

This character means a person's mouth, but

also more generally the mouth of a cave or :
ii 1l-,ji,
i;t-i'
river, an entrance or exit of a building, etc. I
i i. t 4n:'\..
We will often \se the mouth of a cave to ' ti, i\,/
represent it in stories.
This character is written, not with four Ll"t)
strokes, but with three! For the second
stroke, draw the top ofthe square from left / A large wheel stands across the mouth of
to right, and continue down the righrhand the cold, dark cave, but Ted.ly simply puts
side of the square, without taking your pen on his duffel coat and hops between the
offthe paper spokes to get ifiside.

Radical E il il l.i
I

H:r. 4 strokes

.o4""
This character means "sun", but also "day", jF",
and "Japan".

/ The dwarfhas built a sun-powered wheel,

and invites all his rclations to come and
admire it.
 25 CHAPTER I

,ij tust said that E lcha.acter 6)means "sun" (originally it was a picture ofa round sunwith adot
:ne middle), but it also has several derived meanings. It can mean "day", and itb also used as an
:: rrer iation for Japan, the "land ofthe rising sun". But whenever a character has several meanings
,: this. we will stick to a single mealing for all sto es where that character appears. This single
--:iJ.ning is the one given in the "headline" ofthe character entry. So we will always use the word
,rr" in stories for characte$ coutaining E.

Radical J[ L
ji (ir) 2 strokes
)
several

r-! \'ell as meaning "several", this character

.,so means "how many?" (when you are
-.i,ing about small numbers, say up to ten).
,tL can also be pronounced ji, and it
::n has a different meaning. This extra
::onunciation and meaning is included in
-{SK Level B, but not in Level A. Whenever /There are several wheels to deliver so
: character has another meaning and Teddy offers to load them onto his jeep.
::onunciation like this, we will letyou know (See him careering oJf down the road
:i other pronunciation so that you can look scattering wheels in all directions every
: up in a dictionary ii you are interested. time he hits a bump!)
::rese extra pronunciations will be printed
: gray and will be in brackets. tional forms for the time being if you like;
You will also notice that this character we will talk about them in Chapter 27.
-:s a traditional form (in a box below the When drawing this character, notice that
you can ignore these tradi- it only has two strokes.
':roke-count)

'&fi" Radical
3 slrokes
- 4 h lri

- ris character is fun to draw once you get

:e hang olit, but watch the stroke order!

/ "This is also a wheel," Teddy claims,

holding up a triangular object. "I got it
from a yeti yesterday ! "
:-:e lou remembering to visualize the stodes when you read them? Sometimes it can help if you
: -.se your eyes when you picture the scene. Don't forget that you can add in any small details that
-:.p make the scene more vivid as long as they don't distract you from remembering the meaning.
CHAPTER I 26
n Badical
fr
- I
oo*0, 4 strokes
This is thc only other character (apart
from ', Character l) which changes tone
depending on the sound which follows it.
is generally pronounced bir (4th tone), but
this changes to bri (2nd tone) when lollorved
by another 4th tone character
When you write r note that the third
(vertical) stroke hangs from the second
stroke, so y'i is not symmetrical: that is,
it is not like the bottom half of (which
lollows).
^
tr0a *&*
/i\ itl
tree
U
This character is printed in gray because it is
not in the HSK Level A set ofcharacters. So
you can skip its pronunciatjon if you want
lo. but you do rreed ro knou its mcaning.
as it appears as a part of many composite
characters (fbr example, the next two).
We've given the pronunciation in gray, so
you can look the characterup in a dictionary
ifyou want to.
We've given ..t the serial number l0a,
because we are reserving the numbers I to
10 Badical y'(
6 slrokes
tr[L';""n,."
tree ,litrour + several ,Il,1zy: machine t/l
This character is another composite charac-
ter, made up of two basic building blocks,
so it has an equation. The numbers in brack-
els reler to the burlding block enrries.
To draw it, simply draw one part and
then the other Remember to draw each part
half as wide as nomal, so that the complete
character fits into the same size square.
t'
t\
n\ Not
TVIIEELI
It
/ "h:t not a h)heel," says the dwarf, kickng
it angrib with his boot.
l
.i
800 for the 800 HSK Level A characters
covered in this book. You can easily find
such characters: lbr example l0a appears
just before Character l0.We've calledit l0a
and not 9a, bccause it is introduced becausc
of, and hence belongs with, Character 10.
The first two strokes are like "ten"
(Character 4), so the horizontal stroke is
w tten before the vertical one. The stroke
order also illustrates another general
principle: you often draw a central part
before drawing in small symmetrical side-
pieces.
) I iIJ
q ., .:] ill
r 1*...:.
t,g,#
lr7..():,rr
at,1N7'r
\ -
-
It took several trees to provide enough
wood to make the pafts for the huge
machine. / When it was fnished they had
to get the giant to bring his jeep to deliver
it. [Remember this from the {Jser Guide?]
 21 CHAPTER ]

" f[i:;; 8
Badical /f
strokes I I : i i/' 't:i .ijl.

ilo*?E\l
tree t(loa) + not 6tst : cup ,f{i \cu-e'-l
\.ull
,4 B-
notice that uriling a compositc
::.rracter usualll involves simply writing [e iu;
:-: building blocks, and the building blocks
'...u need will always have been covered
,,\ (M
::rlier in the book. In cases where this does
...t apply. we u ill drau attention to it an
:rample is coming up in the next chapter "I said not the tree with the cup tied to
+at it!" c ed the horrified lumberjack to his
apprentice. / "The giant collects the sap
flom that one to cook his bucon in."

12 Radical -
\
A;:r"" 2 strokes

-Person" is one ofthe few characters where

.i- rrill not.imply use the bare meaning.
,-.ir a particular interpretation of it. In
-:der to make our stories more vivid it is
:<s1 to think of a particular person, real
: fictional. who;ou can easily imaginc in
..rrious situations. \le will call this person
-Harry" you can think ofHarry Truman,
:I.:rry Houdini, Harry Potter, or any other
:crson (called Harry or not it could be
---imes Bond for example) who you can
::sily imagine in various situations. When
.i e mention Harry in a story, always picture
:::is same person. At the moment all the
have pictures with them, but later on
':ories
.re ll be getting you ro r isualize the stories
..,urself, and if you make objects and
:eople specfc and pqrticulclr it wlllhelp to
:.rake the images you create as memorable
-i possible.
/ HatW wqs chasing the tractor h,heel,
asJdst as he could b{ore it.flattened the
children. Luckily the fairy saw whqt was
happening, and wrote a message "Run!"
in the sl;y with her wand, so thqt the
children scattered just in time.
The second stroke starts just below the
top of the firsl stroke. allhough in some
typefaces the character looks symmetrical.
There is a very similar character, "enter"
(see 2l9a), which we'll meet much later in
the book. When "person" is used as the left-
hand side of a character it is compressed
into the form'f (see l3a below).

'3a
I

person

'\-hen "person" (Character l2) is used as the left-hand side of a composite character it is
:.rmpressed into this form.
CHAPTER ] 28

13 Radical 'f
I l-t :+l tJ
5 strokes
tfi-t'*
Person { 1t:,1 + also &,tst: he 'flh

As explained, your chosenpartictlar person

is substituting for the abstract "person" here.
We're calling this person "Harry" as we
don't know who you've chosen luckily
this doesn't stop us drawing him as he's in a
gorilla costume!
At the fancy dress party, Harry atso came
as a gorilla, but (unlike the others) he
had a proper costume. / The giant arrived
dressed as Tarzan.

14 Radical i
,i,*",
)J 2 strokes

'L .--,:-.-'/-"'
-
Make sure you practice writing this with the -'a -1 -',
---,!l I l
correct stroke order.

/ There was a power surge to the tramb

wheel and it hurtled towqrds the dtearfwho
wqs crossing the road he had to leap out
-
of the way quickly before he was flattened
hnd he shoured angrily ar rhe tlriverl.

15 Badical 4 ( ), l;

4l:.", 3 strokes

You might like to think of a particular

woman when you visualize the stories with
"woman" throughout the book, just as we
have a particular "person" (who wete calling
"Harry"). However "woman" appears as a parl
of far iewer characters than does "person".
The "ii" sound here is like the "i.i" in
German or the "u" in the French word "tu".
Say "oo" and then, keeping your lips in the
same position, try and say "ee". Since we
don't hare this sound in L.nglish. wejusr use
an "oo" sound b:ut haye pouring rqin in the
pronunciation paft of the story to indicate
that it is really "ii" (you can think ofthe two
dots above the "u" being rain drops). The
rain-cloud icon will remind you to visualize
i / h is pouring with rain outside, so
instead of going.jogging the woman works
out by running in a large treadmill wheel.
Teddy uses the power it generates to cook
his noodles!
the rain in the story. We will have more to
say about these "ii" pronunciations later.
When drawing A
watch the stroke
order: the horizontal stroke is drawn last.
 29 CHAPTER ]

16 Radical { ( ) :;z t, -.ja

i& :r"
6 strokes

roman ;ft1rsy * also t trt = she ffi

::re characters for "he" and "she" (Char-
:::ers 13 and 16) are both pronounced tA,
--,J so in spof,er Chinese only the context
-,:kes clear which is meant. Obviouslv it is
:--.i avs clear in written Chinese. At the fancy dress party, a woman also
came as a gorilla! "Whath she doing,
dressed as a gorilla? / If she tl come as
Jane she could have danced with the giant
dressecl as Tsrzan,"

]: Ihat was the first chapter! The 16 characters you have '100./"
.:med make up approximately 77o of written Chinese. As
.: go through the book, we will provide some charts like the
r.3 on the right to show the progress being made. By the end HSK A
:: lhe book you will have completed the whole of the HSK
-.-, el A set of characters. which as we have said covers 770lo
:: \\ ritten Chinese. (These numbers are averages taken from
:--:e samples compiled on the internet the actual numbers
.:.1 \ ary from one piece oftext to another of course).
To begin with there will be a fair number of basic
:-:lding blocks, but as we go on, composite characters will
:.:dominate more and more. Already, with the basic building
:.:.'ks we have met, we could build the characters 1]', 1t,
=-. /,[. 6 and !fl, which are all in Level A (as well as plenty
:.irher chamctels in later HSK levels). But let! not be in too much of a rush to introduca every
:,:.sible character we can form from the available building blocks just yet. As well as building
: -.:ractels up systematically, we also want to concentrate on introducing the most frequently used

.:
_:racters fiIst.
Time to see if you remembered the characte$ in Chapt l ! Test yourself by looking at the
'. .-rving block of characters do you remember the meaning of each onc? How about the
:: :,nunc iations? The numbers next to the characters will let you look up any characters you've
'::t.rtten.

rest.r-ourself: f o, Errr ZF'o, tJL,,o, ,4,'r, lhrr, i,,r,

)Juo, )Lo, {&,," El ,t ir,r &,', flF,,,,

Don t worry ifyou don't remember all of them! Ifthe problem is a chalacter picture, make sure
imentally superimposed the picture over the character (as desc bed in the User Guide). It's all
':.r eas-"- just to glance at a picture and movc on! Ifthe problom is a story, make sure you visualize it
:. :.ar ing a good look at the story picture a good idea is to imagine yourselfactually being there.
:3 \'our senses -- can you hear any background noises? Can you smell anyhing?
 Chapter 2

This chapter follows the same pattern as Chapter 1. On this first page there are some new
basic building blocks. Learn their meanings using the character pictures given. The "wheel
stories" (for remembering their pronunciations) are in the main part of the chapter, along
with some composite characters which use these basic building blocks.

+ I
stick

tent eight

)L
boy
"),, b
\
wrap
I
enclosed
 3t CHAPTF,R ]
'7 Radicat T
l
T:i,,, 3 strokes

. occasionally characteN have a "neutral"

=,
'::e. and this is represented by a fifth
:-:het.vpe, a robot. There are only a few
- r \rr stories in this
book.
The original meaning of this character
':. "child", but it is nowadays more often
<:n as a noun suffix (that is, attached to a
-. -n and not implying lhat rhe noun is /(This story is set in the future) Imagine a
.-:.r11). small chikl playing at home, rollingwheels
about on the floor. The rohot bab))sitter
enits a "zzz" sound, as though asleep,
and then pretends to wake up i)ith a st.lrt
each time a wheel crashes into him.

18 Fadical tr- ( ) I 'tj

iT nu,,uu,, 6 strokes

*oman {1rsl * child Ttta: good 41

..-- ihis story and the previous one, we have

::Jed phrases in brackets. These are non-
-lential parts of the story we sometimes
.i:d in, to explain and expand it. They are
:";kground detail to help you visualize
:: scene, and theyte only a means to an (At an art gallery) 'A woman with a
:,-d. (The end is to remember the scene and child represents good," the curator said
::lce remember the words in bold). (indicating a particularly dull picture). /
The gray pronunciation means that !f But nobody was listening, because they
:.a also be pronounced hio in HSK Level were all watching the Teddy, who wqs
3. ri ith a different meaning not covered in building a house of cards.
ISK Level A (see also Character 7).

stick

:is ts afragment. Fragments are onlyeverparls of characters; they never appear on their
: i characters, and so they do not have pronunciations. Fmgments are always printed in
n as
;:ar'. We only give them meanings so that we can use them in equations and stories.
-\ vertical stroke occurs in many characters of course, but we will not treat every
.3rtical stroke as a "stick". For example, it seems more natural to treat f
"ten" as a basic
:.:ilding block, rather than trying to decompose it into "one" plus "stick". Instead, we
:ijerve "stick" for situations where it stands on its own (as in Character l9 below).
CHAPTER 2 32

19b

"tent"

This fragment is found at the top of some characters. It has a symmetrical shape, unlike
"person" (12) and "enter" (219a).
The meaning is given in quotes to indicate that the name "tent" is one we have invented
lor this fragment.
To draw it, draw each stroke downwards (rather than drawing a single stroke in an ,,up
and over" movement).

19
4*u
I number of items
Radical
3
/\
strokes
-i

tent,\(leb) + stick J (lea) =

number of items f
Notice that in this characterthe two building
blocks are one above the other, rather than
being side by side.
This is a measure word. In English we He tried to keep the tent up with a stick
don't say "two breads"; we say "two loaves but it fell down, so he tried a number of
of bread" or "two slices of bread". Words items he had lying arcIrnd.. / The dwarf got
such as "slice" are called measure words, so fed up with the tent falling on him that
and all nouns in Chinese have to use rneasurc he went and got an iron girder to mqke
words for counting. There are dozens of sure it didn t happen again!
measure words for different types ofthings
(see Character 188 for an example), but f
is an all-purpose measure word which can
be used with most nouns.

20r Radical /\
,/\ :,i,,
2 slrokes
-

In contrast to "person" and "tent", the two

strokes here don't meet. The second stroke
is slightly longer than the first. Both strokes
are written downwards.
As with the unicorn standing in for "one",
the character for "eight" is represented by
an octopus tn stories involving "eight".
/The octopus strapped wheels to all his
eight tentacles so he could roller-skate
around delivering drinks for the giant
hqrman.
 33 CHAPTER ]
21 Radical -.lL

,J L
2 strokes
ru", Z"'"^-" rmril
This character means "boy", "son" or
''child". It is also used as a suffix. and it
i <,n"]'
:s then pronounced as an "r" sound; for
:rample the word trlJL is pronounced IT \,
hior instead of h5o'6r (see the notes on
;ombining characters, at the end of this /The boy's bicycle wheels werefilthy. "How
;hapter). on earth did you get them so dirty? " said the
Notice the hook on the second stroke, fairy, "I only cleaned them this morning!"
*hich helps to distinguish this character (You might think she b a pretty hopeless fairy
:iom the previous one. if she canl keep them clean by magic!)

Testyourself: Aul El *, -(r) tn, ,/\iror tll,,o, Irrt

41,,u &,'r tf,,,, tE,,'u, f,,r, k,,r, 6,rr
\
a drop

.\ small drop that can bl3 written in various directions in different characters (as you will
.ee shortly). It is represented by a drop olliquid in the stodes.

22 Badicat ft *
E 1r1,"
5 strokes
\ ,1 tsi

a drop r (zza) * sun Etot = white E

-r this character the drop is written down-

.i ards and to the left.

"Sun-drop will make your white clothes

wblter:' / The fafu said, "Buy sone today!"
:.s e reminder, we'd like to check that you are still visualizing these stories by taking a good look at
...h ofthe story pictures. The stories and story pictures arc only a means to an end the end is to
-::nember the meaning and pronunciation ofthe character. B€cause ofthis, we find that sone people -
::.)ficut the process and start to leam the equations and pronunciations offby rote. Of course, you
--. perfectly at liberty to do this ifyou choose. and you will still find the structure ofthe book useful"
::hat everything is introduced in a helpful order and so on. Howeveq you will be missing a really
-:lpful technique which will save you
untold hours in the long run. Some ofthe people we tested the
on started out saying, "l'm not a visual person," but most ofthem found that when they gave
':-.ries
: .: trv they did remember the stories after ail. So give it a try what do you have to lose?
-
CHAPTER 2 34

23a
1
wrap

"' 4] iff:
7

wrap !iz:,1 * a drop . 1z:u1 = ladle 4l

So faq composite characters have been easy
to split left-right or top-bottom into two parts,
but in this chamcter "wrap" encloses the drop
(or, appropriately, "wraps" around it).
This composite character is not in HSK
Level A (and is therefore printed in gray), so
no pronunciation part ofthe story is needed. When he had wrapped it up he put a
We will meet "wrap" and "ladle" again drop of perfume on the package even
later, but they have been introduced here in though there was only a ladle inside. / lVo
orderto allow youto meetthe next character, pronunciation neededl
which is the most common character in
Chinese.

23 Radical E l il ii i:i l:,,

fr! l;'" 8 strokes

white Ht::t + ladle tltz:t,t : of E!

This is a particle which attaches to a noun
or phrase to show that it is an attribute. A
HtJ B means "the B ofA", "the B belonging
to A", "the B of type A", "the B to which
A refers", etc. (Particles are small words
which canbe hard to translate, but often give The Chef reaches for his white ladle
a flavor to whole phrases or sentences). the one marked "Property of the Chef".- /
His robot assistant rushes over to dust the
ladle before he uses it.

24a -t l

enclosed

This is like mouth, only bigger! You can always tell them apart as "mouth" never has
anything inside it, whereas "ehclosed" always does.
You always delay writing the final stroke of "enclosed" until after the contents have
been drawn in. The next character demonstrates this rule in action.
 35 CIIAPTER 2

24 Badicat I I 11 v1 1rY ,15

E il,,,
5 strokes

x\1\'t 3-Ur+.
\',7.
enclosed E,zaa) + boy IL,:r,: four E
\1'e have now met several numbers the
other numbers up to ten follow shortly, in
Chapter 4.

_..,, | \
The kidnapped boy was enclosed by the
force-field on all four sides- / The d*arf,
leading the rescue team, saluted when
they found him (perhaps because he was
the colonelS son).

Here is another progress chart you can see how much '100%
-
in this chapter to add to what was already
1ou have covered
3chieved in Chapter l
HSK A

Below is another "Test Younelf" quiz block of characters. We've included these blocks of
iharacters thrcughout the book. lt only takes a moment to stop and work through each block, and
it is time well spent (and it's nice to be able to get most of them right!). There will be a mixture of
.ecent characte$ and those you learned some time ago and the same character may be tested
.nore than once in the book.
-

restyoursetf: ii,," -ai 'f&,,r, )Lr, &," -(r) )Ln,

,/!rroi t,o, f,,, .4,,a r(,) Eor Alu,
Ofcourse you may well want to test yourself systematically as well, by running through all the
.haracters you have learned. It's a good idea at the end ofa session to test yourselfon the chamcters
iou'vejust leamed then do this again after an hour or two, then after 1 day, 3 days and a week. This
:.petition will really embed the characters itr your long-term memory.
The characters will stay in your memory for longer after each testing. And this effect continues
after a week too. For example, if you checked a given chapter a week ago, it should last for a
.-,n
:xonth, and then a monthly check will last for 3 months, etc.
CHAPTER 2 36

We'll end this chapter with a few words about compounds. As mentioned in the infoduction,
characten are used together to form "compounds" or multi-syllable words. Numbers are some of
the easiest examples ofcompounds:

f- shilr twelve :+ ershi twenty

tE shisi fourteen Et sishi forty
senshiyr thifiy one
=+ -
More generally, two-syllable words are formed by combining two characters:

41 nIr6n woman JLT 6rzi son

t6+ beizi cup, mug, gtass {JL nI'ir daughter
The pronunciation ofa compound isjust given by the pronunciation ofthe characters spoken (or
written) one after the other. Sometimes, in writing a compoundir pinyin, an apostrophe is used to
make it clear how to break the compound up into syllables. For example if we wrote the compound
pingen without an apostrophe, we wouldn't know whether it was ping'an or pfn'gan.
As we've said, the meaning of many compoulds can be guessed from the meanings of the
characters which make it up:

,\;1 r6nli manpower

Some compounds, howevet are not at all obvious:

..^.tr .6nt6o (human) population Fl7 rizi day, date; life

From now on, we will list compounds as part of the character entries. When we do so, any
compounds which are not stipulated for HSK Level A will be printed in brackets [ ]. However all
compounds, whether in the HSK Level A list or not, use only HSKLevel A characters. ln fact, all
compounds only use characters introduced up to that point in the book.
Of the compounds listed so far, the following are in the HSK Level A list can you remember
what they mean?
-

)L+ ffi+ BT K)L

 Chapter 3

In this chapter not all ofthe stories have story pictures, as we want you to start to visualize
:he stories yourself. Doing this should make the stories lodge in your memory more
slTectively than using the story pictures, as your brain will be "processing" the story more
rctively. We also list example words (compounds) with the characters from now on.

@
x
vk lid

lt
gate

_4
r-$-

It rmw

+
stop

W hand

1.-t.'i . 'l
l.-1'j".\-
irii-'-
x \r

_ruffit:;i:
+
dagger
';
, :
l ,\:i.:
L\! , 1\
-_
middle
CHAPTER 3 38

You've met all our archetyp€ characters in action now, and as you go through the book you'll get
to know them. At the end of this chapter we'Il tell you a bit more about how their pe$omlities
developed.

25a \/ )L
A .n""r.

Note the stroke order This illustrates another general rule: strokes drawn downwards and
to the left come before strokes drawn downwards and to the right.

25b .r -
lid

The "drop" is written downwards and to the right in this character. In some R?efaces
(fonts), however, the "drop" will look like a short vertical line.
Because it is used a lot we will treat this as a basic building block, although you could
regard it as being made up of "drop" plus "one".

Radical t T {.
I;ft," 4 slrokes

lid '1:sL,y + shears X(zsu) = culture I

This character refers particularly to written
language and literature.

E ntot Riw6n (written) Japanese

This is how we will list compounds lrom
now on. The number 6 in brackets tells you
that the othcr character in the compound (in
this case, FJ) is Character 6 in this book.
(Inside the ancient tomb) The archae-
ologist lifts the hea\y lid and finds some
beautiful ornamental shears they will
- of the
tell him a lot about the culture
trme. / "Wonderfal", says the fairy, "those
are nagic shears that cut the grass by
themselves ! "

1 1_
]_ road

This shape always encloses other characters or fiagments, which nestle above the long
"tail".
Note that the zigzag shape above the long "tail" is all one stroke. "Road" is always
drawn last, after the character or fragment it encloses.
 39 CHAPTER 3

B zhe
this
Radical
7 strokes
l- ) jL

road L(26a) + culture Xtzsi : this E

.: ] ou look at E, you will probably thinl of
.: as "road" plus "culture", even though you ":i:zi'-:;v
nrite "culture" then "road". For this reason
i e will give "road" first in equations.

:: f trsi zhEgi this (one) "Which road leads to the culture museum
:: JLtzri zhBr here (spoken) this one, this one or this one?" / The
-dwarf looks up from his newspapel and
says grumpily, "Follow those Germans"

27 fl
ll
Radical
I i1
;r 3 strokes

re regard this character as a basic building

:,ock even though it looks as if it is
:omposed of three pieces. It was originally
: picture of a door or gate. Often it acts as
: three-sided enclosure (see, for example,
Characters 289 and 290).
The stoke order is a relic from the
-ditional form of the character, and in
:-is case overrides the left-to-dght rule for / (On the canal) The lock gate has a wheel
::a\Ying characters. that must be turned to open it, but.first you
must pay monq, to the fairy when sheflies
- 171s'1 m6nkdrt doorway over, and she will release the wheel.

8 'f

{[
Radical
5 strokes t lr til
na,"
(The castle was being opened to the
person'f * public for the first time) Harry opened
1r:o1 gate l1::l = peopte flI
the castle gate and found a long queue of
Jur first story without a picture don't people waiting oltside. / He programmed
-t read it, visualize itl - the robot to help collect the monqt so he
This character is a plural ending for didn t have to do it all.
:,any nouns and pronouns which refer to
-op1e.

".: filtr:i timen they; them

il fllrroi tamen they; them (female)
. filtr:t r6nmen people (in general)
CHAPTER 3 40

29a I
I i- ,hi ri'
ll. stoo

Sometimes this character takes the distorted form seen in 30a.

29 Radical I
5 strckes
r.,L ilil?,
one -(l) + stop [pv4 = upright rE

The meaning "upright" also extends to

include "proper", "just so" , "correct", etc.

The unicorn, dozing, heard someone shout

"Stop!" and sat bolt upright. / The dwarf
had set up jungle tours for unicorn-watch-
ing (even though he knau the unicorn had
hiclden in the jLmgle to get q bit ofpeace).

30a

r!-
./\..- Stop

This is an alternative form of 29a.

t_

./..l- upright

Similarly, this is an alternative form ofCharacter 29.

30

r EI shi
is

sun B ',,, + upright :

Radical
9 strokes

is E
E _
I-
ri
.,{_

^r,:ou,
This is the third most common character
in Chinese (after fl! and -). Its basic
meaning is "is" (but as you will know if
you're learning Chinese. ir\ nor quire as
simple as that...).
(An argument is taking place in a back
ga rd en1 Th ey are rtaking a sunflower- is it
upright? "lt is," says one ofthe gardeners;
"It isn't," says the other. "Is, is, is!" says the
fust, and so on. /Tfte dwarf who liyes net
door can't stand it any longer and comes
round, brandishing his shillelagh.
 41 CHAPTF,R 3

31
---l- sh6u
-.J hand
'\'hen this character appears as the left-hand
.:de of other characters it usually takes the
:.rrm I ( lSla).
This is the second story without a
ricture this time it's a "wheel" story
R3ad the story and then shut your eyes
:rd try to picture it. See the car Teddy is
:nYing what t)?e is it? By picturing
::is scene in your mind's eye, you are
:.ing one of the most potent systems the
:rain uses for memory the same process
'.rrur brain carries out automatically when
'.,.u are reading a novel or listening to
Radical t
4 strokes It
/ Teddy takes one hand olf the steering
wheel, showing off his driving skills (and
probably ends up in a ditch!)
story on the radio. If you picture the scene
vividly, then when you next think ol "hand
plus wheel" it will trigger the story, which
will in turn trigger the soundword for the
pronunciation.
The brackets [ ] round the compound
show that it is not a compound included in
the HSK Level A list.
a [f {Jflroy shdujr mobile phonel

ge i"
dagger

'\'atch the stroke order here. You finish up with the drop (after you finish wdting the
:relious stroke downwards).
This is a picture of an ancient weapon, which was something like a cross between a
:.rsger, an axe and a spear!

Badical {
wd 7 strokes J- -i\
I

hand f 1:ry + dagger {t:z"t = I {t

:{:re "hand" and"dagger" are fused together
:otice that this is built into the story)
-rd "share" a stroke (compare this with
,,haracter 152). This means the stroke order
:. something you have to be careful with and
::irctice. But once you get it right you will The dagger was stuck in the huge stone
:nd it is a great character to draw as your hand (a bit like Excalibur) he pulled ir
:'en swoops up and down and around it. out and declared "I am the- Onel". / This
woke Teddy who had been asleep uruler
l filr:s) w6men ue; us the hand.

rest yourself: ,/\eor )Juo, tF,,,, Io, 3,rl /F.et tll,'g,

'ffi1r:r llol Ec., ff1rs) 4,,,, fr!1::r f,,r,
CHAPTER 3 42

33 Radical I
,1,
zhdng 4 strokes
middle
/ In the middle of each wheel ofhis car, the
A stroke which pierces through the whole gimt had etched a picture of a jonquil.
character, such as the vertical one here, is
(A jonquil is a b,pe o/ small daffodil.
generally drawn last. You'll have to excuse us if we sometimes
This character often means "China" have to scratch around for soundwords
or "Chinese", from the Chinese way of -
some sounds come at the start ofvery
referring to their country as the "middle few English words!)
kingdom".

Are you getting to know the archetypes yet? In the course of wdting this book, we found that they
developed personalities oftheir own, related to the original reasons we chose them:

Giant Slow, placid often found working as a handyman. The high, flat lst tone
represents his size and slowness to change.
Fairy Flits about, tends to conjure up helpful objects rather than simply granting
wishes. The upward sloping accent for 2nd tone resembles her wand.
Teddy Somewhat mischievous and irresponsible, unlikely to take things too se ously.
The down-up 3rd tone represents the way he bounces around playfully.
Dwarf Rather grumpy and officious,likely to have some responsibility, to be ajanitor
or foreman, and to be trying to organise thilgs or boss people around. The
downward sloping accent of the 4th tone represents his dismissive tone of
voice (as well as the fact that you look down at him because ofhis diminutive
size).
Robot Rather mechanical and soulless as befits a neutral tone. Likes everything
logical, "just so", and is somewhat fastidious.

We have tried to keep the sto es consistent with these personality traits, to help you remember
uhich archellpe learures in each stor).

100%
Here is ourthird progress chart to show you how you're doing.
From now on the light gray area will show you where you'd
got to when we last showed you, and the dark gray area shows
HSK A
you how much you've added since then. We'll just present the
progress chafts from now on without further comment.
 Chapter 4

\s we continue, more ofthe stories will be given without story pictures, so that you will be
|isualizing the stories yourself. But this doesn't apply to character pictures you can rest
trssured that there will be a character picture for every basic building block in the book.

/.,
slide

-h
seven

,)L".G),--*-
F,i,W -f
''fl--
nine thumb tack

.,;/GArt)t'

iaboreW *''-9p .
- 4
horse
CHAPTER 4 44

34a L
cocoon

This character originally meant "cocoon", and from this it came to mean,,to shut away,,,
hence "self-centered" or "selfi sh".

34b

"slide"

We will call this stroke "slide" (think of a children,s playground slide). It is much Ionger
than a drop, and is always drawn in a downward direction.

34 Radicat I
,/t me 3strokes
slide /(3ab) + cocoon -4\(t.la):
2.
We've called this character "appendage,,
because it is used as a suffix^ in words
like zhime (see below) and sh6nme (see
Character 35).
will see that we are continuing to add
You
phrases in brackets to some of the stories.
These phrases are to help you visualize (and
hence remember) the scene. Of course the
words in bold are all you need to remember
2 jl.
The cocoon had been flxed to the topof
the children's slide, as an appendage
(perhaps so that the new butterfly, when
she emerges, can use the slide like a ski-
jump for her first flightl) / This throws the
robotb circuits into a dreadful muddle (as
he wasnl allowed to remoye it when he
cleaned the slide).
in the end but you'll remember them more
easily once you recall the scene.
BlAr.z9 zhdme like this. in this tunner

35 Badical 1 ,l
'ft *t, 4 strokes

Harry stands alone at the crossroads but

I tr:o) + ten ir+r = what? Ii nobody else turns up. What is wrong?
What has he done? The fairy (hovering
Remember that "ten" (Character 4) is rep- at a safe distance) tells him everyone will
resented in stories by a cross, and "person', shun him until he hqs a wash and doesn't
by "Harry" (see Character 12). smell any more!

lt /Ao+) shdnme v,hat?

1(l t4fi\p+zzt sh6nmede erc.l

But wlzy? This is a question people often ask wiy is it that,,person', plus..ten', equals ..what?,,, or
"road" plus "culture" equals "this"? There probably is a reason, ifyou delved deeply enough into the
history ofhow each character ev6lved, but it is rarely sensible to demand explanatioas like this when
learning a language. The wisest course is to relax andjust accept that this is how it is. lt happens in
English too. After all, wltat has a carpet got to do with a car, or a pet,l
 45 CH {PTER .

Ir ;;
35 Radacal
-
4 strokes

/ kddy is splashing in a rock pool and

\bu will remember that the number "eight" sees afive-spoked wheel but when he goes
:s represented in stories by an octopus. We to pick it up it turns out to be a sturrtsh and
rill have similar representatives for the it wounds his paw
:umbers 5, 7 and 9 (otherwise it would be
jifficult to distinguish in your mind between
lltro wnshi f1ty1
r story with say "7 trees" and a story with "9 l1rlai, shiwit rtJieenl
:ees" or "5 trees"). The character for "five"
',r ill be represented rn storiesby a starf.sh.
tEttrrrr wishiw[ liJty fve)

37 I Radical
- l--

t::.., 2 strokes

/You look in your dictry, and notice that in

The character for "seven" is represented in
.tories by a diary (.a weekly planner where
-.ou look seven days
ahead to see appoint-
:1ents, rather than a personal j ournal).
When writing this charactet notice that
ie sloping stroke extends well to both sldes
.rf the hook stroke, in contrast to which
'.r e'll meet later (206a).
seven days' time your car is due for new
wheels. The giant has offered to get them
for you chetp.
fl:f et qrshi seven4,l
lttr+l striqi seye teen]
h [tttr(a,3o qtshiwiu seventyfve]

38 Badical 1
)
./L *,,:"
2 strokes

\\'hy are there ,lro teddies in this story? An

:rplanation lollor.r s on rhe nexr page.
Compare this character with "por,r er"
Character l4), and in particular compare
-ra stroke orders. The character lor "nine"
.i ill be represented tn stoiesby a baseball.

- L T(4) Jlusnr rrflefyl / During throwing practice each of the

-r / Lr4t SnUIU ntneleen) nine members of the baseball team hos
. '. FlL,r.,rr sanshijii rhifly ninel to throw the baseball cleanly through the
spokes of a wheel. Two teddies, who are
holding the wheel, keep moving it for a
joke.
CHAPTER 4 46

In Chinese some vowels are preceded by an "i" or "u" (these are called "on-g1ides"). The "i" is
pronounced like the English "y" so that for example "liang" is pronounced "Iyang". The problem is
that in general no words in Englishbegin with these sounds. So instead what we will do is to indicate
an "i" by having tuo of the arche\)pe in the story
two giants, two dwarves, etc. Try to pictue
them lior, as you visualize the story. when you flnd two archetypes in a story, you klow you have
to add in the "y" soun<! for example converting a "pow" sound to "pyow".
This system also helps with another problem, which is that there are no soundwords in English
to distinguish between consonants such as "zh" and'i". But the i on-glide does this for us. So for
example the soundwords'loke", "choker", "show" would normally indicate the syllables zhou,
chou, shou respectively but ifthere are two ofthe archetype in the story then they indicate jiu,
qiu, xiu instead. (It is cheating a little to use the same soundwords for "zh" and'I", "ch" and "q",
"sh" and "x", since these are djfferent initial consonants in Chinese. But remember that the purpose
of soundwords is to .jog your melnory as to the pronunciation of each chamcteq ruther than to
reproduce it exactly, which isn't possible in English). This is why there are ,,1lo teddies in the story
for 11.
We will deal with u on-glides in the next chapter'

39 \ Radical
liir 4 strokes
,/\ six

lid '1:sry + eight,/\(20) = six ,,\'

The fact that there are lwo dwarves tells you

that the "lo" sound (from the soundword) is
pronounced "lyo".
This completes the numbers from one to
ten. We hare story subslilules (the unicorn.
octopus, etc.) for some of the numbers (1,
2, 5, 7. 8 and 9). Since the characters lor The octopus is trying to lift the lid of a
3, 4 and 6 don't appear as a part of other huge cooking pot he has to use sir of
characters, we don't need story substitutes his legs (leaving only two to stand on!) /
for them. Two dwarves arrfue carrying a huge
locust to put in the pot.
\ i1+r litrshi sxll']
[,,
[1 zr't+t shiliir slxteeir]

Testyourself: Eun, ,4,,r, I,rn JL",, E.,rrl ffi,,u, Bru,

Fu,, {11,,', #i0,, E,ro, llo, hu^, f,,,r
40a
.--Y*
"thun.rb tack"

"Thun.rb tack" is our name lor this shape which is lound at the top ofsome characters, and
which tooks like a squashed nail which has got slightly bent.
 47 CHAPTER 4

40
bri
Radical
6 strokes
E
I i h 'r,-

hundred
thumb tack -1+oay * sun fi 1oy :
hundred E of trem. / Teddy has sprinkled them on the
You might feel that this character could be
split into "one" plus "white", and you'd be
right. There will be quite a few cases where
there might seem to be a choice as to how a
character can be broken down into building
blocks. There is no single correct way, and
if you prefer an alternative then simply
You see a thumb tack (on the road),
glinting in the sun. When you look more
closely, you can see there are a hundred
new bypass (ds a protest (tgqinst it being
buih near his home).
make up an alternative story to go with your
choice.
[=E-t:t sanbli three huntlre[l

41 Radical 1_
lt I-
t3;l 5 slrokes
1 1i 1i1

road L(zou) + power Jlrr+l = side E

I'iote that in Chinese the i on-glide changes
an "an" sound to "yen", not "yan" (see the
-l.ppendix). This is why we use "bends" as a
soundword rather than, say, "bands".

-[...-[...rr, ri yibidn A yibian B A powerful machine is clearing a path

doing A while also doing B for a new road by pushing everything to
the side. / But it can only do the straight
bits so two giants have to be called on to
create the bends.

12a
bi: bo
fortune teller

stick I (lea)+adrop' 122u,:

fortune teller J.
\\-hen f. appears as a part ofanother char-
:;ter, "drop" sometimes turns into a short
iorizontal line (see Character 183 for an
:rample).
You don'tneedto leam the pronunciation "Dip the stick in this ink and let a drop
rs this is not an HSK Level A character), fall on here," says the fortune teller (she
!o there is no second halfto the story. can tell your fortune by the pattern the ink
makes). / [No pronunciation needed]
 -1!

42 1 Badical l.
3 strokes

-L:*:
Although the basic meaning of this
/ A huge wheel hovers above Shanghai
with a dwarf sitting on it, directing the
character is "above" or "on top of", it can boats in the harbor
also be used as a verb meaning to enter (a
vehicle), attend (school), go to (work), etc.

tfir+rt sh]ngbian above; high up

43 Radical I\

I-
I
3 strokes
ili"*
one + fortune teller f"(+zo):
-(r)
below T
In a similar way to Character 42, this
character, which means "down", "below" or
"under". can also be ured as a verb meaning
to alight (from a vehicle), finish (class or
work), eic. The unicorn goes to see the fortune
teller, and she looks at what is below the
card which he points to with his hoof. /
-TJLrr, :rt yixidr briefly; casually "I see two dwsrves sharpening your horn
for you."

44 Badical $ 1
ma 3 strokes
\
horse
/ ktLly has shown a horse how to bahnce
4s Ltqzt mdshdng at once on a i,heel so the1, can earn money qt the
market (pefibrming as street entertainers).

4s Radical f.l ,\
[9 il:...,-** 6 strokes

Imagine looking inside the mouth of a

* horse you are thinking of buying, and
mouth Etst horse 9(++l =
finding a question mark stamped on the
n mark [$
horse's tongue. / Your robot remarks, " It s
This is a particle which is added to the end not logical to buy horses at this market."
ofa sentence 1o turn it into a quesrion.
 49 CHAPTER ,1

46 Badical t .::\ li:

l$ x- )
( 1,1
6 strokes

woman 4(ts) + horse 4t4+t = mum {9

tB tt mema mum. mom. mummv

A teenage girl is out shopping and she

turns to see a woman on a horse
naked like Lady Godiva. "Mum!" the -
teenager cries, mortified. / Fortunately at
thal moment the giant comes bumbling
through the market (overturning stalls and
distracting everyone:t attention, giying the
girl a chance to lead the horse away out
qf sight).

Look at the last three characters (44-16). Do you notice anything? They all contain $ and they
.rre all pronounced "ma" (with va ous tones). This isn't a coincidence:
-{ 1s actlng as a phonetic
rnd giving a clue to how to pronounce the chamcter In effect {9 is "the character which has a
:'i'!eaning related to ]t and sounds like q." One reason (among many) why the equations often
jon't seem to make any logical sense is that sometimes one part of the character is donating its
jdrrd rather than its neairizg. A series ofcharacters like this, with a phonetic component and with
re same pronunciation, is called a phonelic series. We will always use the same soundword for all
:ie pronunciations in a phonetic series in the case of Characters 44.46 we used the soundword
-market". We have -
already seen two small examples ofphonetic series (,ft,, t0 and ll, ifl), anA
--:rere are many more to come. But (as you probably guessed)
this is not at all a reliable system, as
'..ru will see as we go along. For example, we have aheady seefl that
{t anrj {E are pronounced ta,
,'.rt d, was yEl

Test yourself: &," f ,,0., 7- (3e) {1,", 'fllo', jL A,o,

H!o,, A,n, T Fo,, )J,,0, t (37) Eo.,
9nr, i,,, tr (401 l,o, T,,,, 6 (e) El,u,

(41) Ei:+r \4 (46) ,r\por t,or, E (2e) lllr:,,r

Did you remember all these OK? Ifnot, are you surc you rrisr4liedthe story in each case rather
'--:n just reading 1t'? 7tt true that you only need to recall the meaning (and soundword./archerype),

-: rhe whole story verbatim, but pictudng the story will help you to remember these vital nuggets
-jide the story.
As an expe ment you might try really visualizing (say) three stories from the next chapter, and
--:r for three other stori€s simply rcad them through, rot visualizing them. Then test yourself 24
:::rs later and see ifthere is any difference. Then test youmelfagain 3 days and 7 days later.
 Chapter 5

If there is a basic building block you are having a real problem remembering, you might
try this: photocopy the character picture and color it in, making sure you trace over the
character in heavy black lines. It doesn't matter whether you then tear it up or frame it on
your wall; the process will have helped to embed it in your memory.

_L -.}-
-+-
big husband

z.l. l-
sma,,
Jl> to bow

tlryL,r!,-r]
x
right hand
/
left hand

-I
earth
t
 5l CHAPTF,R 5

47 Radicat t :t
dn (dnil 3 strokes
)'
big

The pronunciation of this character is

basically di, with the exception that it
is pronounced diLi in the word dliff (see
Character 49 below).

[)i-,lt ttzt ddrin adult]

/ The Big llheel at the fairground is in

use all day so the dwarf has to do the
mqintenance work at night in the dark.
(Imagine him grumbling, "How do they
expect me to see what I'm doing? ").

48 Badical ft ) .l
tii 4 strokes
too much
The fisherman throws his arms wide to
show how big the fish was, but a drop of
big fit+rt + a drop ' lzzuy: too much ,t sweat falls from his brow and his friends
Note that the "drop" is belotv "big"
we know he is lying they have seen too
$ ill meet another story later (238a) which much ofthis in the past. /The dwarf says,
is also made up of"drop" and "big", butthe di-sdainfully, 'Are you sure it wasnl a
''drop" is on top. tiger? "

ttlf taritai wife; Mrs.1

49 1 ft
t
Badical -]'
4 strokes ) d
lx.o,,o
/ She makes her husband use the exercise
The second stroke ofthis character is longer wheel. "You are fat because you eat as
Ihan the first, just like in the character for much food as the giont.' she rells him.
"two" (Character 2).

t*r+a dnifu doctor (colloq.)

*,\trzi f[r6n wife (fornat)
CHAPTER 5 52

so Radical4\

zjr m, 3 strokes J t)

When "small" occurs at the top of other

characters, it sometimes takes the form
(see Character 267). For using zJi y7ili
't,
names, see the note on Zl
o (Character
264).
The stroke orderforthis character follows
the "center before symmetrical sides" rule, /The small wheel has to be turned to
which overrides the "left to right" rule. operate the shower, but the two teddies
haye to stand one on lop of the other to
[f z]1a1 d]rxiio srel reech it,

51a

to bow

We use this in the following character, but then we won't need it again until Chapter 18.

",8 er
thou
t' ir rli

bow tsisray * small zlr1s61 : 1561 fi

This is an old or literary word lor "you"
which we need for the next character.

Imagine two fastidious courtiers bowing

to each other by a small gap in the fence.
'After thou," one says. "No, after thoul"
And so on. / lVo pronunciation neededl

s1 Radical { ,| l) ti 1,i'
strokes
lr1;:,
7

"Ilarry, thou art clever," says the wise

man. "Why don't you just say "you"?"
person { 1r:uy * thou fitsrut: you {6
Harry rcplies. / Teddy gets oll e\cited and
This is the everyday, modern word for "you" starts singing, "No need to kneel, no need
(there are also various polite ways ofsaying to kneel."
"you" which we will meet later).

'ft"ffltzsr nimen you (plural)

 53 CHAPTF,R 5

52 Radicat I I {-
X [i,.*.
2 strokes

.{lthough originally a picture of the right

han4 this character now means "again" or
"additionally" (there is also another word
for "again"; see Character 217). We will
use the old meaning "right hand" in stories,
since it will be easier to create vivid stories
using this than if we were to use the more
absfiact word "again". Moreover, we will
usually use the image of shaking hands to
distinguish it from stories involving "hand"
in general (since this is something you do
u'ith your right han{ even if you are left-
handed).
/ friends on unicycles meet in the
Two
street his right hand
- each extends
while balancing on a single wheel, and
they shake hands again and again. The
dwarf comes rushing past (nearly sending
then fiying)
- hek late.for his yoga class
and in no mood to be impressed.

tI....n... ydu A ydu B bothA anrt Bl

)
lelt hand

"Left hand" forms a part of far fewer characters than "right hand,,.
To make "left hand" stand out from "hand" in general, we will olten use stories
involving wedding rings.

53 t^ nadicat I ,
/9 i:;., 4 skokes
.l{.

They run along (right) hand in (left) hand,

left hand l-(sra) + right hand n(52) = the best of friends . / But the mischieyous
friend ts Teddy is waiting, and as they pass hefiicks
his yoyo out and they fall down in a tangle
\\161 y6lh6o friendly of string.

54a I
I lll l ,1.

I ^ earth

Once again (as in rt, Character 49), the second stroke ofthis character is longer than the
first. This time it really matters, for there is another
character which looks just like t,
e\cept that the first stroke is longer than the second (t,
Character 487a).
t
When used as the left-hand side of other characters, gets squashed so that the last
stroke slopes upwards (see the next character for an example).
CHAPTER 5 54

54
j& i:11"".,. r -,,
Hffi'"1 I '.4
.: l, ;tl

l. earth it:+or * also j!,(st : ground X[

2. earth L')a", + atso &,s' = -lt J&

i'r ,
Now. here we have a character with two ii:::,i:.
meanings, and two pronunciatiors to go
with theml Whenever this happens (there
are ten such characters in this book), we { 14. posse is pursuing bandits, and
will sin.rply provide two stories. However, the sheriff dismounts to look at the
one will be set in the Wild West. and one spent bullets) "The earth has also been
will be set on a large spaceship. No other disturbed," he says, "they're heading for
characters, apart from these ten, will use higher ground." / I/is dwarf deputy takes
either of these settings. So whenever you afew men on a detour (to head them ojf qt
see a character and remember the story to the pass ...)
go with it, ilthe setting is the Wild West or a
spaceship, this will remind you that there is 2
also another story (in the other setting). Of
course, which meaning (and pronunciation) ALSO
is appropriate will be for you to decide, those

depending on the context. This is like seeing

the word "bow" in English: until you know
the context (tying shoelaces? aboard a ship?
archery?) you \\on'r know which meaning.
or which pronunciation, is appropdate.
The second meaning, '11y", is our name
for how lll helps to qualify verbs, Iike the
'rl)" ending ofadverbs in English.
You may wonder which ol the two
meanings to use in future equations.
Fortunately this problem doesn't arise
as this character never appears as part of
another character.
[]t,f ta:r dixii unclergrouncl)
EAR id
I (The landing party has returned to the
spaceship ftom the planet) "We didn'tjuSt
get samples olearth, we also found some
great alien artefacts, so treat them gentle."
"Gently," corects the Chief Scientist
(who is a stickler for grammar). / 'And
can somebctdy gc, and sort out the robot
heb miserable because heb got so dusty
-"
(collecting the earth samples).

talent

You might like to think ofthis as "left hand" plus "stick". But we think that our illustrator's
character picture is a better and more vivid way to remember this. (We will have something
else to say about this character when we get to Character 518).
 55 CHAPTER 5

55 Radical t .il

4L:r' 6 strokes

(An announcement at the flower show)

"The expert gardeners, who have a special
talent f 1ssal * earth -Lts+ui = at E talent for growing things in the earth, will
This can mean both "in/arlon" and "to be be at the main marquee to answer quest ions
in/atlon", or "to be in the middle of" (doing when the big "@" sign is displayed above
something). it." / The dwarf (who is organizing things)
plays a couple of notes on his xylophone
lfft1zs1 zhingzii (used before a verb to to end the announcement.
denote action in progress)

7:' :ri
"swoop"
The unicorn finds a cocoon on the path,
one -(l) + cocoon z.(:,lul : swoop 6 and isjust about to investigate when a bird
swoops down to pluck it from under his
nose. / [No pronunciation neededl

6
Radical
- "z'
yun 4 skokes
cloud
A bird is teasing the unicorn, swooping
one + swoop 5(56a) = cloud under its tummy. but each time the unicorn
-(r) Zi
looks round the bird hides in a cloud. /
llternatively, this character could be broken The fairy is so impressed she makes the
.down into "two" plus "cocoon". If, looking bird an honorary member of her aviators'
at the character, this alternative seems more union-
natural to you, then feel lree to make up a
story accordingly. For example, you could
have a biplane pilot flying along, who sees
a flufli cocoon floating in the sky until
he realizes that it is a cloud. -
Badical 1- 2:
..; -lr.

J5 #il,",,
7 slrokes

The road is obscured by a cloud of dust

mad L(l6al + cloud Z(so) = i5 as the big transport tlucks ro11 past. ,/ ffte
dwarf (cowred in clust) calls after them,
"I'll get the union on to you!"
CHAPTER 5 56

sB Radicd h 'z ,..1 i))

6 strokes
CJ *:l: A tornado cloud has the power to move
cloud zi,>r,r * power ,/1, r"' = move r,ll almost anylhing. / It can even knock the
dwarf off his donkey.
The previous two characters formed a mini-
phonetic series, but this character breaks
the pattern. This shows that phonetic series
are not to be relied upon!

Er,ll,s-, yirnddng physicctl.l exercise

lzif f orr ddng snb.u b start work]

-A
.L-

combine
The unicorn hides in his tent, frightened
by the combine harvester working nearby.
tent,\(l9b) + one -(r) = combine .a / [No prorunciation needed]

Radical -
/\
.;-'-
7- it
6 hui
meeting
6 strokes

(The captain of the birds' aerobatic

display team is speaking) "lfwe
are going
combine -a-(:qa) * swoop 6(56a) =
to combine our swooping maneuvers we
need to have a meeting to discuss how
Alternatively, this character could be split we will do it;' / The ghost$ dwarf (safety
into "tent" plus "cloud" (see the cornment fficer) is organizing the hay (to qct as a
for Character 56). From now on, we won't sa{ety cushion).
keep pointing these alternatives out.
Another meaning ofthis character is "to tll,Arrot jihui chqnce, opportunity
know how to". [tAf+a dnhui congress, assembly]
The pronunciation of this character is -*)h,zl yihtir (in) a monlent
something like "hway" the u on-glide is
- "w". See the
pronounced like the English
remarks after this character entry.

To signal a u on-glide, as in Chamcter 59, we have a ghostly archetype. We try to give ghostly
figures a guarding or protecting role in the stories. When you find a ghostly archetype, add in
the "rv" soun( e.g. converting a "go" sound to "gwo". (Recall our discussion ofi on-glides after
Character 38).

Test]ourself: (1,r,, ftur, ftror, Eirrt 4toot *o,, jaoa

;(1+sr Ersr [$1rsr t,oq n',r, 'fllrt E,,,
 57 CHAPTER 5

t;;:-
60a
+ x

The unicorn (telling the story of Excalibur)

one I l, + earlh Lrs,u,:king t sticks his hom into the earth, then
withdraws it with
a flourish to demonstrate
how the young Arthur became king. ,/ /Va
pronunciation needed]

6ob I
T| \^ jaa.
.,u a .j,

The king is out jogging and as each drop

king I1ooul + a \ (22a) : ade S. of sweat touches the ground it turns to
jade. / [No pronunciation needed]
This is similar to the situation for A
(Character 48). In tr the drop is low down another character you'll meet later (s
in the character, and the story reflects this. Chaructet 297), which has a drop on top of
This is to keep it distinct in your mind lrom a king.

60
gu6
Radical
8
I
strokes I ti i'i tri E Iri rii
country
The iade crown is enclosed in a theft-
enclosed [12+o1 * jade trtoort = proof case at the exhibition as it is a very
country El important part of the counlry's heritage.
/ The legendary ghostly fairy who came
Here is another ghostly archetype, indicat- from the Gobi desert guards it.
ing the pronunciation is closer to "gwo"
than "go" (see the text following Character
5 9).

[f Ea:t zhonggn6 Chinal

Because we are cove ng the most common characters early

.rn in the book, we've already covered almost a quarter ofthe
.haracters you'll find in an average piece of Chinese text! Of
.rrurse, you won't be able to understand the average piece of
:e\t yet
in English the most common words are "and", "the"
and so on, and knowing these wouldn't enable you to rcad
English either However, you are on your way now and most
-.f the "mystery" and "fear of the untnown" should be gone.
Bv now we hope you'Il agree that there is actually nothing to
.rop you learning as many charactem as you likel
 Chapter 6
Some characters have minor variations betf,een typefaces which are not significant. For
example, in the character for "moon" below, the two small horizontal lines almost meet the far
side ofthe character, but in the main chamcter entry (next page) the lines da reach the whole
way across. The characters on these "basics pages" are also slightly "italic" compared with the
main character entries. This will help you to recognize characters in these different fonts.

A
moon

horns
1 lT-l
comolete
.lwoR\l | ,rxrsutr

__l

1
'
words
wYtttLn
\rr

)l
knife
r Radical }]
59

il .':i
CHAPTER 6

E il"", 4 slrokes )

/
.i t)

Yott are out walking at night when the

L: .i.ruld normally class this as a DIY moonlight fctlling on a wheel lights up the
r. -:iiation (one you have to memorize
. dwarfwho is sitting on it. "That you, eh? "
:{ ,.rur own as there is no reasonable he --hispers gruffy.
r:r-r.r.rord available in English). For most
:i::..e. it will be simplest if you just leam Occasionally E is distorted into f (but
:': ::,\nuncialion. rather than us inrenting we won't see this happening until much
i '.j^ rrick each time. But we'lltry ro gire later, in Chapter 16).
.,- ...me help when we can.
[-,!p1 iryui February)
-.'r
e sa\\, that the character for "sun" also
::<::-. 'day" (Character 6), and in a similar l-- fi61 sanyti Marchl
r':'. :he character for "moon" also means
_::,:rth'. [=tBo, rst sdn ge yui three monthsl

E Radical
strokes
E
) ,1 I 1
,) j|1 ):ii i)ii

llrll ff;?,...
8

"Why did you buy two moon-shaped

balloons?" her mother asks. "Because
Etol + moon Erort =
the first moon needed another moon as a
companion flfl
companion," the little gir1 says. / But just
;::t p6ngy6n friend then one ofthe moons gets punctured, but
'i iilr::.:st p'ngydnmen Jriends (before the child can start to cry) the fairy
quickly.flies ove4 flicks her wqnd, qnd itb
as goocl as new.

63 Radical E )' I
E ./a tq'
6 strokes
n:*
{', ro,ryMlrE
11*,,1
kft hand I-t::a) * moon ,[ loiy : have f _ ._l Y*
P]
.:-:s means both "have", "possess" and the
-:,:ersonal "there is" or "there exists". l( i,u
t'; ll tv

i--r
1

| =-lot1 yblude some

€ Jlrr+t yduli strong, forcefull
-l
"Why is there a moon onthe left hand side
ol every picture?" the girl's mother asks.
"Because I only have a moon stencil," the
girl replies. / kddy practices his fayofite
yoga posture (and says "llhy not draw me
instead? " )
CHAPTER 6 60

64a -J- 't

Z( ffi',*
Yet again, as in i (49) and i (54a), the secontl stroke of this character is longer than
the first. This is another occasion where it does matter. because we shall be meetins the
character fr. (793a) larer.
It is unfortunately true that some small details like this do matter, whereas other small
differences don't as mentioned at the start ofthis chapter We will do our best to draw
-
attention to the differences that matter and you will soon get used to these; you will also
soon be routinely recognizing minor vadants ofthe same character

Radicat i ( t 1 rl. i)a r>

mel 8 strokes
younger sister
(Two lads in the pub) "What about that
woman ;f * not yet {1r+uy = woman over there she's not yet mar-
1r sy
-
ried," says one. "You can't fancy her, sheh
sister {ft
my younger sister!" his mate replies.,/
There is no character in Chinese for "sister"; 'Anyway the dwarf has his eye on her, and
instead we have this character for "younger he s a Major."
sister" and another one (Character 444) for
"older sister". The same thing happens lor
brothers.

4t{fr mBimei younger sister

\/
horns

The "horns" usually come at the top ol a character (but not always see the following
character). -
Radical
- ,:1..
/.
7 strokes

The stags are going off on their hunt,

horns ' ,0.a, * not yel k,o4a,: come &
but the fawn is too young. "Your horns
are not yet grown so you cannot come
J,fi.gz1 shdnglii come up yet," he is told. / The fairy (who comes to
T*t4a xie di come down babysit him) fxes up lights to qmuse him
and guide the returning hunters.

Testyourself: l(rro, Ao.a {$1+el -Xur, frur,ftr,, ,|,,r,

F.ul i,rur *n, Ao, !fu,rot El ., ,tjJ,ru
 61 CHAPTER 6

s Radical
-_
le; liio 2 strokes J

1. transition
2. complete
\:iice how this differs from "child"
---.rr-acter l7); here there is no third stroke
tr:ush the middle.
This is our second pair of Wild West and
ra;eship stories (see Character 54); in this
:i-.< it is a pair of "wheel" stories.
le is a particle which comes at the end of
r --rtence to mark a transition, such as the
::i:Dletion of an action, or the emergence
:i: new situation. li5o means "to complete"
rr "finish with (something)". For the
:;:-Jcter picture we've used "complete"
re neaning.
1.
* / For the expedition to the new plqnet,
the robot hqs brought plenty ofspare wheels
so thqt he can change them wheneyer there
is a transition to a dillerent sort of brrain
just his luck that this is a water world!
-
2.
*t gne stugecoach has broken down)
When the repairs to the wheel are complete
the two teddies rush around calling loudly
to the passengers to get back on board.
as

, iL
At the mouth ofthe cave the boy is acting
mouth I r:t + boy JLtzr) = as a look-out for his older brother (who
older brother fl has sneaked inside to see what's in there)-
/ [No pronunciation neededJ
-:::e is also another character for "older
:.::her" which we'11 meet presently.

; ,;i
dui
to convert
"Ifound these horns," the littlb girl says,
Lorns \/(65a) + older brother Etrrul = holding them up proudly. "My older
convert H, brother is going to convert them into
something for me to play with;' / [No
pronunciation neededl

I-:.
t\
words

common component, which appears on the left-hand side

1

of characters, is a
. ::rlification ofthe character fr which we'll meet later (Character 375). In our stories we
-,-f,lly refer to words which are written down rather than spoken.
CHAPTER 6 62

67 \ \/ Radical 1,
'l:L
t ',,i'

],fl :il' I strokes

(A new aid for blind people has been

words i (oz.t * convert H,to;ut: say
Another ghostly archery?e (see the text
after Character 59), which means "sho"
lrom the soundword is changed into "shuo".
We won'l mcntion this erery rime it occurs
from now on.
ijl invented) 'Al1 you have to do is run this
gadget over the written words and it will
convert lhem into signals uhich ir can
then say out loud." I The ghostly giant
(who is the guardian of this new device)
shows the blind people how to use it.

lzlij.j{1soy xiioshu o a novell

H lt l1
F--1 yours truly

five tr(36) + mouth E tst = yours truly E'

A literary character for ".[" or "we".
'it o0
4
l/
I]

The starfish puts the pen nib in his

mouth to lick it, and signs off the letter
with a flourish, "Yours truly." ./ 1,Vo
pronunciation neededl

68 \ -l- Badical 1
't -l t'
1fl v,i I strokes
Lff i*gu,g"
tl (Writing a letter to your bank manager)
words j. * yours truly You try to think of the colrect words to
1er"y Etosut =
finish with, and eventually write "Yours
truly" thinking that this is the sort
Notice the pouring rain: the "u" sound in -
of language lhat is expected,. / Teddy,
"yu" is really "ii" (see Character l5). realizing that the letter is finally .finished,
cries "Eureka! " (although itb pouringwith
tr i#rst k6uyn spoken language rain so he'll get soaking wet posting it).
fi ifr1ry Riyi Japanese (anguage)
 63 CHAPTER 6

,{! )
e\rening

-'
- nal stroke is written in a downwards direction.

E Radical f
6 strokes
**:,
(Walking along the pier each night)
rtning l1ooal * evening p 6o.l: many fi The friendly policeman 5a)s "Evening.
eyening" to the many couples he passes.
.- l1) dudme Hott,..?: Hov ..! / He even stops to call "Good evening" to
'::. :r, r duoyfin c/oudvl the ghostly giant v*o guqrds the dome at
the end ofthe pier

-: Radical ,

E::tz 6 strokes

(The worried young man is looking for

rst :
his girlfriend) By evening he had reacherl
.n <ning 9rolro) + mouth E name f, the mouth of the cave and called out her
- r nteans "name" in the normal sense of name. / The fairy brought her otrt, having
- ::one's name, but also in the sense of conjured up a mink coat to keep her
''.::e or "repute". wqrm.

:a o-rr yduming famous, well known

Radicd p
.7 il .i,s

fl'm:,." 5 strokes

:. ening f (osul+ fortune teller [. 1,r::,y =

outside iF
' -.1ttt wdibian outside
' ;i,es1 wiiyi foreign language
'- -{ ::t wiiw6n Jbrcign (titten) language
t,or whigu6 foreign counrry
-'l'r:sr ziiwhi cxcludedl In the evening (ailer a hard day's work)
'., r:, wiiren outsider. snangcrl the fortune teller likes to sit outside (and
tl I.,"r,. t:, wirigudrdn loreignetl enjoy the fresh air). / The dwarf./i"on the
next stall comes oyer to share her bottle ol.
wi e (he s too stingy to buy his ottn!)
CHAPTER 6 64

72 Radicat )J
1 )J
)J *- 2 strokes

/ The giant fxed a knife to the wheel as

When appearing on the right-hand side of instructed, but he had grave doubts about
composite characters, this takes the form whether it would really cul the crops as it
{ (see 74a). rolled along.

l)JAol ddozi knifel

73
ii
Radical/\
4 strokes
,? it
rmt
The octopus, with a knife in each tentacle,
/\(20) + knife llrzzr : division A divides the huge pizzas into lots of equal
pieces. ,/ The giant (who is on his tea
This can bE a verb, "to divide", or a noun break) finds it great fun to watch.
meaning a small division of something
it is used for a hundredth of a yran or a
minute (of time).

t jlr+r shifEn totally, 10094

74a
I

U knire

When "knife" appears as the right-hand side ofcomposite characters, it takes this form.

74b ---- I 2
+ rhi
I ^ until
The birds (following the farmer sowing
his seeds) swoop down to the earth one
5(56a) + earth a.Olai = until E after another until there are no seeds left.
/ [No pronunciation neededl

74 Radicat l]
8 slrokes
3U m"
Until the magic knife has finished trim-
until E(;+ut + knifs I]17,1o1 : arrive 5l]
ming the decorations it is not safe for the
guests to arrive. /I/re dwarf says, "l have
grave doubts about the safety of using
magic knites."
.' 65 CHAPTER 6

*"'o'"""., ff:''"#" I ? lr,

6U
person { 1r:,y * arrive fUg+t =
topple; invert 'P(
-::: rve have two meanings, and two
:- .:nciarions. but the pronunciations
r::r only in tone so they share the same
- different archetypes.
r:-:drvord but havc
, . .i ith Wild West/spaceship characters,
:,: --hoice of which meaning/pronunciation
. ::propriate will depend on the context.
:.rr rh rs rype ofcharacter lthcrc are nine
:: :ris book) we will use f/rr .!et stories.
a:-r one takes place or the film set ol a
:.-.:cular movie, and has two parts. The
--.: part is a normal slor). leading ro a
-::ring, soundword and archefype
,:.|,1
l,J
ffi Harry arrives on the fllm set ol a
"Harry Potter" film, just as a burning
candle topples over (and threatens to
set light to eveq.,thing). / Teddy ties to
douse the fames by flicking water Jrom cr
.fire bucket. But the dwarf shows hin how
to douse it properly. 1 "Invert the whole
bucket over the fire, like this," he says.
ln the second part the second archetype
introduces the second meaning (rer.nember,
the soundword is the same). So if, when
you see a character and the story you recall
based on its parts takes place on a film set,
then you know that the character has two
possible rneanings. r.r ith pronuncirtions
as usual. that differ only in tone.

,- :naY feel that with Wild West stories, ghostiy dwaNcs and so on, and now film
set stories, this
. seltirlg too complicated. But film set stories are the lasl complication (honestl) antl only apply
. =\\ characte$ anyway. After this you canjust sit back for the rest ofthe book.
\iu have already learncd 75 characters, including all 20 of
:'r '-TLrp
20" most frequent chaEctcrs in Chinese. The initial
:: ofchat-acters being "impenetrabie squiggles" is behind
:'rs

-- lnd characters won't be scary ever again. Now you are

.- ,.rur stride, all you need to do is to kcep goirg, slowly and
r:-::l). Resist the tempration to race ahead: instead choose a
-,::.t schedule and stick to it, and rcmember to visualize the
: ::. rather thanjust reading them and passing on.
ftis stage, if you were learning chaructcrs by t.ote.
...:
- .rould be ruDning into the "too many and yet too fow"
---:.em: you would know too few chaEcters as yet to read
: .ese. but at the same time too rnany to keep them clear in
-: head. Well, the fimt palt of this is srill true for you, but
:': iicond part shouldn't be, ilyou have been visualizing the
' .3i. Think about it how many hundreds of movies have
-
- ieen and yet you can still remember rvhich js which. and
":.r happens in cach?

rest r-oursell': ffi100, llor, [f 1eor E,,, E,,u, fi,u., Fu,,

Z<lbi) 8,u,, T n'0, {firir
 Chapter 7

On this page (as on the "basics" pages at the staft ofprevious chapters) we have a mixture
of "obvious" character pictures (such as "nail" and "cover") and others which are not
(such as "car"). For the non-obvious ones, pay particular attention to what the various
strokes correspond to in the character picture, so that when you see the character on its
own you can imagine the character picture drawn around it.

. ,-:1:-
*r/
'4.,:'-,--
T
.

y 1'
-.' I
rVrl .

water
ti. :
-,4/ )i(ii:: nail
'tfL-../.1"'r.!-

hands
cover reaching
down

,
+ )+
car two hands

-1-f
FI
_E]-
I

ear beret
r Radical
-
67

f' ;\
CHAPTER 7

XiH", 4 slrokes

The unicorn was so big that his horn

seemed to touch the heavens. / But he
one -(r) + big J(1+ri = heaven ft made an ideal umpire for the fieo giants
-.---ir common meanings for this character playing tennis (as he was tall enough to
x-: 'sky", "day" and "weather". see clearly what was going on).

- - baitian daytimel
=- =i2)
1 tientien every day)

-7 Radical E I J
) rJ 'r:i') itil
8 strokes
EH ;rn It's the sun shining on the moon that
+ moon makes it bright. / The fairy likes to wear
sun [l1oy Erert: bright EE
her mink shawl in the bright moonlight.
: , 1,-oy mingtian tomorrow
;- =:, r;r shuoming explqin, explanation

-:3 \7
-{
I water

l::s very common fragment is an abbreviation ofthe character /( which we'l1 meet later
--:raracter 523) it takes this form when appearing as the left-hand part of composite
:1f,racters. Note -that the flnal stroke is written in an upwards direction.

?8 Badical l
iI [H.,.,.*"
5 slrokes
I i1

+ right hand n(s2) =

(7sa)
Han Chinese ln
]. e Han Chinese are the majodty ethnic
,::oup in China.

i iEresr Hirny Chinese (angtnge)

They sprinkle water on their right hands
before shaking hands to demonstrate
that they are IIan Chinese. / The dwarf
is reaching up his hand so that he can be
included (because he doesn't like to miss
out on things).
CHAPTER 7 68

7ga

)t l;;:,
1 ):

"Man has two types of power: physical

mouth E (s) + power h1qt= other
Sometimes (in older t)pefaces) you may see
the "power" part of this character replaced
by "knife" (Character 72).
fl strength is one, but "mouth power", the
power of persuasion, is the other." ,/ lNo
pronunciation neededl

79 naaicat ll
1 / i;r irl
fr U bi6
don't
7 strokes

"Use the other knife, don't use that one,

other fl1;*) + knife l1r+4 = tr61'1 5! we haven't sharpened it yel." / Two fairies
hold a belt between them to sharpen the
This character is another one meaning knives on.
"other", but it is also used colloquially as
a negative imperative, in phrases such as
"Don't touch !".

Et)f,\e:t bi6de other

it]_/r,rr:t bi6r6n other people

80 Radical { ( ) :;ir -.i.1

trRr 6 strokes

f itsl + mouth E tst : if lE

woman

6l[rst btr( not as (goo(l) qs

The woman stands at the mouth of the

cave, hesitating, "it looks if! to me" she
says. / The fairy flutters over and gives her
a magic ruby to keep her safe.

81a
) I
7 step forward
Harry is standing at the bottom of the
slide,/(lab) + person ,f 1t:01 :
slide ready to step forward and catch
any children who are going too last. /,?y'o
forward I pronunciation neededl
 69 CHAPTER 7

,,
i {Il1g l
nail
",
: ru will also see this used to mean fourth in a sequence, much as (d) or (iv) arc used in
::g1ish.

!'.
-r .J footstcp
.l

The unicorn has a nail stuck in his hoof

so you can hear his footsteps clattcring
one '(r) + nail Ttsrr,t: Ibotstep i when lre's walking along the road. / [No
:rs is a distorted lorm of 81a (step pronuncialion neededl'
' rrald) and combines with it 10 lbrm thc
: -'\l character.
.1 /,r Badical i
/J xing; h:ing 6 strokes
l J

IJ r.oK 2line t.
$ The sherifflooks up and clown the street
forward .f 1srr1 -l lbotstep before he dares to step forward, but then
step 1-rrr.1
ho thinks he hears a footstep behind him.
= OK ;ir
He whirls round .. . but rt's OK. / Itb just
the fairy.fixing up a shingle at the doctor s
: step forward .,i 1sr,1 * footstep 1-1sr"y
house (and she d dropped it).
= tine 1f
::: Character 5,+ if you need reminding 2.
- -.ur the significance of Wild West and g (Outside the sickbay, the morning after
r=ceship stories. the planefleaving party). You are about to
The two halves of this character can step forward into the sickbay r.vhen you
--.;ket other characters between them (see hear a footstep behind you. You look back
:lracter 710 for an example). and see a long line ofpeople queueing up.
/ The fairy is well kno--n for her hangover
' ;1rrr birxing not qllowed, not OIq cures !
':f1js) xingddng to mote; behaviorl

COVCI

:ice the difference between this and "to bow" (5la): "cover" is much flatter.
CHAPTER 7 '70

\\/
hands reaching down

82c
\'t/
"unveil"
Imagine row ofpeople lined up along the
a
roof of a new building the band strikes
hands reaching down "/ (82b)
P
+ -
up below then their hands reach down to
cover -(82a) = unveil
pull on a cover to unveil the company's
name on its new headquarters. / [No pro-
nunciation neededl

A+ Radical f '1' ,:l

-f, xu6
study
8 strokes

(At the opening ofthe new college) a local

unveil s(sz") * child Ttra : study Y celebrity unveils a statue of a child in
lront of the main building the child is
Jtitt+ dixu6 university
-
studying a book. / [DIY pronunciation]
F #r::l zhdngxu6 high school

I#t:st w6nxu6 literuture

Badical F /: +
ch€ 4 strokes
car l=Hl
lr / giant is changing the wheel on his
The
This character can mean any vehicle: a car, car, but he is careless when he takes the
bus, train, etc. old wheel olfand it rolls dov,n the hill and
demolishes the church!

84 \-l- 1-

It
Radlcal
7 strokes
li:t...,
Imagine an isolated stretch of road with
road L(:eo) * car f ts:r : linked up jf a single car on it that can't go arywhere
because the road isn't linked up to the
E...8...,r' li6n A yi B even A i.' does B highway system yel. / The boo fairies take
pity on the owner and magic up some
dried lentils to use as gravel to make a
temporary road sudace.
 11 CHAPTER 7

)^ .rr
two hands

a5 Badical Jf )' ,l
f ff:.
4 slrokes

The unicorn is looking for the secret

,oe 'o) + two hands fl-(ssut : T passageway and comes across two hands
painted on the rock face. "This must mean
. --:. also means to start, or operate (e.g. to that it needs two hands lo open rt." / He
: -.1 a car).
looks around qnd sees the giant's kite
flying nearby he will be perfect for the
= i:) keixu6 begin (school term) job. -
=
=!rs:l kai che to drive a carl

5 l^ Radical t ;
_J_ qr, 5 strokes
-l -/-

.4\ go
i Earth covers hercocoon so the butterfly
earth * is getting worried. "I won't be able to go
t(s+u) coco61 r1:+uy = go *
when the time comesl' she thinks. / Then,
>- Character 15 for a reminder about what miraculously it starts to pour with rqin and
-:.rrring rain" stories signilz. the earth is washed away, but the dwarf
park attendqnt now mistakes the cocoon
, a.,.+:1 shingqit ro go ap for a piece of chewing gum qnd puts it in
- : .t:r xiiqir to go down his rubbish sack!

17 \i_l- Radical j .;l .l.I:. L ..t.,

i
Yli i:- 8 strokes

Water always goes anti-clockwise down

* the plughole that's a law of physics. /
rvater J 1zsal go *tsot = larv E "Far out," says Teddy.
3:r:use of its sound this character is also
---d to mean "France",

=.=,68) FIy French (anguage)

: i,ri) Fiw6n (written) French
-- r=ro8l yUIa grqm tar
CHAPTER 7 72

88a r--l- ,l I .l
fi-o,.
t. :,.

I ear

Note the stroke order here it often seems to catch people out.
-
88 Radical $ l
rj :J ri
I strokes I

HI:;,,,"
ear $rsi") * right hand !1s:1 :
R

; (The seffet agent has been waiting for

ages for his contact to show up). When
the contact furally arrives they shake
hands and he whispers in the agenth ear,
"You must acquire the secret plans to the
military base," and then he walks away. ,/1l
stqrts to pour with rain so Teddy is keen to
go, because hei getting soaking wet and
his chewing gum hqs run out.

Sga _-*,..
"berct"

This is our name for the gently slanting stroke found at the top of some characters, such
as the next one. The stroke is drawn from dght to left.

89 Radical +
qran 3 strokes I
thousand
(Pich.[e a war-grave cemetery at the site
.' : of a commando landing) rows and rows
beret (Sea) + ten tt+t thousand f -
ofcrosses with a regimental beret on each
This is also used in a general sense to mean one a thousand in neat rows. / [DIY
"numetous". pronunciqtionJ
This is another "Do lt Yourself" (DIY)
pronunciation. There are something like in India which used to be called Madras). If
fifty DIY pronunciations scattered through you have two giants from Chennai, make
the book. sure to give them some distinctive clothes or
I f 1ou do want lo construct a pronuncia- some other memorable features !
tion pa of this story for yourself then you
will need a soundword for "chen". lfit helps, []-fot sdnqidn three thousanc[
the nearest we can find is "Chennai" (the city
 CHAPTER 7

\r^
"feet"

fl r'l B Jl arl

\, Radical /\
I stmkes I ll rl t.lr it{
HU ff11",,",

DIY pronunciation (see Character

y qi6nbien front, infront of

T.styourselr: 9fir,, *", A,rot B,ru, f5|lnl iE., filk,nt

E{ra iEru'r j$*0, 9run, to,, Xnur #.,r.r,

!*'ve had a few characte$ now where we've said that alternative sto es are possible in one
(Character 56) we've even given one. Altemative stories ale flne, and not only where there is
-
r altemative way ofbreaking a character down into basic building blocks. They are also pefectly
rcptable if you simply don't like one of the stories for any reason and in particular if you have
lnblems visualizing or remembering it. At the end ofthe book we will give some hints for making
qr your own stories (for characterc beyond this book) but the main tips are to make the stories as
rivid and quirky as you can bizarre or silly even
-and to make sule the parts ofthe story interact
- -
igether (mther tharjust sitting there side by side, as it were).
 Chapter 8

Quite often there will be pairs of basic building blocks which are very similar to one
another An example is the pair "west" and "whisky bottle" below. So that you can compare
them, we have tried to put such pairs together in the same chapter. Clearly it,s a good idea
when you are learning these to pay particular attention to the parts ofthe characters where
any differences lie, so that you will remember which is which.

*
H
house

@
,).t_

mound/citv .
" ' l'r :," _fu
w
west

-l
inch 3.ffi
 75 CHAPTER 8

r-?
house

x
ltuse '-rstu) * woman
an
peace

krtsi:
Radical
6 strokes
;'

E
;. -,
The woman is alone in the house at last.
and looking forward to some peace and
quiet. 'Bal the giant \tdrts w,orking on
- 1 lr-u. l-, I lan anmen l lanqttmen his anvil next door, and there is peace no
.::, ,,f Heavenly Peok) in Beijingl ruore !
+
P-, Radical
l
f zi
Chinese character
6 strokes

The child has to stay in the house to learn

house
AioLuy +
childftr;t = /
her Chinese characters. She recites
them out loud until the dwrf b.tbysitter
Chinese character 7
dozes ofl, anJ when she hear.' rhe "zzz"
-rr Hinzi Chinese charctcter sounds she sneaks out to play.
-.rr mingzi name, given name

T3 Radical
mi 5 slrokes
EJ
n ii ij :
eye
/ In the factory the dwarf keeps his qte on
miqiin at present the wheel. He s in e bad mood (because
the relief shift hasn't turned up yet) .

$r Radicar fl
I ;i l:
H 3',
6 strokes

"You'll need to put a drop of this in your

(22a) + eye Elts:t :
eye," the doctor sai{ "but you'll have to
a drop \ self E
do it yourself. ,/ 1 ca n heqr from lhe "zzz"
-r : .-are not to confuse this character with sound that my dwarf assistant is asleep
' " ::e" (Character 22). again."

:: :l:sr ziddng automatic)

,: ' . f rsr, s:1 z\xingch bicycle
CHAPTER 8 76

es E
[Hn
Radical
I strckes

The two friends stand at the mouth ofthe

mouth [ 1:1 * self E fs4t : rve [H cave. "I'm not going in there by myself,"
she says. "You don't have to, we'll go
This is used in
sifurations where "we', together," says her friend. / "If we donl
includes both the speaker and the person go in, we won't.find out v'hat the fqiry has
being spoken to. brought back from Zanzibar Jbr us."

llfiifll:r1 zinmen v'e (inclutling you)

mound; city

This is the only component whose meaning depends on where it appears in a chamcter.
When it'.s on the left it means "mound", but when it's on the right it means ,,city,,. Examples
of each follow in the next f'ew characters. We realise that this is conlusing but because
everyone else observes this distinction. we will too. The situation arose because is an I
abbreviation of two completely different older characters, one which always appeared on
the left and another which always appcared on the right. A similar situation applies to a
f'ew other chalacters, but modern Chinese doesn't distinguish between them so you don,t
have 10 w6r1y about thosel
Nowadays this fiagment is regarded as being written with only two stokes, but
traditionally it was classed as having three strokes.

eo Radicat lj 1
I rl
6strokes
FEI f,i:",".
When the sun shines, the creatures that
mound + sun fl = in the live in the mound come out into the open.
[(qha) 1o1
/ The fairy visits the mound in the day-time
IH
to develop her yang side.
It's best to read this and the next story
together. Yin and yang (this character and choice about male chauvinism!). In the
the lollowing onet are the two opposrng stories the fairy and the giant are getting
forces in Taoist philosophy. Yang is the in touch with their masculine and leminine
force associated with being overt, in the sides, respectively.
sun, positive and masculine; and yin with
rhirrgs hidden or occulr. cloudl. negatir c or t[Hr+st t]iydng thesutt: sunshine
feminine (insert here a comment of vour
 7'7 CHAPTER 8

t7 Radical
6 stJokes
I 1
li i) ;tjl
j:t:

llEI ilr."
When the moon is up, the creatures
burrow into the mound so that they are
[te,jut + moon ,Etort:
hidden hidden. / The giant now comes qt night-
FE
time, to develop his yin sicle.
i 71r;ot yintian a cloudy dayl

r!a 'l
)
furs

r Radicat ll
6 strokes
'l .l ): :j( I

Xl3 l:,
Every time she sees a fur coat in a shop
+ that n[ window in the city she says, "That one,
fu rs {(.rsrl Irqr,"r =
I want that one." / The dwarf is well qnd
-::i character can (colloquially) also be truly Jbd up with this. "It:t enough to drive
r::.ounced nii. you to narcotics," he grumbles.

:- - 19) ndge that ctne

:- -- l) nime ,so. in thet n\anner
i, _ ]) n r there (spoken)
: - -rlr.l r) r:^dbian that sidel

x) RadicalE ',1
)' ':11 ;rl',

E[ m,:rt'
I skokes

riiiacconcs\
mouth E (5) + that nlJeil = which' BII -\,
l--rs character can also (colloquially) be
:r:nounced n6i. 1,.
It also has another role. for which the "'l::
::rnunciation is na with neutral tone. This s.
i.i
; :rplained later (see [[r], Character 143).
(At the dentist) She opens her mouth and
{- lLr:rl nir where (spoken) points to a tooth, "It's that one which
i.'- 1- pt ndge *-hichl huns." "Which?" asks the denlisr (peering
morc closely). / Teddy, trying to be helpful,
has brtnryht along soma norcotics itt cose
.she needs .gome..
CHAPTER 8 78

Radicalr'
'oo strokes
ffi;'.,,
6

/ The enormous ,eheel that hangs on the

When this character appears at the top of west gate of the ci4t is the perfect size for
other characters, the central two strokes are the gidnt to use as a shield (so he pinches
compressed into short vertical lines: this it,
happens in the next character.

Eilt,rrl xibidn the west side

[E?tsrt XT'dn Xiqn (the ciy)l
101 Radical E'
yaoi yao I strokes
want: ask for
ffi As a Western woman alone in an
* Eastern culture, think of the King of
west @1roo; woman f 1rs; =
Siam's tutor in "The King and I"
ask for 4 so
this is a film set story As the director- calls
This is the second example of a character "Cut!" for the innpteenth time, the actress
with two pronunciations, which share the playing the leading role shouts, "What
same spelling and differ only in tone. Recall do you want ftom me?" / She storms of
that this is signalled by a film set story: so stepping on the dwarf's foot, causing him
the two meanings are associated with two lo shout "yeow!" For good meesure she
different archeq.pei (see Character 75). also kicks the gfuntb foot and he says
''Yeow! ' too
When it usesthe lourth tone this character - (but more in *rprise
can sometimes bc used uirh anorher ierb. than pain). \ 'All I did was ask for her
it then means "must" or "have to". autograph!" he complains.

li$p1 briyiro Don 1r ...

4Eoor yioshi /

'o*
H l'i1.oroo,,,"

Radical ]
'o' I ;l ,n ,il ..,i1;
irii .'.is

iH ii;.",
r
10 strokes

They had put water in the whisky bottle,

water 1 * pretending it was liqtl,or. / The two teddies
lraoy whisky bottle Eltrouot =
passedthe bottle between them (pretend.ing
o. iE
to be drunk) and thought this 1,ras a greqt
[iEtIir rr jinbei wine glussl joke.
 79 CHAPTER II

,., /!
A ;:T
Radical
4 sirokes
i) il

Harry unwraps the large parcel , and

{1r:1 } person /trr:t : from },( inside is a statue ol IIarry himself. He
looks through the packaging to see who
\ote the second stroke, which is truncated it's from. / [DIY pronunciation]
rto a drop. This is a rare occasion when
-person" on the left-hand side ofa character
:oes not take the fom ,f
For pronunciations beginning with "c"
--e the note for Character 104 below.

'.i....fU...17a) c6ng A dho B fromAtoB

"i,ffi1roy c6ngqi6n rie pasl
f ,![ts+l zic6ng since (a time/date)
'04a-?_'l--LI
II cun l
J inch

\ote that the veftical stroke is offcenter and has a hook at the end.

'*
ff
Badical
7 strokes l /: 'i 4' ,] i'l
^
;xi:-"
They have to measure the girth ofthe tree
in inches, to check that it will be the right
tree fr1roay * inch ttro+o = village ft size for the village sqtarc. / The giant has
l:.rnunciations begiruring with "c" (unless olfered to erect it for them and it will look
::r begin "ch") give us a problem: the stunning once it is decorated.
e:er "c" in the Pinyin system stands for
:: sound "ts", but hardly any English pronunciation. There are l4 such characters
r .:ds begin with "ts". Our solution to this in the book; the next one isn't until Chapter
:r::lem is to use soundwords which begin 15.
-.:- instead. So if a soundword begins
'.: ' ) ou must reverse the s and t to get the [ttAut cnnzi villagel

'" Radical E j::-

ril
Hf
1
7 strokes
tH"
The sundial is marked out in inches to tell
the time. / Thefairy is sitting on it smoking
[l1oy * inch
sun ';J-tto+at: time [f
a cheroot!
:j,:01 xiloshi /roar
--,iro:t y6ushi sometimesl
CHAPTER 8 80

106 \ l- Radical l-
6 strokes
U,*J:.".,
road L,:u,' + inch ,f qto,uy: cross

[*to:l guirl6i
if,*tsot gudqt
come dcross
in the pqst
i{
-*w-F
"' -6 (:\ ;
\
The snail on the road can only travel an
inch every hour so it takes all day to cross
lhe road. / The ghostly dwarf, whois been
assigned to protect him, urges him on,
"Go, go, go!" (he wants to get home for
his tea).

,r, Radicat fl
H "{:; 7 strokes

/ (The railway has been attacked and there

It is worth wdting this character a few times is a gap in the tracks over the bridge). The
to get the hang ofthe stroke order giant lets the wheels of the train run over
his body and saves the day but he s nou'
shln set olf @n journey)) too tired to go back to his usual
- job of
ldJ$oar dirng
l$tstqrt shEnbiin on one s personf shunting cariages.

'ou'$$ I
I 'ai
-n i:- il
;l:n"",
The sniper moves his bodv forward an
body 9, rnz, + inch -J ,roq"' = shoot 9:l inch at a time until he has a clear view and
can shoot at his targ et. / [No pronunciation
Note that the flnal stroke of "body" gets neededl
truncated here-

"' iEf ffi.* Badical l,

'12 strokes
i,il
i
,41
!
.1 jil ),i
,rt in rrf

words i (ez.) * shoot $'J(roaa) = thank iqt The bank robbers had used their guns to
shoot holes in the bank's door spelling out
tiiti4t'f6orr xiixie ni thank youl the words "thank you" before they left. /
The two dwarves agree to let them stash
the money in their shed until the heat is
off. (Try to visualize both of the dwarves
Ane is holding open the shed
-door,maybe
while yhe other one keeps a look out
for the cops'!)
 Chapter 9
:he character picture for "of" on this page is a great example of how character pictures
::n work their magic.
Ifyou just look at the shape of the character / on its own, does it suggest "of,,? No,
.: doesn't. But ifyou look at the character picture for a moment, and then look back to the
:traracter itself, don't you now immediately see the prow ofa ship and the swell ofa wave
:n the ocean? This image is now probably with you for life, reminding you of the ship,s
:.rme "Pride ofthe Seas". Ifthis works for you, then the character picture has done itsjob!
:te fact that the character doesn't actually have anything to do with ships doesn,t matter
r; all.

4 pig

mountain

z of
Pride ofthe 5eas
CHAPTER 9 82

1oga ---z'-

4\ ,,,
't 09

x
house +1erol
Jla
household

* pig Toogo) =
Radical
10 strokes
+
)
'r.' 4

"If you have a pig in your house it must

be included in your hotsehold.." / The two
,,:;
,->

household X giants debate the meqning of the jargon

on the census form.
X*.srt ddjii ewryone
Edt.eol glu6jia nation state
't 10 Radicar Ill I! Ljl
shan 3 strokes
mountain
/ Taking a break from pushing the huge
wheel up the mountain, the giant stops
Jbr a swig of shandy.
't11 \ 2, Radical #
-J. v6ng 6 strokes t-
I sheep
/ The stupid sheep has got his head stuck
We treat this as a basic building block as it in the spokes ofthewagon wheel. The fairy
is traditionally a picture. has to come and yank him out.

L 1\+r50r xlaoyang /0flt, I

[t-ll *tr roi shdny6ng goatl

"' ++ ffi.u,". Raaical

10 strokes
,t
I I i:j
t+

tree f 1ro4 * sheep *f rnt =

F
nFtTesl nnynng so, in that manner
tf +tr:l yirngzi trppearumce, manner
'ffi1ry yiying same, ide tical
[ffi12s1 zhiyirng /lfte rirs

appearance. / But the dwarf (shepherQ

fnds him and yanks him of back to the
flork.
 83 CHAPTER 9

,,,
!I
Badicat -T'.
i .
) :'11 ,,'ll
10 strokes
HI
At the inter-kingdom quiz, the two kings
king I1ro,y + knife l]rr+or + king sit on either side of the beautiful jewelled
!oo"t
= team IJI knife rhat will be presenred to the winning
team. / For the.final deciding question the
\bu will see that we have broken this teqms haye to identif) a picture of the
:haracter down into three parts, and so the giant in a bandanna.
:quation and story have three components
:., them. We will only do this for a few Note that the final stroke of the flrst
:haracters where it seems "natural" to do "king" slopes upwards (compare 54a).
.0. When a character is made up of three
::rts ABC, it usually splits most naturally I L.FlL,r:, shirng ban ro go to uork]
rio A and BC, bccause the combination I Fl'Jl,ar, riir ban lcuve finish rorkf
3C already means sonrething. Examples
..e iI!, Ifl[, i9t (Characters 75,99 and 108).

1r4 Badicat II ,- .1. .),

fr:l* 5 strokes

(Arriving in the train station in Switzer-

mountain llllrroy + mountain lI]1rrul : land) You can see mountain upon moun-
exit r{ tain out ofeach exit. / The giant is sitting
on one ofthen chewing gum.
:-e stroke order shows that, despite
.:pearances, this character is not realh two
-.runtains!

:: -..rast chtl6i come out

: *rsot ch[qr) go oril
,: lrs) chDkdu exit; to export]

Test yourself: Ert., 4J*,, 7nn', )lot 1U*, H,u,r, //1,r.,

{[1ror F8,,,, Wnr, ll)oo, i*,", trif,,o*, 8c,,,
" 5a _,*
shi )
H stonc
You're trying to fix up a notice saying
"Slippery Stones" withathumb tack
thumb tack -1+oa) + mouth [ (5) = at the
mouth ofthe cave, but (ironically) it keeps
stone fi
slipping on the stone. / [No pronunciation
', .::ce how the thumb tack has slid off to neededl
::t side it is not fixed to the top ofthe
,:i:rcter (as in, for exarnple, E, Character
CHAPTER q 84

115 Radical fi t
6t ;** '10 strokes
.r"'

You crash your baggage carl into a huge

t ;',J,
'''ili

stone .E(rrsa) * exit fi1rr+1 : plinth dfl cube of stone outside the exit (from the
station) it's a plinth for a new statue. ,/
We include this character here (although it's -
Teddy quickly sticks his chewing gum on
comparatively rarel since ir forms a mini- the plinth, and stdrts to help you gather up
phonetic series with the previous character your things (but as usual his help is just
(114). what you don't need!)

116 Badicat II
sui 6 strokes
7
2 .r,
years old
(A mother is scolding her young son)
mountain l(lo) + eyening ,(69a) "You must never be out by yourself on the
mountain in the evening until you're 16
old b years old." / The ghostly hoarftehose job
[- i be,tt sanshisui 30 years olfl is to protect climbers on the mountain (not
young boys) is angty too, as he hands the
boy back to his mother. "lt's not sdfe to
be on the mountqin qlone ot your age,"
he tells him.

117a .,i
din
n ij

dawn
Picture the sun rising and glinting on the
sun E (o) * one -6) = dawn E unicorn's hom at dawn, / [No pronuncia-
tion neededl

"' fE $il
Radical'(
7 strokes

Harry says, "It's dawn, wake up!" His

{ rray* dawn Errrro: but {El friend, still half asleep, mumbles, "But,
but, but ... it's still dark!" / "lle'te got
'fE^Et:or dinshi bat to go
6{Etst bfd}n ot only ...
- the dwad said the dandelions
have to be picked at dawn." (And we all
know how cross he'll be if they don't do
it risht...)
 85 CHAPTER 9

118a
B 'l-
T get
She wakes up at dawn and sees beautiful
dawn E(rru) * inch -f 1ro+uy = get $ icicles an inch long at the window. "Get
a camera, we must get a picture of these
before the sun melts them," she says. ,/ lVo
pronunciation neededl
/4
118 Radicat a\)
,) .l' rl'
dii
4+ d6; de; I
1'l strokes
1. obtain 2. way "..1
:,t
3. must
1.

1. step forward f 1sr4 + get $lrrruy = He steps forward to get the gold medal
obtain 15 he had won by obtaining the best overall -
score. / But there was a dearth of gold so
2. slep forward i ,ur,r + get $,rrsu, : the fairy had conjured up a temporary
medal until a proper one could be made.

3. step forward 1 tsrui + get Srrr:"t =
must 15
lhis is the one and only character in HSK
r-evel A which has three pronlnciations
:nd three meanings to go with them. When -
'l is pronounced d6 it means "to obtain";
:ronounced de it means "in such a way that",
i:rd pronounced d6i it means "have to".
To keep these straight we have a special
,.:ory with three parts: the setting is the
:edal presentation ceremony at the Olympic
;rmes (you can decide for yourself which
i ent they have all taken part in or just make
::re up the sillier it is, the better!) Now,
ihenever you see this character and break it
:own into "step forward" plus "get", picture
:e medal ceremony, and then you can run
::rough the story for each of the medals,
Jold Silver and Bronze and recall each of
:re three meanings which go with them.
1ou have to look at the context to see which
-': these is appropriate in each case as
,.ru have to with characters which have- ,wo
2.
He steps forward to get the silver medal
way he had performed had been the
-bestthe(but he had lost technical marks). /
The robot polishes the medal as itb dusty
and he likes all silver things (like himselJ)
to be shiny.
3.
He steps forward to get the bronze medal
he had done all the bits he must do
-(the compulsory bits) but nothing more. /
Teddy puts the bronze medal bn a daisy
chain to try and cheer up the third place
competitor
pronunciations (and which have Wild West/
spaceship or film set stories). Of course
you'll get used to seeing this character and
knowing the pronunciation automatically
belore long.
1*fUi:+r d6dno get, obtqin
4U$rist qndd achieve, obtain

Test yourselft EU (90) Soour f.r, [Elo f*,, Io, ff,,*,

Er (88) t*,,,, [Hrr" Efr,*r f*, #,r,, E[rrl
 CHAPTER 9 86

119 Radical/\
gong 4 slrokes
public

eight /\(20) + coco61 2.13+31 : public 2\ \\

7 i 1, -\
[A ftssl
^ gongkai open, public]

.:it.-!9-

The octopus lives in a cocoon which he

is so proud of that he throws it open to
the public. / The giant sounds a gong to
qttract yisitors.

t
I v
V "barb"

This is used in the following character and we will see it again later in the book. Note that
the downward vertical line and the hook together count as only one stroke.

120 Badicat .\ v r)
DI I:,,-
4 strokes

Harry puts a drop of colored wax on the

barb ffrzoui + a drop \ (22a) + barb of his fish-hook, using rhe bright
,\trzt : using I,l colors ofthe wa\ to attractthe fish. / Teddy
tries it too, and catches an eel.
The meaning ofthis character is hard to pin
down in English: depending on hor.r it is Lll Bfrso) yiqi6n before; a while ago
used, it could be translated by words such as U il.rrrt yYwii qpart from, except
"using", "by means of", "according to,,, ,,in
order to", etc. It is also used in ,.positional,,
compounds such as the two given here.

'121 Badical \
12

Z zhi
of
3 strokes

/ The giant is playing the lYheel Of

This character is a literary equivalent of Fortune and tNins a trip to Japar, (he has
"of" (Character 23) and is found in certain always wanted to see Mount Fuji).
fixed expressions.

h Zo:t ftnzhi fraction of

lZTit,oor A zhiqiin befoie A)

[ZHrrrr A zhlzh 6ng amoig,4l

 87 (.HAPTFR S

''22 Radical \
w6ii wEi 4 strokes
)
act as; for
m The potion which confers great power
power /1r+1 1 a drop \ (22a) + from only a couple of drops is the Gauls'
a droP I 122u, = act as; for t magic potion in the film of 'Asterix". On
the fllm set the main actor has to act as
3_. now you'll be fan.riliar with the idea of if he is strong. / The fairy conjures up
-.ing film set stories 1br characters with two fake weights for him to lift. The tlwarf
-:anings and two pronunciations (which grumbles as he carries the weights. \
:::ier only in tone). In future we'll rely on "Why does somebody have to carry these
---.:
filnr icon to signal them lor you. things around for him?"
\ote thatthe stroke order for the "power"
:rn of this character is non-standard. This t ftoot wbile fbr, because of
' cecause it is inherited from the traditional U ttrzot yiw6i think (rtrongly)
::m (shown in the box). Compare this with h |t /Ar.t:.zct weish6nme why, wl.tat.for
":e stroke order for Character 123 which
'.:lows.

123 t Radical i
1 ):
y']r ixl,*.
4 sirokes

The "power-octopus" is abig eight-armed

po$er f1t+y * eight,il(20) : .1' machine in the factory, so complicated
that it needs someone to manage it full-
:.'th th is and the prer ious character consjqr lime. / The dwarf banishes everyone else
: "power" plus a couple of drops. To Ji'om the vicinity.
::stinguish between them, we have cheated
here, and thrnk olthis one as being
'.:shtly
-:ou,er" plus "eight".

l'*s t binfi method

- j),r ., b,rngong (oJficc) wtrAl

Test yourself: 41,ru Arr', Er,rot k (91) 9I,,,,, El ,,0, 8,,,,

flF,,t 'Xr,,, ?,,,, h l4) (
ffi'
3<00r ) Errr [$1,try

laoel

- he "label" is always attached to a horizontal stroke, as in the following character Compare

::rjs with "beret" (89a) which is a longer, more gently sloping stroke (usually attached to
. r ertical stroke), and "a drop" (22a) which is not attached to anything (unless sitting on
:.rp of something).
CHAPTER 9 88

124b -
"clouds"
There's a label on the side ofthe unicorn
label / (l2aa) + one (l) = clouds F in the safari park (saying "unicorn"),
- because he usually has his head in the
clouds. (People kept mistaking him for
a horse because they couldn't see his
horn when it was in the clouds). / pr'o
pronunciation neededl

124
gen; gin
Badical
3 strokes
- 'I
dry; work
EZI#I ffi Picture the unicorn standing on a
white cross on the floor, which is his mark
one -(r) + ten ti+t = dryi work T
on the film set of "The Wizard of Oz"
f ghn also means the trunk or main part they
are
-Eveq4hing
filming in the Emerald
City.
of something. Gdn and ghn were once two is ready but they must wait for
separate characters (which is why there are dry weather. / Then the giant can erect the
two traditional forms). lighting gantry. The dh,arfkickt the gsntry
When f of another
appears as part poles angrily. \ "When are we going to get
character, we will use the meaning "dry" in any work done?"
the equation and the story.

LT t", I'gan het Boltom\ up; (on

drinking a toast)l
[f [$1+:y gin ma what (are you) doing?l
125 Radical I

4 sirokes 1'

The morning clouds go in one direction, the

clouds F(r:+ut * ten t(+) : noon f aftemoon clouds go in another direction.
so when the clouds cross it must be noon.
Another way of looking at this character is / Teddy whoops with delight, as this meons
to see it as "label" plus "dry". Our rule, for it s lunchtime.
deciding when to use clouds and when to
use label. will be: if we can see clouds on
the top of a character we will use clouds,
otherwise we use Iabel.

t-f gz1 shdngwi morning

fif 61 zhdngwi noon
Tf t+:t xiiwfi afternoon
 89 CHAPTER 9

'26a -t' :\
h6
l
grain
The beret (that they'd been using as a
beret --(8ea)
+ tree .zl"trorl = grain Zt frisbee) is now stuck in a tree and they
won't be able to retrieve it without
\otice how "beret" differs from "label". trampling the grain growing around
The meaning of "grain" embraces all the tree. (Who's going to be tle one to
:.real plants, including rice. ask the farmer if they can get it''l) / [No
prct nunc iat ion ne ecledl

"' / 'i -.n ,:"

fi[ r#', -',, :""*1'j 1
t.
S The cowboy rolls the grain around in his
. grain frlrzeot * mouth Erst : with f,ll mouth and says, "This needs something
to go with it;' / The fairy says, "Try it with
I grain fttrzro) * mouth E rst : mix f[ some of my herbs."

i- "with" in the sense of "along

h6 means 2.
r::h" and is often translated simply as I (A baby alien has sneaked aboard the
spaceship) They find it sitting on the store-
room floor, stuffing grain in its mouth
ii Tr rst h6h5o become reconciletl and getting all the carefullyJabeled grain
samples mixed up. /The ghostly fairy who
protects the planet comes tofetch the qlien
and take it home

:: r'llwant to consolidate this progress so that you don't "lose" 100%

'i,3 characters you've learned. One way is to keep up with
':: Test Yourself" blocks such as the one below. whenever
, J rneet one in the book. You can also test yourself on the HSK A
i..rracters more systematically by writing out the characten
-:rm each chapter on a piece of paper or card (good wdting
_::ctice too!).
\\rhen you forget a character (it happens), go back and
.ualize the story again. You will almost certainly flnd you
'-d read through it previously without letting it sink in.
':.ualize it again and try and add one or two details to the
-':ne to make it "your own".

restyourselr: &,, IIr,,oi k,rr, iHt,orr LlIr,rnr 9rrn, Aoorr

El ,",, il-,', #,, ,, 6fl,,,,, /\,,u, ,t,,,,, f6,,,,
 Chapter l0
You will see that "plant" on this page is the same as "earth" (l0a) with an additional stroke.
Similarly, "use" is the same as "moon" (61) with an extra stroke. As a refresher quiz, see
if you can remember the meanings ol these characters and fragments in pair the
difference is a single stroke: - each
I-
/l i it
T + ,t x
+ +
/l tr
^ t^r
^B E E E

+ +
mother criminal

,-a-- --:\
/fl
iry lo' gar4en \
U5Eony /
"...- :-/ +
to use plant

I
to work
 9l CHAPTER 1O

&
mu
Radical
5 strokes
L 1 t:i- +
mother
/ The mother is making a wheel out of
Watch the first two strokes here. Some books icing for the birthday cake. Teddy has
advocate a different order for writing the olfered to make a chocolate mousse (but
tinal three strokes. Sometimes, especially is spattering it all over the place).
in handwriting, you may see the two drops
merge to form a single vertical stroke.

-E
j.Erott miyi native languqge)
-TEtezi zimi alphabetl

12A F- E
Radical
L 1 +
Eru 7 strokes

Mother looks at the clouds every single

* mother-ln:tr:l: morning (to see if it will be fine for a walk
clouds ts(ru +r,t
in the park). / Teddy wants to go to the
maze (and get lost again).
'Slrtrol mditidn every day)
.!@ m6imdi olezl

r29 \,1- Radical l ;L r.ri

YEg 10 strokes

Water from every river ends up in the

rvater i (rs,) * every €trzst : sea 'i@ sea. / Teddy is excited, and says, "Wth all
that w{der, thats why you get the "high
I nalDlan Sc'0srdel seas"!"
=1!l4l
- i6i+zt Shinghii Shanghail
_

'30a I
_L* ^ t,

| "criminal"

'* ,,Jri"
Radical f
5 sirokes
]
) { rl4 ),i it:
,FII / The dwarfsays, "you're too young to ase
lr to visualize a particular setting for this the wheel."
>:.rry what type ofwheel are we talking
::iut here?

- frrsr briydng don't have to

'
E ffito:r yduybng usefull
 CHAPTER ]O 92

131 Radicat I

5 strokes

(At the pdson Christmas pantomime)

horns \'lrisay a criminal $1r3oa; : The toughest criminal grabbed the horns
half * as he wanted to be the front half of the
pantomime bull. / The dwarf goternor
* too bintian q long time (who suspected trouble) made tltem our
f 7*rcsr duobin nore often than notl bandages oyer the horns so that noblcA.
coLid get hltrt.

"' fU [."0, Badical

7 strokes
^
Each grain must be split open with a knife
Srain fr11r0,, 1 Unife Ilo,rot = benefit .fiU to get rhe lull benefit of rhe nrrtrients. .
The dwarf cooks it in a liter of v,.tter qn(l
fl ,Hr rror liydng nake usc ,tl leayes it to soak.
IE-tllrelr yduli aclvantageousl

133a l
I
-_-J-1
plant
--l-

"' 4 ,n**
Badical
5 strokes
J

Recall the discussion (Character 125) about

labels and clouds. Although you could see
"clouds" in this character, they are not at the
top olthe character (which is where clouds
rightfully belong), so we use label instead.
This character has rarious meaninps Every house in the village has plants with
connected with life, in particular birth a;d labels displayed in the wintlows. Itt the
growth; it can also mean unripe, uncooked. custom that when a new child is bom, a
plant is chosen to symbolize their life
+E,ot shEngr\ birthtlev (and labeled with the child,s name). /[D1I
IU'1,r,, ch[shEng o'be bornl pronunciqtionl
-l Erc:, xudsheng sttrdent, pttpil
[t'1,r., nisheng fenale siuienr]
 93 CHAPTER 1O

" fH *:, Badical

9 strokes
E ) 1 I I ,] lli- il'l i11

The astronauts who first discover muon

moon fi irry * life ttr;:t : triumph ,Bt
fife will return in triumph. / [DIY pro-
nunci{ttionJ
I: r:zt shingli ttin; victory
fUr
'
Z B$troi mingshing a.famous scenic spotf

'" Radical lk I , l+ {!
i4
.)i,
8 strokes
x;H-"
(A group of women are talking together)
roman {(rs) + life 4.(r::l : surname lt "Even though it's the woman who gives
birth to life, the baby still gets the man's
..1€trot xingming full name) sarname." / They have been watching the
dwtrfacross the road putting up his name
on a shingle.

r36

+ET xlng
star
Badical
9 sirokes
E ::! ,l:

"Our sun is vital to all life on our planet,

)rj

sun fl 1oy * life ftr::) : star E yet it is just a star;' / The giant, lying
on his back on the shingle on the beach,
So here we have two mini phonetlc senes: looks up at the night slq, and ponders.
aharacters 133, 134 ("sheng"), and 135, 136
''ing"). You can see from the similarity ol
-hese two sounds that they had a common
-.rigin.

_ EE xrngxing slarl
-af Q1r1 mingxrng (movie) starl

137 a
*f
,.t.

You see a label lying on the €arth the

label ,/ 1r:+ay * earth ,ltrao; = .urt *'
Ifyou take the tail offthe character lor cow
(Character 384) this is rvhat you get!
- ear
calf has been newly tagged on its
(but has managed to dislodge his label
by rubbing his ear on the ground). / fNo
pronunciation needed]
CHAPTER IO 94

137 /+_ naaical JL

6 strokes
7E il::,
It looks as if the calf is taking the boy to
calf 411:;a1* boy JLr:rt = ahead jt market (rather than vice versa) because
the calfkeeps walking ahetd. / [DIY pro-
iEEtr::r xiansheng .sir, Mr.; husband nunciationl

"' # i;;,*
Radical
7 strokes
E 'I :;-.

(The cattle are all falling sick only a

calf I , .-.,r- mouth
11,., =
[#5t]rzst gnonie b part withl
inform iL
- to the
calf is left standing) The calf goes
mouth ofthe cave to inform the vet. ,/ Zfte
dwarf qssistant listens to the symptoms
and says dismissively, "All this fuss, it's
probably only gout. "

,* xl
Radical
I
I
i
,I
) :L

Yfi wash
strokes

There's only limited hot water in the

water l' rrs,)* ahead jttr:rt: wash if rooming house so she races to get to the
bathroom ahead of everyone else and
[Tl,,trr:r1 ganxi dry c:leqningf have a good rvash. / But Teddy has beaten
her to it, qnd is washing his sheets in the
sinle.

A word about how you can make use ofthe compounds we give with thc chamcters. The compounds
show you how the character in question combines to make words, when used together with other
characte$ you've aheady learned. So you can use compounds as a revision aid for characters you've
already leamed: iook at the compound and see ifyou can remembcr what the contponent characters
mean. Sometimes it's intercsting and i.structive to see how the meanilg of the compoutd as a
wholc relates to the meanirgs ofthe characters which make it up. A good example is that the literal
meaning of jlf is "ahead [in] life" (i.e. "senior").
You can also tum this around and use compounds as anothcr way of remembering how to
pronottnce characters. You will probably recognize many words (such as xiansheng) which you've
come across in your Chinese language lessons. If you now realize that jt is the flrst character in
xiansheng then you know it is pronounced xien. Of cou6e the soundwords are there to help you
with pronlinciations. but therc's no sucl'r thing as too much helpl
 95 CHAPTLR It]

,,,
4
Radical [:]
5 strokes 'J
["", ,*"-':, -,
mouth Et5) + nail Ttsrrt = may nJ
l--
-1..
1e meaning is "may" in the sense of
"ieing permitted to", but since this is a bit
.t
-::stract we will cheat here and use a play on
;.-rrds: we will associate this character with
\1.rvday celebrations in an English village,
.r rere children dance round a Maypole. The carpenter holds nails in his mouth
Note that the shaft ofthe nail is displaced while fixing up the Maypole for the May
: . the right to make room for the mouth. celebrations. / Ted{ly cuts up strips of
Some books advocate a different stroke cuttains for the streamers.
::der. where the whole of "nail" is drawn
:::t. and then "mouth". Occasionally we will produce a perfectly
alternatives, either
:.--int out alternative stroke orders (we well-drawn character and so you can choose
.:. :eadymentionedalternativesforCharacter which to adopt. Al1 this doesn't alter the
. : - ). Sometimes the diflerent versions exist lacl lhal lor the oreruhelming majoriry
::;ause one is more firmly grounded in the of characters there is a single stroke order
-::aditional" way ol doing things and one which is accepted as being "correct".
. more "modern". but in other cases there
, rply seem to be two accepted ways of nl L-lr rzot k6yi mav, be qllowed
.rtrr:g the characrer. \l here r.r e poinr our EJEr:or k6shi but (cotloq)

"'hJ. h6
river
Radicat
8 strokes
] '.i r'l

Water for the dunking stool at the May

tater 1 lzsay * may {it+ol : river inj celebrations has to be brought from the
river. / The fairy puts herbs into it to hide
l::re is also another character for "river" the .smell !
- iaractcr 148) at the end ofthis chapter.

'iinJrs;t yirnh6 carall

! ; 4 rr :tt xrng|rr6. the Millq, Wayf

"' Badical 'f I'

{4
I : ,'1
7 strokes
y,",
Harry arrives at the May celebrations,
person { 1t:u; * may nltrrot = what 'fFI
and a drink is pressed into his hand. He
drinks, but splutters, "What is this stuff?"
I It s the fairy's new herbal drink (and the
./itirlt loo ks piquecl).
CHAPTER 1O 96

,*,"
FqI ;,
Up on the mound sits the May queen on
mound fi1eruy * may EJtr+ol = ah FI her throne. Everyone goes "Ah" when
they see her, she looks so splendid. / 1No
pronunciation neededl

"' [E[ :,'i' Badical

'10
E
strokes
',1 t:,1i ot1

The doctor says, "Open your mouth and

moulh Er5r * ah [EJrr+.r"r: eh! [[ol say "ah" yes, these tonsils will have
- "That ba( eh?" the patient
to come out."
This character is used as an exclamation, says in surprise../Tfte giant says "Ah" in
added to a sentence lo express surprise. sympathy (he had ro have his tonsils out os
admiration, regret, etc. depending on the a child and he d cried!)
context. When at the end ofa sentence, it has
a neutral tone; ifthe preceding word ends in
-n or -ng it changes into ry[ (Character 99)
and is pronourced na.

144 Radical /\
I strokes

You need to lift your feet right above the

feet *(qoa, +
self E Laa): head Ei rest of yourself if you're going to be able
to stand on your hea.d. / Teddy shows you
lE- jttt:a shduxian frst of alll how ... show-off!

145 \ t, Radical 1- n ,i $
lE *:;
I iJ IJ
12 strokes
fi: €
road i-1:oay * head E (r++l : way jE You emerge from the forest to find a road
at last, but scratch your head: which way
f-j€ot yidito togetherl should you walkl / The dwarf grumbles,
[-l\'1-E rrz, ut r6nxingdio pedestriqn "Whichever way we go, I doubt it will be
crossingl the right one."
 97 CHAPTER ]O

146 ,l \- Badical !
5 slrokes
) .t t \
R*,:;,;:,,
She is writing her Christmas cards and
a drop \ (22a) + friend fi1s:1 :
puts a drop of perfume on the cards to her
special friends before sending them out.
send out fr / The giant gets a large drop on his as he
fhis looks like a "drop" added to a lives far, far away (antl the perfume has to
rodiflcation of "friend" (Character 53) so last until the card gets there).
.re have used the idea of a "special friend"
::r the story to acknowledge this. Notice the frEa,.t chiFa set out (on jotrrney)
-inusual first stroke. []i,lirrrqt Fachtt send out, emitf
Pronounced fa this character means "to [h\r.nt Faming i nv e n t, i nv e n ti o n)
:nit, send out, develop". With the other li-tLo:zt FtshEng happen, take place
rronunciation fi (and another traditional
--orm) it also means "hair".

't47 I
I
Badical
r
3 strokes
iJl*.,-
/ You trudge off every day to l,otk dt the
gongr6n worker wheelfactory, and the only thing you look
'I f
-/rtrzr
lsey gdnghui tt'\de unionf .forword to i.s the giont sounding his gong
for tea breaks and for the end of the shift.

'*
rater
irI 1;ray
Jmng
river

* work I(r,r;t
Badical
6

= river iI
l
strokes
t'l'

They needed water to work the mill so

they built it by the river. I Two giants do a
rqin dance with jmgling keys and chains
-,\e
have already seen the other character to keep the river flowing.
:rr river (Character 142).
'.1Lll r rro, jiengshen lundscape.
tcenery; counttll

restyourself: #iu, E-n, Aur, ,fE,,,, f[,,r,,fl4,,,0r ,0,,

A,,,rr f,,r,, 2,,r,, 4*u,r, 4.r,,r, f,'r, li,rrr,
 Chapter 11

Ten chapters out of forty done now!

r cliff
r
drag

-i:^\f
r___t_l_ya_
ITJ

comb H

+,
electricity

i\
heart :7/
 99 CHAPTER 1I

'J9 Radical f
I chnns 2 strokes )
,l cliff T-t
lHrl / [DIY PronunciationJ. This is one of the
ris character, whose basic meaning is rery few bctsic btdlding blocks that hos
-.iil . appears in quite a ler.r composirc a DIY pronunciation, so you can choose
: - lracters. On its own, however. the simply to learu the pronu ciation, or make
- -:racter nowadays means "factory". up a wheel story. Perhaps Tetldlt is rolling
a large wheel olf a cliff, qlmost hitti g Mr
,:17) gongching lactory Chang (Chang lqter tells this tqle to his
grandson, who we will meet in the next
chapter v,orking on the spaceship).

)
drag

f:as" is diflerent from "cliff' the flrst stroke is a sloping lire, and the angle between
:: lines is more than 90 degrces.

atb
r--t "piled up"
The unicorn has to use his mouth to pick
up things to pile them up on the trash
one -1r1* mouth Et;t: piled up E heap. / [No pronunciltion needed]

Radical I

6 strokes )
"We must drag all the old fumiture out
and pile it up at the rear of the house. ,/
Jrag l-1rsou1 + pited up tr irsory = rear fi The dwarf is going to tLlrn the house into
::::king up this character into "drag" and a hotel. "
. .r'd up" is cheating a bit, as the hori-
: ::al stroke joined on to drag is actually ,EEr+rt hdubian reerr. at the bock
.-:ething else. U,Errzor yihdu ufter, later
This character originally meant "cm- [,EIr;ol hdutian the dal; ufter tonorrov,;]
:::.s but has also taken on the role ofthe
- :plified form of lil and is now mostly
-.:.1 in this sense.

'1 'I -: l

"conrb"
CHAPTER II 100

1s1 Radical
6
-
strokes
I h ,l; tir j
n[;:0,", (Using a comb as a musical instrument)
thumb tack -1+oa) + comb (rsla) = He had marked his notes on the comb
|rIJ
and vet ffi with thumb tacks, and yet it still sounded
awfl/.. / The fairy fled, saying "I've
This character occasionally means simply rememberecl an argent appointment
"and", but usually indicates a contrast and elsewhere!"
so might be translated as "but", "yet", or
"on the other hand".

[/y\.ffitro:r c6ng'6r thus, thereby)

lffi,Etrsot 6rhdt after that; and then]
152a
l 4
hand

This is the form which n "hand" (Character 31) usually takes when it forms the left-hand
side of a character Note the stroke order (compared with that for +), and also note that
the flnal stroke is drawn upwards.

tt
Baoical f
'u' 7 strokes
l
ilr*,".
At the crime scene the detective pulls the
hand t + dagger {1:zu1
rrszu) : policeman's hand away from the dagger
look for ti saying, "We must look for fingerprints
first." / Teddy's alibi is that he was wqtch-
Compare 1t with the far more common ing the jousting on TV
character fi meaning "I" (Character 32).
Here the hand and dagger are separate,
whereas in Character 32 they were fused
together: diflerence reflected in the stories
a
for these two characters.

[1t4LJr:+r zhiodio to.finl

"' fT fi
Badical t
5 strokes

He uses his hand to steady the nail before

hand f* nail J1srul : [i1 f]
irszol
he hits it. / It is difficltlt to get on with the
work because Tedtly keeps darting in and
ltT-trsri diddng to touch; move] out between his legs.
[t]{5!osl dndlo ovetlhrotr; Downwith... lf
 101 CHAPTER 1 ]

"' Xf l;1"",
Badical
5 strokes
I 7 \ l

lf, when you shake hands, you have your

right hand !1s21 + inch ttro+o) : right hands lined up to the nearest inch,
correct trf you will be doing it in the correct way.
/ The ghostly etiquette-guqrding db,arf
The basic meaning of this character is makes the class practice daily.
"facing towards" and it has also come to
nean "line up", "match up", "to be correct"
,rnd "to treat" (a person in a certain way). lt
:s also used as a measure word for pairs of
objects.

-lf
"
*t:rl duish6u lpponentf
(f Ttroi dui le correct (at last); ahall

"'t/f::: Radical
9 strokes
t l ) 'i7 ,':l
l i:!

(A little girl is insistently pointing to

* correct X'Jtrs+t: tree objects and naming them) "Tree!" "Yes,
tree.tr!(rou) fij
correct, it's atree." / Now shoo," says the
:his is the modern character for "a tree" dwarf grumpily, "and let me get on rrith
::ther than using l0a on its own. mv work."

.i.lTrrz+t shirghn a tree trunkl

Test yourself: n-rnt 91n,, i4i,,rt ft1,rr1 *,,,,r lJrtrrt f,--,,1u,

flr,.u1 hurr, frlJ1,rr iI,,*rr Tr,ror tl {ll,', (138)

tif \ 1 1: .JJ

field

156 Badical E 1

E nr
7 slrokes ).r

Out in the field the farmer needs more

field E]trssot * power /1r+1 : male $ power to work the churn. "I'll need
another male," he says. / The fuiry flicks
This and 4
(Character 15) are useful char- her wand and a nanny goat appeqrs !
.r.ters to know when identifying toilets! ("Oops wrong sott!" she says).

- E,Atrzl n6nr6n man (i.e. not woman)l

CHAPTER ] I 102

15? Radical E l n t' "il

roir 7 strokes
H ffi "see that field with small round humps of
earth? that's the potato field." "But I
field H(rsou) + earth Lo4o:in E -
don't see any potatoes!" "That's because
Although this looks like "field" plus "earth", they're in the humpsl" / Teddy runs to kap
the stroke order shows that it isn't, really. on the humps (crying, "Let's make mashed
(The same situation occurred for "exit", potatoes!")
Character 114). In writing the character
some books suggest writing the fifth and +14@l\ ltDlan tn,\tae, ttl
sixth strokes in the other order. il Etzor zhEli iere
This character means "in", and is usually B[-Btsst niti wiere
a sufflx (i.e.it comes after a noun), where it AEtrret gongli kilometer
often loses its tone. There are ruo rarianls
of the traditional form. A E is also an old
measure of distance (roughly half a mile).

Radical I j '1 I
'u' I ::-1

IE I"^,",
11 strokes

(The king's mother-in-law is visiting yet

king ioo"r + in S1r:r1 = reason IE
again) "Is the king in?" she asks the guard,
fi}[rr+:t dioli principle, reason and the guard has to think up a new reason
each time why the king can't see her. ,/
Teddy peel6 oln b let the king loow when
she leaves (and the coast is clear).

159 Radical EJ 1 :11

diin 5 strokes
electricity
/ They wa ted to convert the water wheel to
tE f tr:r diinche .ttrcetcar, traln run on electricily
- the two dwarf experts
from Denmark were called in
(each
con ectit'tg up one of the two wires).

.l
outer limits

This usually forms a 3-sided enclosure, with another character inside it. Note the hook at
the bottom olthe second stroke. For the stories, think ofthe "outer limits ofthe kingdom"
a desolate, dangerous area ofrocky hills, probably inhabited by bandits.
 CHAPTER 11

1 I't )ij i.i

ra
limits [l(r6oa) + prled up n r sotr =
same E

'z-P
E[: :, t6ngshi sintultaneously
E:: : t6ngxu6 classmate At the outer limits of the kingdom were
bitdng clilferent piled up heaps ofdiscarded boxes, all the
::r t6ngying sam e] same . / The fairy used her magic tongs to
arrange them in neqt piles.

, L' il::., / The heart ofthe wheel (its hub) is as big

-..! nunber
-rppears atthe bottom of a large as the giant's shin bone.
ri :raracters, when it takes a slightly
s:.hed form. It can also take the form [3/['1er1 anxln to be co tentl
' .ixen appearing on the left-hand side of IS,51::1 zhdngxrn center (often used in
;l=::cters (see 339a). phrases like "shopping center")l
-rust like the English word "heart", it [,H,L.tr:ot ydrrg{n to qpply oneself tc.tl
r:Ei-rs not just the heart in your body, but [z]r,['1s01 xiioxrn cqutiousT
.rl.:i,r "core", "center", and "feelings".

'* Badical
5 strokes
\
,j.

'Y-r'l,i.,it,ury In the theme park there is a huge slide

heart /L.(r6l ) + slid e ./ e4b)
through the heart of the forest
= -
inevitably it gets clogged up (with twigs
and leaves). / Each day the dwarf has to
-: is natural to think of this as "heart" send his beaver down the slide to cleqn it
::qether with an extra stroke, but watch the out.
;:oke order
'
l,$trort b\yio necessaryl
Ll,1sy bribi don't need tol
CHAPTER 1 1 104

"'tEl xlang; xrang

Radical 'N

mutual; appearance
I
strokes I I ja) ;aJ

EJI pyss peering out from behind all the

tree .trrou) * eye EJ (e:) = mutual; trees suggest Sherwood Forest, and the
appea.ance ffl film set of "Robin Hood" but this is
a Chinese remake! At the-auditions the
When this character appears as part of actors are milling about, profuse with their
another character (for example in Character mutual praise. / Particularly two gfutnts
164 which follows this one), we will use liom Shanghai, auditioningJbr the part of
"mutual" (and not "appearance") in the Little John. Two dwarves from Shanghai
equation and story. are also competing Jbr the role (sadly not
having understood that the role of Little
[fElq](160) xiingt6ng identical, samel John callsfor a giant rather than a d:warfl.
\ They uon't be told and are spending ages
perfecting their appearance.

/L\
"o Badical
/
f,fl :il ,.1
l a;:
*,un* 13 strokes
:,
I}\
./ think about 1

mutual tBoo:) * hsnlf ,L'1r61) : The conjoinedtwins share a mutual heart.

think about tR The surgeon has to think about how best
to separate them. / Fortunately he s prac-
ticed on two teddies in Shanghoi.'

[lE -Ttr,a:t xiing yixii give it some

thoughtl

16s
trI
/ Dr\
sl
think
Badical
I strokes
EE 17 t a.i

One of the farmer's fields is heart-shaped

field + heart,L'trorr = think and he always goes there to tl:.ink. / The
Bl(rsoa) ,H,
giant hod bt'c'ught a (gianr!) ssqyqis 56
,B,Errr+l sixi[ng thought, thinking that the farmer could sit under it (with his
back against the trunk) to {lo his thinking.

Knee
 105 (]HAPTFR I I

Radical.
"u .A
-7 ,rn 4 strokes
.t'- ,:.._
-7

i.o*
It needs the combined strength of
6smfuing 2'1:ea; ] knee z trooo)
: now ] everyone in the operating theater to pull
the knee back into position. The surgeon
?. 7-\(7r,r
Jtntian /odal, gets everyoneready and then says, "Ready,
- i',Errsor
jinhdt .from now onl /
Steady ... Nowl" The giant had been
drinking too much gin (so fell over and
dislocated his knee).

167
/s
,8, niin
to study
Radical
8 strokes
rL\ 1,.

"Now I think it is time for the heart,"

now flrroy * heart,L'tre rt: study A said the surgeon, as he tumed to study his
"Heart Transplant Manual" (imagine him
with his nose in this blood-spattered book)
/ [DIY pronunciation]
'.\
hat can you do when you find that you've forgotten a 100%
-'.-mposite character (apart fiom rcsolving to go back at the
:-:st opportunity and visualize the story again)?
In the equation A+B=C you will know A and B, but can't HSK A
::member C. The first step is to tfy to get the s.ere, that is, the
-[ing for the story. What do A and B together evoke? Logic
help here: try combining A and B in different ways. Try
=.:y
1 in B, A hits B, A uses B for something, ctc. (and also the
::her way round: B in A as well as A in B usually one will
:3ke sense much more than the other). We've t ed to make
-.--e stories recoverable like this, as far as possible. Once you
::re the scene, C will follow. lt is this second stage (getting
::rm the scene to C) that is often bizarre, silly or illogical.

Testyoursetf: Et,,rr f ir,o ffli,,or Xt,'roi 4t,ooi Et,rrr iE

*,.0, ifi,,,n, lEJ,,oor ff1,rr1 j$1rssr tf,,,, Hool
 Chapter 12

Notice how similar the character for "shelter" is to the character for "cliff" (in Chapta-
l1), and see how the character pictures help you remember rvhich is which. The drop in
the character for "shelter" is a drop ofrain, which is much more relevant to "shelter" thar
it would be to "cliff".

+
surpass
r iw
tlong
? 1aA
Nffi>
abow ry

A +
source cuin./1filau"t book
.,.----+
-nJ-I -r-
-"_

'L
fire
 10'7 CHAPTER 12

168a
lfI surpass
,r

We use this fragment in the following charactff and will see it again much lateq in
Character 787.

168 naaical I
4F ,.., 6 strokes +
I y.rt
"These clouds surpass anything we've
clouds L' t:4or * surpass + , L8J): seen all year." (Picture a group of glider
pilots looking at the sky and judging
which clouds will give the best thermal
i ff6a1 jlnnifin this year up-currents). / 1D1y pronunciationl
!S1to1 qirni6n /astyear
=l S61 mingni5n next year

IL
159a

x to strike

* right hand nt:z)

) rL
) {
(An attempt at a world record)
challenger shakes hands with several
The
of
several ,Il,1r; =
the dignitaries who wish him luck, and
strike * then sees how many garden gnomes he can
lirink ofstriking something forcefully with knock over with a single strike with his
.i long pole (see 190a below). longpole. / [No pronunciation needed]

,.' Radical l .)
i, /i
strokes
YA
7
il:,
(At the funfafu) At one sideshow he had to
* strike P1r.o"1 strike, with a pole, anything that appeared
nater i 1-r,; = ne1 i{ out of the water, but everything stayed
\irhough the literal meaning is "to sink" submerged and he complained, "There is
:r "submerge", this is more commonly not a thing to hitl" / The fairy suggested
iiin as a negalor for y6u (Character 63). to him that he should try his luck at the
-\ot" for most other verbs is conveyed by msze instead.
---:.:racter 9.

it 6,0:i m6iy6u hqye not, does not

-!- flrr:ot m6iydng aselessl
CHAPTER 12 108

170 .-l- Radical J-

! guerg 3 strokes
./ shelter
/ (At the Formula I team's secret test
This charactel whose basic meaning was a track) They have to build a shelter for the
shelter (it is a picture ola lean-to structure), spare wheek and other equipment, broad
appears in quite a few characters, usually enough to accomn'todqte the ghostly teddy
as an enclosure. On its own, however, the and his gang (who guard it all).
character nowadays means "broad". (Notice
how "broad" also appears in the story).

[]-d1+1 gulngdd. rast extremel

[J''E-tr:st guinggio advertisenent]
171 J.... Radical ]- ri
)
/fi;:;*' 7 strokes ,li\

He took a tree into the shelter to make a

shelter l'-rtro) * tree,Frro,t = bed IF bed. / [DIY pronunciation]

[i4,Rrrart h6chudng riverbec[]

ltt,ftoot jichu6n g machine tooll
[)tit+zt chuingshang in befl

Test yourself: $,,', t,ol E,r, It,qrt 6ir, )L,," (2s) x

{4,,0r, }&oo, Fuon, i4,,0,, [FI,,r, ,/,\
7 (166) ]E (145)

172 1./ Badicar ,

_1. '!
ff (hdng; zhing 4 strokes
l-\ t.long 2.chief l.
E * / On the bridge of the spaceship the
Normally "chang" would be a DIY pronun- captain looked at the long row of wheels
ciation, but we need a spaceship story here! on the engineer'.s desk. He had no idea
When K appears as pad of another which one to turn, so sent the fairy fitting
character we rr ill use "long" in the equar ion olf to fntl Mr Chang, the e gineer.
and story.
2.
[KiIrr+sr ch6ngjidng theYangtse River) *t "nig Chie! lVheet" was so cqlled
because he collected wagon wheels frcm
L'E K,.::, shengzhing o grow, grow trp) raids on the passing wagon trains. Teddy
IJ'll K,rr,, b6nzhdng leader 1o[ teamll made jangling wind chimes out of the
wheel bolts (so that the wind proclaimed
how mctny wagons the Chief had raided).
 109 CHAPTF,R I2

';3a
tr}
-1 sr-,rs
4
J a bow

i:ris is a (stringed) bow, for a violin or for archery.

'^ Radical
7 sirokes
B
I .|' il ili
5K .'x*l*.,0"0".,

a bow $1rz:ay * long Ktrzt : sheet 5K

lis is another character which can act as

r. :reasure word, as shown by the following
:i.npound.

. - jt,ftri, rri yi zbdng chtAng abefl

(In archery practice) The chief tries to
show off by taking his long bow and
aiming at sheets of paper pinned to trees
in the forest. / The giant tries to put him off
by jangling his keys loudly.

Badical ,^ n .i
b6n 5 strokes r
source
/ The source of the wheel (i.e. where it
:-ginally this meant "root" of a tree, then was mac)e) was written round its edge, so
-r.urce" or "basis", hence "book". It can Teddy looked to see where his ban \rqs
:< used to mean "this", and is the measure made!
r,,'rd for books. This is a good illusftation
:: :he way in which characters can come to ATtra b6nzi notebook
:-e.r rarious things dou n the years.
[4]Ets4r bEndi locall
I EJ Atrt Ribin Japar'l

'^'[4;'., Radical
7 strokes
'f
l I T ,i,t tl
tE6l
EE] Ilarry was reading the source book
I (ta) + source +(r74) = b"dy {]t on anatomy and when he opened it a
hologram of a body floated out from the
i rarrort shenti human body; health pages. / Then Teddy hopped out dressed
- -rlrrst giti (a person s) builfl trp as a teacher and started pointing out
all the dilferent body parts.
CHAPTER 12 110

176 Radical J

sh[ 4 strokes
book
/The giant baluncecl his book on the wheel
but the wheel turned antl the book fell on
t-Aflrr. r7a) yi bin sh[ a boor] his shoe-polish.

177 r^ Badical lr1

\/^ 11,..,,n
5 strokes

He was trying to close the lid of his

lid -r25b) + feet -(sool : stand I bulging suitcase, but in the end he had
to use his feet and stand on it. / Wen he
This can also mean "at once". got home, the dwarfrealized he d crushed
his sun-cream, which had leaked out (and
IE irs+t zili st.tt?d on one's ov,n Jiet; ruined his hat).
support dnesen
1{,tf [1rssl shirli to erect, set trpl

178 Radical 'f

'_).- 7 strckes
1Y ffi:"
(At a group photo) Harry asks where to
stand and they flnd him aplace. / "Wait!"
1 rt:ot* stand Ltrrrt: place Ii cries the hrarf photographea "l'll .find
Literally a place or seat, this character is him a place when I'm rcady."
more commonly used as a polite measure
word for people.

[]tfVt:+t diwii status, positionl

179 _r^ \ Radical f

fu l5 itri
pu11
) 8 strokes

(On the slopes ola volcano) A huge hand

Iir;1 rppears and helps the bol lo sland. giving
hand t rr-s:at* stand = pull ] him a strong pult. ./ The giant points to the
approaching lwa (whit'h the boy hodn't
seen).
 lll CHAPTF,R ]2

180 Radical
11 strokes
E
t ) ,), 'i,

Si. :x",,*",,* '1.1,

mouth E (5) + pull frtrsi : (Think of this as a continuation of the

exclamation [fr
This is an abbreviation for J
-r"- Characters 66 and 143).
previous story) The boy points at the
mouth ofthe cave, pulling at his rescuer's
[[{ ("le" plus sleeve. "Over there! Look!" he exclaims.
I The robot, covered in bits of lava, has
reachecl the safety of the cave and is trying
to clean himself up.

lrt
181
hud
Badical
4 strokes
)' (
fire
/ The wheel is on fire but the ghostly teddy
Supposedly a picture of a flame with two (who was supposed to be guarding it)
:parks, but you may prefer to think of it as cqn\ put out the fiames because when he
.: person running, hands in the air, shouting tries to pick up the hose his paw passes
-nre!" It takes a severely squashed form straight through it!
rhen appearing at the bottom of characters
--e l85a). Some books give a different
::roke order

;:.4@l hrtbchE q trlin

"' iLJ ff*i naaical

6
4.
strokes
) ri J'

(In an old castle) "If we could find a way

fire f((r8r) + nail J1s:ul = lamp IT
=.-tJrrsst dilrnd6ng electric light
of putting some fire on a nail in the wall
we could have a lamp in the room." / Iie
giant dunks twigs in candle-wra to make
the first rudimentary lamp. @oes this
story sound .familiar? )

18i, t.... Radical F i' .3

5 strckes

tr:lrl,, The fortune teller's magic mouth was so

popular that her tent was always occupi€d,
fortune teller I.ra2,) + mouth Er., =
and so a big crowd formed outside. / The
dwarf janitor had to be called to cleqr
The foftune teller's "drop" is a short hori- theffi qway.
zontal line here (see the note for 42a).
CHAPTER ]2 tt2
184 t^ L Radical ll :il
vil zhin
station
10 strokes

You're standing impatiently outside the

:.:1,

stand i(177) + occupy 6(ls3) = occupied toilets at the train station (and
station ifi yorjr train is due any mi )te). / The bt'at
is sitting in the janitor's office (and is in
This also means a (bus) "stop", or "to no mood to be helpful).
stand".
Notice the final stroke of "stand" has a
definite slope (compare the note for 54a).

4i$ts3) chEzhern (bus) stop, station

185a

ll!\ flre

This is the form taken by "fire" when appearing as the bottom part of other characters.

185 r...^ Radical ,,,. t-. l"

Cj
./ I\\
diSn
speck
I strokes

All the places round the camp fire were

occupy $1rs:y * fire,,,,(185a) = speck ,H ocrupied, except two seats with white
specks on them. / It was toothpaste left
This is used lor any dot, point or speck, by the two teddies who d gone olf to the
including the marks on a clock face, hence denti\t.
it also means "o'clock".

diinxln clim sum, snqck

,S,,f'1ror1
Ut,Hi:+i didiin len uel
.'--,ftJLtr, : rt yidilnr a bil, a tiny amount
[€-,H JLro:, :rt ydudiinr s/r'girl1;
somewhatl

"' I5 $;;
Radical
8
J-
strokes
rl )' t:.
:t
If you occupy the shelter for a certain
shelter l-(r;ot + occupy fiirs:l : length of time, you are allowed to turn it
store lfi into a store. / The two dwurves set up a
s supplies (picture them
shop selling dentist
This "store" is a shop where you buy things, sunounded by false teeth, drills, etc.)
not a place where you stash things away.

1f lfilrzoi shudiin bootsrorel

[iE,rE ooe jiiudidn liquor store; publ
 Chapter 13

liere are no new building blocks needed for the characters in this chapter you have
r:eady met and learned all the building blocks you will need.

"'R F,x?,
nadical
8 strokes
./i
li. /: !

The developers want to dig up the field

field Eflrr:oot * tree frtroot : fruit * with the tree in it, but can't because the
tree produces a rare fruit. / The ghostly
\.rte that you don't simply w te "fleld" then teddy who looks after the tree says, "Go
--ree" (this also happened for Character away, Go away! "
:-).
'
.:Ersot rigud fl
'
1 Rtrsot hdttgrti consequencel

'* l;:i::* .-.t :.' l.f

t+ Ii.u",oro"".
l
),2 .

Each tree only bore a few fruits so it took

tree,litroot * fruit Rtrrrt =
a number oftrees to produce enough fruit
number oftrees t*
for a pot of jam. / The giant used the whole
r- neasure rvord for trees and plants. When crop to make his lemon curd.
'::primaryuse ofa character is as ameasure
^ord we will
give its meaning as "number
::" something (we did this for Character
.. and another exarnple is coming up:
-:.aracter 223 in the next chapter).
. '' shi
fflflft:. rsst san kE three treesl

"' ],fl r.,",

Radical
10 strokes
J,

l-'-El
1
'1
l ';l -r!

laz< (lnschool) Next to their pictures, the

liuit +.t,"= 1...* i+ words for the fruits are written up during
..ords i (67") +
the lesson. / In the nect lesson the dwarf
.i {(15) kiwdn (piece of) text tectches them how to make lemon curd
- ,*r+zi sh ngki attend class
(and is iritated at havi g to sit in./br the
.iSrr;+r kibLn textbook cooket'v teacher).
='.*tr:t xiitki fnish class
C HAPTER I] 114

190a L-
lJ
,/\ to tap
The topiarist was dreaming of himming
clouds Flrrluy * shears X(:sut : tap t clouds with his shears (creating wonderful
shapes) until he felt a tap on his shoul-
This component always appears as the right- -
der (waking him up as his lunch break was
hand side of a character. over). / [No pronunciation needed]
Compare it with "pursue" (506a) which
looks similar but has one less stroke. that a magician might tap with a wand; as
The meaning is "to tap" with a stick opposed to the heavy swiping motion of"to
think of it as tapping lightly, in the way strike" ( l69a).

A ranger stands by the upright stone

upright Etrst + tap and taps it. saling. "You can'l come in
{tLsoot =
here this is an area protected by the
{t -
government." / I/r e dwarf has to take llis
j ungle tours els ewhere.

191a I -
rr-* lil I

H old
A big cross has been painted above the
mouth of one of to
ten trqr * mouth E(sr = old & the caves, remind the
forgetful old woman who lives there which
cave is hers! / [No pronunciation needed]

lsr Radical i I a./

)
& FJ,-",
I strokes

(The finale of the conjuror's act) "This

old fr1rsro1 + tap {rrso,t: former
time I'm going to use this very old wand
fil
to tap the hat, because it belonged to
my former magic teacher" / The dwurf
assistqnt wondlered uhat the conjuror
would say when he pulled a goose from
the hat (as the dwad hadn't been able to
find a rabbit).
 ll5 CHAPTER 13

"' f$ ,*,
Radical
I strokes
f ( ) 'r- -r I- I l.

"Why does that woman look so old?" asks

loman lk(rs) * old frtrqr"t = aunt tr-$ the little girl. "Shh! Shet your Aunt!" her
mother replies in a whisper / "lf you're
:&[fr gigu atrnr 1[arhers sister.)f ntde about her the giant will come and f.ll
your mouth with sticlq goo."

rsoa _[-p] I J. 1

) ;ijl ;',itl

HIJ it::,.
The old moon has become reckless and
old frrrst,t + moon Etort = beard {E has let his beard grow. I [No pronunciation
neededl
Ttris can also mean "reckless" or "crazy"
:n which case it acts as its own traditional
:orm).

"'WLr. Radical
12 strokes
l
l',': ,:t
i ',+
t\) ,l

rvater I rrsa) * beard tBtts:,t = lake irq The water gets in the wizard's beard as
he drinks from the lake. / The lake fairy
appears and says , " l{ho b th(tt? Who s
there? "

'*
HI; f
Radicat
7 strokes
)' _iL

ln school the old boys are being taught

JLtzrt :
about grams (they'd learned to use ounces
old fitrsrul + gram fr when they were younger). / The dwarf
- -1fii,r+l mikB mark (in exam)f teacher curses the newfangled metric
system.

,^-
Testyourselft lott Srt,r fio l{i,ror ffitrsrr ,8. (167) ,brre ,r

$ft1,rr Er,,ui *Ji,,'r, E,,rrr ,I.,,uul ,fA (r7s) t{,r,,

CHAPTER I:] ll6
195

+___I-
xtn
spicy
nadicat
7 strokes
*

(At the
't-

children's party) The children

have to stand on the cross painted on the
stand i.(r77) + ten -l-t.at = spicy * ground until they get the signal to start,
This also means "bitter" or "acrid" and then they must follow the spicy smell trail.
hence also "hardship". / The giont had laid the rrailbysrrappinga
bag of curry powder to his shin !

1e6 +r
___I- qln
Badical
I strokes
ll :1.

/J\ kin
Imagine you are standing in a tree
not
stand irrzr) * tree y'(tro,t : kin jj! an ordinary tree but your family tree, and
your kin are all arotndyon. / Sone ofyour
"Kin" here nieans blood relatives. kin will be high enough to touch the giant's
chin.
fl:ff42t1 miqrn mother
[*Hre+r qinzi in person]
197 ---)-... Radical
,'
r% chnn 6 slrokes
,/ to producc r-l
Imagine standing on a cliff overlooking
* cliff frr+er = the sea it's the ideal spot for a factory to
stand Yrrzr -
produce buckets and spades. / Tedtly buys
the first ones and slides down the channel
Notice that the bottom stroke of "to stand" leading to the beach.
has merged with the first stroke of "cliff".
We will this happening again in a couple
see reasons we want to keep the number of
of instances (Characters 295 and 640), but fragments to aminimum, everyone clse calls
it doesn't always happen (see for example this "stand"" and it r.s u'here the character
Character 257). f came from. But ifyou prefer (as always)
This is an example ofthe sort ofdecision you can make up stories to go with the other
we have had to make all the way through choice.
wdting this book. Do we invent a new
fragment made up of "lid" plus "horns", 4Prr::t shEngch n to manLtfactLlre
or do we use "stand" but point out rvhen Ii''L,r.l,, chinsheng to produ,c. give
son.rething slightly non-standard happens'l rise tol
In the end we have done the latter. for three
 11',7 CHAPTER ]3

198 l Radical l\
"l
5strokes
1- Xlo Above the fortune teller's head floats her
business card. / Teddy secretly borrows
above t (+zl + fortune teller
her magic carpet to fy up behind her and
get q closer look.
This character is actually the characters
''above" and "below" (Characters 42 and
13), sharing the central horizontal stroke.
The compound below was coined
because the sound kI resembles the English
sord "car".

f f ra3t klchE truck, lot'r1t

,* Radical L a. 1l.
[r:i,ii"*
I
7 strokes
L
2. give back I The spaceship driving instructor says:
"It's not a road, you don't have to observe

1. road Lt:eut a not Ttqt : still i6 the speed limits here." The pupil replies,
/
"I:m still a bit nervous." "Just wait till
L road i-1:eay * not 6tqt : give back I the fairy shows you how to use the hyper
tlrive ! "
'-_E,;0, hiishi srill. yet: or
z.
+ (The bandits have robbed a ba.nk and are
fleeing the posse) "Let's not use the road
we might meet the posse and we d have
-to give back the gold." / But the ghostly
fairy who gaards the bank catches up with
them and cqlls out, "Hands up!"

200 L Radical Ei
)' 't' ,j'

H Ht,,
.,,;i'
,1
I strokes

(On an old sailing ship) The Captain raises

hand 'f'.1:r1 + eye E rq:t = Iook at
\ote the slightly deformed form of"hand".
3. careful not to confuse this characterwith
tharacter 205 below.
a hand to shade his eyes to look at the
6 enemy ship. / He sees the dwarf loading
q cannon.

::€ost hXokim good-looking; i terestitlg

-€*rosr kinlSi it looks as iJf
'€i*rart klnfi (negative) opinionl
CHAPTER I] 118

201 \I Radical 1,
1 rt
1'J l1l,",
5 strokes

The young child is learning to read and

traces her finger along the words inch by
words i (oro + inch rflro+ay = 25;1161 irf
inch but has to ask for help when any
This also means "to explore". -
big words crop up. / Teddy has to keep
quiet, and is building a tower of blocl<s in
the corner (but every now and again there
is a loud crashing sound!)

202 I
Radical
I n l, I ;l l.-,1

EI Hl., 6 strokes

The tribe's oracle mouth is displayed in

enclosed [12+u1 ] mouth E (5) : the museum in an enclosed area; people
return Fl keep returning to see it (because it's so
l;lrurs;;,al). / The ghost$ fairy conjures up a
This means to return to a place; hence also shimmering halo to protect it.
"to come back" in the sense of to respond
or reply; or the number of times an action
is repeated.

El)Etest huflrii to retum (here)

El*ttol huiqir to return (there)
[*EJrasl l6ihu( retum (jouruey), there.
and back)

\
\/
k concubine
9-

(In the old days) You had to stand with

a foot on a woman to claim her as your
stand i(rrt + woman f(rs) =
concubine. / 17Vo pronunciation neededl
concubine $
203 ++r. Radical f
i' :; +, "i( ),i
..-
1 l strokes
t 1 I "i

14 11".",*

* : He stretches out his hand to the new

hand | 1r:zuy concubine *(zo:ut
concubine to receive her into his
receive f* household. /Sle ias brcught a huge plate
of jelly as a gift which it took tb,o giants
to carry!
 119 CHAPTER 13

20aa ++ I
./ sheep

This modified form of "sheep" (Character 1 l1) has the tail swept off to one side to make
room for another character underneath. The vertical stroke remains one stroke when it is
drawn at an angle, even though in some older fonts it looks as if it is broken into two.

chh g *rofes /
fall short

sheep l1:o+uy + work I(r+;l :

fall short #

L*T 7tt. t'tt chhbuduO more or less)

[#,F,JLrris. :rt ch]rdiinr almost,
nearlyl
The sheep keep working at their long-
jump practice by trying to jump across the
river, but keep falling short. / Their dwarf
coach keeps a chart oftheir progress and
heb not impressed!

205 \'.^ Radicdts

I ,I i'ii .ll :\r'
11 srrokes
E 1'1:' ::iLlr'|r"r ,'ij
2. -ing
l
1. sheep Ft:o+,1 + eye EJ ts:t : catch ts
* In the cowboy town they were keeping
2. sheep tsrzo+,y * eye EI io:t : -ing ts an eye on the sheep, hoping to catch
the sheep stlers. / The fairy is teaching
Don't confuse this character with "look at" the posse jousting skills (ready for the
, E,Character 200 above). confrontqtion with the sheep rustlers).
Pronounced as zh6o, this character can
have a variety of
meanings. "To catch" 2.
means "touch", "come into contact with", I In the spaceshipthe sheep ispatrolling
as in "catch a cold". Pronounced as zhe, it the corridors, putting his eye to each door
is used after a verb to indicate an action in to see ifhe can catch anything funny going
progress, hence our choice'1ing" for the on. / lmagine his surprise when he sees the
meaning. robot practicing his juggling!

Test yourself: !lt,o,l )lttzt &t,nol

E (r6s) J-r,;or
.,UrI )L,ry ffi,r,uor

flt,rur f]1'rri Sourr fH (163) *,,r, Eu, ,F.,,,*i

 Chapter 14

Abstract u,ords such as "suddenly" and "again" are very hard to evoke directly with
pictures. What we can do, though, is to use the shape of the character to remind you of
something tangible and solid and then Iink that with the absfact word. Look at the
- for example hopefully in future when you see the
character picture for "suddenly"
fragment f you wiil "see" the stad of the rurning track, and hence remember that sprint
races start "suddenly".
With "again", the shape of the character reminded us of the plunger used to detonate
explosives, and so we used this in the character picture. Youjust have to remember that the
particular thing being blown up is an old factory chimney, and the youngster is keen to see
this demolition happen again and againl
-
Ifyou find that a basic building block strongly suggests to you a different object, then
by all means usc that image instead of our character picture. All you need to do is conjure
up a (vivid!) situation to link this object with the meaning ofthe basic building block.

+
suddenly

t+
grass enter

g- a
reciprocal spoon
You s*atch my l,ac <

and l' soatch your:

 121 CHAPTER 14

t
spoon

\otice how this differs from "seven" (Character 37) where the sloping stroke extends to
both sides ofthe hook stroke. Many books give the stroke order as the other way round.

zo0 Z\V Radical A t:L

) i ',:L
10 strokes
HE ml"
cocoon z.(34a) + moon H tott * ..$* r##
Ll rzooo = able to 6E

The one and only cxample in this book

,rhere a character is broken down into/our
:arts which are then combined in a story.
You see someone picking up a cocoon 1n
:IHEo+01 k6n6ng ma1t, possible the moonlight ... it's a waiter practicing
'_{r-l
eq ninggin capablel picking things up using two spoons held
-?1j1 nt1 n6ngl\ abitityl in one hand he has to be able to do this
before he can pass his waitering exams. /
[DIY pronunciation]

207 a k- 'i 'l:

' l-- zhi
i-- suddenly

^'ff,^ Radical'f
7 slrokes
I
,i/ :!- t1 .r

ln a blinding flash, Harry suddenly knew

what he had to do. / [DIY pronunciation]
penon'f tr:ut + suddenly F co;o: do 'fF

\ reneral-purpose character meaning to do and an inflatable boat. If you flnd this hard
:: make (see also Character 210 below). work, relax normal service is resumed
\!'e've gathered together here the 6 char- after the next six characters (and spare a
.::rers with pronunciation "zuo". Two pairs thought for us as we tried to come up with
:: these characters form mini phonetic well over 800 ofthese stories so that each of
--ries. You might like to have a go at con- them would be memorable!)
!:ructing the pronunciation parts of stories
-rr these six. You will need a ghostly arche- IlFrtqtt g ngntb work, job
;.:e each time. If it is any help, the name [{FIrxr zudwdn essar]
-Zodiac" has been given to a make of car,
CHAPTER ]4 122

'' HF ili"..", Badical

9 strokes
E

(At the all night birthday party) She sees

the sun coming up and suddenly realizes
sun fl 1e1 + suddenly tseont:
BF it is a new day. It isn't her birthday any
more that was now yesterday. ,/ 1DIl'
EFtt:rt zu6tian yesterdq)) -
pronunciationl

209 Radical I
zud 5 strokes
left (hand)
(Showing a new employee how to work the
left hand lts:at * work Itr+:t = Ieft E big machine in the factory) "Use your left
hand, your wedding ring hand, to work
This means the lefrhand side. on the the controls as they are all on the left side
left, etc. (rather than the actual hand with ol the machine." / [DlY pronunciationl
fingers).

[4*ort zu6sh6u the left hanfl

,r, Radical 'f ,. .! .:)

M
,ti til
11 strokes l 1t

.,:u t.,\

person { 1r:uy } former ffirsrt = do ,f& Harry's former wife runs into the church
during the wedding ceremonyjust as he is
To do or make; the same meaning as saying, "l do." / [DIY pronunciation]
Character 207 but more commonly used.

llfi'Eott zuitfi methotrl

Test yourself: l4f t,ool l$t,*u1 (r7r ) f;enot 1Y 078) yfi (rs4) dK,,r,,

!t,,oo, ffrr'rrr ^ll (111) l'l r:orr k ( l8l) P (l or) )z_

L\(t 721

Character 210 is actually a fairly complicated character, but by now you are probably looking at
characters like this and breaking them up automatically into parts without thinking. Thisjust serves
to show how far you've come. It may in fact be quite hard now to rccall how you felt back at the
beginning when characters were all "squiggles".
 CHAPTER I4

211 Radical A
AJA ,,0 7 strokes
+
-1.
"i,
From the earth rises a beautiful throne to
from !(1ro:1 * earth Lts,1o: sit 4 sit on. / [DIY pronunciation]

This character doesn't split neatly Iefrright

Lrrtop-bottom into its two parts; you could
also see this as two people sitting on the
earth.

a,, Badical l"

) i, .r!

E r_:: 10 strokes
,,ti'i

You run into the shelter to sit out the

* sit Stzrrt: storm fortunately there's a seat to sit
shelter J'(t;ot seat ,E
on.
- pronunciation]
/ [DIY
This is also used as a measure word for
:uildings and other large objects.

- EiIf r:s) zudwli a seall

213 t E
,h
- Radical _i:
5 strokes
/ .1 ,ar

lll,,n,,o,
left hand l-(s:a) + mouth E(:t =
ihis is the opposite of "left" (Character
i09), not the right hand with fingers.
"Put your left hand, the one with your
wedding ring on it, over your mouth and
stretch your other hand out to the floor so
that you lean to the right." / The dwarf
demonstrates how this yoga posture looks
(Imagine what he looks like!)

-6[t+rl ydubidn right-hand side)

-fi$6ry ybushdu the right hanfl
'-iE eost zrtiydrt approximately)

Sorry to keep on about this, but you are remembering to visualize the sto es properly, aren't you?
For Chamcter 211, for example, what is the situation? W1Io is present and what have they done to
:.ovoke the throne to rise out ofthe €arth? Are they in a palace, in a clearing in a forest, or where?
l.-,r Character 212, wherc are you? Can you "see" th€ shelter? What sort ofshelter is it? ls the sky
rrk or light? Imagine you are telling a story to a small child who you arc trying to keep amused
what details might you add to catch their interest?
CHAPTER 14 124

214

n Jran
see

outer limits f]trooo + boy JLCII = see

Radicat
4 strokes
jl,

L
Note that the top pafi ofthis character is not
really "outer limits" (it is narrower and has
no hook) so we are cheating a bit here.
6Lt:oot kinjilrn see, catch sight ol
[A[rser huijiin to meet (formally)f
fT( u[,:o.rr jiEjid,n gronr ttn audiencef
(On a bus tour of the outer limits) In the
outer limits the boy wants to go to the loo
but won't go behind a bush. "Someone
might see me!". fNotice the boy's legs are
held together in the characterll / The two
dwarJ passengers decide that gentlemen
don't go in the bushes, so they vtill try to
wait until the toilets at the next stop.

tfr I
215 Radical
xiin I strokes
the present
The king has special powers and can see
king Itooul + see J[,{zr+) = every.thing going on at the present time in
the present fl, his kingdom. / [D1Y pronunciation]

This means "the present time", "now",

"current", or "ready to hand".

H]lnrrr+l ch[xi]rn to appear

I.[,if rs:t xi]rnz]ri nou,
';!x-II.,g+c) Faxiin tliscot er

Badical !
"u 6 strokes
7 \ .tl ::i1 '/rt llrl

X[,*l*"" (In the evening you meet an old frrend in

right hand n * see fl,1:r+l =
the street) You shake hands and see that
rs:)
he's wearing a special watch, and he tells
observe I[ you heb off to observe the starc. / In the
[i.J[,Hrrrsl guandi5n point ol viewf obset'vatory the ghostly giant will be up
on the gantry readying the big telescopes
and looking after them until your friend
gets there.

Testyourself: i6t,est fr{r,r,r fltrsa ?ir,rl $c,,t fit ort f$,,r,

[$1osr ll}i,,to, ifl,,rq f,,r, f,,r, 'fffio,o, p[1rs:r
 t25 CHAPTER 14

zlli
Radical
6 strokes
- ) rl ill +
again
/The dwarf plans to nm a small wheel
This character means "again" when talking again ancl again across his tylophone
about something which might be repeated in lo annoying the
rhe future. Character 52. on the other hand.
- and is looking forward
neighbors.
means "again" when referring to something
happening more than once in the past.
Some books differ in the order they
suggest for drawing the last three strokes.

fl fl,qq ziijidn goodbye

iBiiroa zlrishuo and what s more)
218a [1.
grass

+
218 + Radical

E
. i
...

ki 8 strokes
bitter
Tire donkey flnds that the old grass tastes
+r:rsui * old
frrrqr"t : bitter # bill.er - / Teddy says, "Mix it with couscous
and it will taste better! "
*f,trsst xinki hard (life, toil)

219a I
n rir
./ \ .,.,,.,

Compare this character with Characters 12, l9b and 20. Although it is not an HSK Level
,\ character, it is useful to be able to recognize the sign ,\ tr, "entrance".

21e Badical [l .l
tr
)':,
4 strokes
*T."
Harry is on abus tour and is about to enter
the outer limits. The driver announces,
outer limits fllrroul + person y'.1r:):
inside lt
'All passengers must stay inside the bus
while we travel through this da gerous
lr some typefaces the central part ol this areal' / The dwarf tour guide checks off
:haracter looks like "enter" rather than the names ofthe passengers on his list (to
-.person". make sttre they're all accounted for).

-,1ft1r:oy y\nii during, withinl

-,'+- lJ!tssi zirinii includedl
CHAPTER 14 t26

220 Badical E
[Jfr
I J
,u,,,,
[shour]
7 strokes

(A drugs bust) They are standing at the

mouth E (5) + inside lilt:rqt = shout
Recall that we use square brackets [ ] for
the meaning of characters which you are
only ever likely to see in compounds (see
Character 557 lor the compound in quesrion.
but it's not an important one).
[.! can also be used as a particle at the
end of questions, in the same way as 4d
(see Character 268). rnd in this guise ir is
pronounced na u ith a neutral lone.
ilfr mouth of the cave when, from inside-
comes a shout. / "The dwarf has found a
stash ofnarcotics!"
The main reason we've introduced this
character here is to show you what it looks
like when "person" is replaced by "enter"
(see the comment for Character 219). This
only happens lor Characters 219 and 220:
it does not happen for any of the following
characters (221225).

naaicat l-l

t4 rou
meat
6 strokes

In the outer limits stands a totem pole

outer limits fllrro4 + person {1r:1 +
Lrr:t = meat lA
Several characters containing "moon" are
actually derived from this character instead.
made from one statue of Harry on top
of another Herry: it's advertising Harry's
meat stall. / The dwarf ignores the rules
dnd sneqks olJ the tour bus to bq) nxeat for
his Sunday roast.

[*ltjtrr rt yimgrdlu mlnbn)

Radical
- -1 lr", i. -i )): ].,J
li6ng 7 strokes
I

a couple
The zoo gets a unicorn from the outer
one + from f/t1ro:1 * outer limits limils. to obtain a couple ofunicorns
-(r) which they hope might breed (where
llrroout = counle ffi
have we heard this before?!) / The two
(Character 2) is used in writing numbers, teddies are set the tqsk of watching the
- isolation or in a telephone number for
in unicorns'body language, to see if they
example. But Bj is used with measure words, are getting on!
when talking about "two of" something.

[ffit-\trq, rzt tiing ge r6n fivo peoplef

lffit*tiftris. rssy liing ke shir two treesl
 121 CHAPTER 14

229 -L11^ E I
Badical
:,t 'i1
it :1 , ..'li l:,1:

tfrl xil?",",.,,, ""'ffi

(In the car showroom) The elderly couple
car f1::y * couple ffi(zzz) = number of
sit in the car that they like most, tired after
cars Sj
having been shown a numtrer of cars. ,/
A measure word for vehicles. The two dwarf salesmen had talketl and
talked, but the technical kuguage (about
L= Si€4, s:r sdn liing che r/rree big entls etc.) had been incomprehensible
vehiclesl to them.

*'lWrlioo"o,," Badical 'f ,l

'tl
t,')
; ';r'.l
t'l: ':li
9 strokes

Harry only invited couples to his paty,

so that every time the doorbell rang, there
person 'f rt:u) + couple ffi12::t =
two people 'f[ were two people standing there. Two /
teddies tried to gdtecrash the party a.; a
LftiflfFj(rr, r8) timen lii the two of them lark.
(people)l

,i,i "; .J:

ffi scales
The recipe calls for a couple of handfuls
grass +1zt:uy + couple ffi1:::1 = of grass it is difflcult to weigh it on
-
scales as it is so light. / INo pronuru inrion
scales ffi
neededl

225 .\,-f+- Radical ]

/l ,n ;;,)
13 strokes
iffinrr i rl ,- t.'r. ;irj

water ] (rs,) * scales ffi t:zsot: full ffi

i..ftJlt::r mlnfen full marksl

She has to measure the water on the

scales, as her measuringjug is already full
(ofsomething else). / Teddy doesn't know
how to use the scales and hqs to read the
manual.
CHAPTER 14 128

226 ---rJ Radical

-
n| ^ hirreciprocal
4 strokes
Z- 4

/ (In the past a friend gaye you their

!- tEr rol I huxrang mtiually, each other spare wheel when you had a Jlat tire) You
L tH 11{ l6l) xlangnu muttru| each otherl now see this friend with a fiat tire and
stop to give them your spare wheel as
a reciprocal favox Behind you a dwarf
hoots impatiently, wanting to get past.

+
227

tr ta
it
Badical
5 sirokes

He builds a small house to accommodate

house "-191a) + spoon h tzos4 : i1 '6 his silver spoon. "Why does it get all the
attention?" asks his pet dog jealously. /
This is the neuter form ofhe/she (Characters "Because spoons tamish and dogs donl! "
13 and l6)all three are pronounced ta. replies the giant.

22a
LL l:,,r"."0*,,n
;:HLt"t m
He took one spoon, then another spoon,
spoon hlzoou) * spoon L(zooo)= and compared one withthe other. / TeddJ,
compared with f[ didn't care which one he had, as long as
he got to eat his beans.
Notice that the lefthand spoon has been
squashed so that its hook has turned into a
"barb" (see l20a).

ILLl[isot birri for examplel

[trtLLrrs+t dttib\ compare & contrast]

"' tLl, x,,,,,,."

Radical
7 strokes
f 2 :t. ,j,L

The teacher looked at the hands of the

hand f (rs:,) + compared with f[12:r;: children and compared them with her own
criticize t|li she criticized any failings such as dirf
-nails. / The ones with clean hands were
lJtlllr+rr dipr /ors o/ allowed to take the pizza to the Gist t.
 t29 CHAPTER 14

Radicat )l
"o L t1
!-1 gu'o'.' 4 strokes

You look in your diary and see that

seven t(:z) * knife Ztz:t : cut tn
\\'e've included this character here so you
can compare it with Character 228. The left-
iand side of Character 230 is "seven". not
''spoon" (although it too has been squashed
and has a "barb"). The telling detail is that
:he cross stroke in Character 230 extends to
:oth sides of the vertical stroke.
seven days ago you met'with the murder
victim, so you use a knife to cut out the
/
incriminating page. The two dwurves
are going round checking on everyoneb
alibi.r.

-tf 1ry yiqib

all, everything
-*tnirso q-tnqii co iall

rest yourself: B fficorr fiflc*r n-,n,

fii \212) [f ruor ]fr1rea
l:f-
",
fi1ruo, Bo" &,tr Eltrurr H t,ro, Etr'r) E,,,
t. rl-
Ee,v T,0,, .ffior,, E r / \lr,)r IFr.]osr
6J,r,r, 1205

Errrrt #,r,r, dJ,rr, Srru L p,o, ff1r.ur1 frnrt

\bu will have realized by now that the concept of"basic building block" is a little fuzzy at the edges.
This is not a major problem: the concepts of "animal" and "plant" in biology are also fuzzy at the
:dges (what are algae?) but in everyday life we all know what animals and plants are. Similarly,
rlost of the time it is clear whether a character is composite or a basic building block: either it is
'-obviously" composed oftwo parts, or it is "obviously" a single entity. But there are gray areas at
:he boundaries.
A particular case in point is when to regard "one" (a single horizontal stroke) as a separate part.
\\ hen the stroke is completely "free floating" (notjoined on at all) we always regard the character as
:omposite.Thus-,-and EL are composite. Whenthe horizontal line isjoined on, rve have agray
.rrea. The general rule we have adopted is to regard such charucters as basic building blocks, unless
:here is a ho zontal line at the rop ofthe character ard when you remove this line you get something
:ecognizable. Thus f, I and f are composite but I and 6 are basic building blocks. We don't
:^ to detach a horizontal line at the Do11or? ofa character unless it is completely free-floating. So .E-
:s composite but L and l- are basic building blocks.
Stickirg to a rule like this (even ifthe choice of rule is somewhat arbitrary) makes it easier to
Jecide confldently whether a character is a basic building block or composite.
Chapter 15

I,{rl II <,tt"*,h",Z,
ffiw
',
bend \u /
.u-*tt-'

\-i

:-;,,2
-"
=ml''
I'i,'tlll

______7 /\
=l*@,
\,1W
cap Yt/
 131 CHAPTER I5

::1a-l -l
..btade.,
J
:i1b ---"t -l
r{l
rJ
.t
department
The blades were piled up in the produc-
Eirsotl + blsdq tion departm€nt because the sales depart-
Ji231,1 =
ment couldn't sell them fast enough. /,?y'a
department -nl
pronuncidtion neededl

231 \ ---1 Badical l,

i jl ': -: -.1.: i":
I.nJ il. 7 slrokes

(A new boy is being shown round the

uords j. (ezc) * department -p]rz:ru): factory) "The words department makes
the words, so whenever you need a word
word i-ol
they will supply it. / The fairy keeps
?-rcall that soundwords which begin "st" statistics on which words are being
,:nal pronunciations which start with "ts" requested most often."
.i ritten as "c" in the Pinyin system see

--haracter 104).

longuage lesson)
'_
{lu-lool mingci nctunl
jli-n]rsrt ddngci verbl

:1 t', ,ilr

bend

Radical/\
*h
/ \
u,u"
reference book
I strokes
:1 I :r, ;:r ':1,
i\'

One of the octopus' tentacles has a

permanent bend in it, so he puts a heavy
ffir::zo + eight /l(:or:
reference book on it to try to straighten it
reference book & out. / The tuo teddies try using the same
\ote that the horizontal line at the base of method to get rid of the dent in their
''bend" is extended on both sides.
frisbee!

;il4r::rr cidiln dictionln,

'7{te:t zidiin charucter dictionartl
CHAPTER 15 132

, t:
L
This fragment always appears as the left-hand side of composite characters. We will meet
another form of it later (607b).

!
"" Lli:lr rradicd
6 strokes
,/ 2 t !t t,.

(A young girl is sewing a quilt) She rests

thread 2 (:r:u) + work
l[I't$ozst Hfinghhi
l(r+rt : red 4I for a moment with the thread trailing
across her work. Then she looks down
the Red Sea] and sees a red stain spreading across the
fabric she has pricked her flnger with-
out realizing. / Luckily the fairy hrcws a
magic stain-removing spell that she leamt
in Hong Kong!

Radicat L 'ln
"o I strokes
2 ,1 -l:=l iirt
ZEI ,r.0",
He strung the thread backwards and
folwards across the fleld (to protect the
thread I (z::u) * field Bltrsoat =
crops from the birds). It was very slender
slender 4 so it would do the job without blocking
l!fl ,L'rror, x\xn mericulousl the light. / The dwarf was satisfed as this
would shiekl the crops from the birds (and
save him from trying to keep them away).

Test yourseti f 0a 5 ( r85) +t (32) lleztt flc,or ffitrtt {llprnt

ffiirr,, 4l lt74) JF.

,ru /\
l' il ,;I t i;
H
Radical ii.
n, I strokes
/ \ "this or that"
/ " Do yotr want this or thst wheel? " asked
This character corresponds to a wide range the salesman. "Wichever is cheaper," the
ofEnglish words (this, that, he, she, it, etc.), fairy said.
depending on the context.

lf 1fi1nl qitd other)

 133 CHAPTER 15

236 E
Radical r ,I n .: I i. ,11 'iil
{
12 strokes
ili-l
-..1) . t.i.)

this or that {1::s1 * moon
fi
due H
This means due (as in "due for an appoint-
ment"); an appointed time; or a period of
time. It appears in the names for days of
the week (note that there are two words for
Sunday).
(Two telescopes are set up to watch the
lary =
Iunar eclipse) The curator says, "You can
use this or that one to see the moon
but hurry the eclipse is almost due.",/Bal
clouds obscure the yieq so the giant, on
a nearby hill, holds up a lump of cheese
ttith a bite aut oJ'it Jbr them to look dt
instead!

F_r{rllor xlngql treck IEff-ir:e,:r Ytngqt'ir Tuesday)

Htot riqr date (of event)]
I El IEH:tr:0.:r )fmgq-rsen Wednesclayl
[KBBtrr:r chingqt a lctng tinte) IES9[!tr:0, u+r Yrngqisi Thursdayl
[*fffs21 xu6qi term, semesterl IES]trrr:0.:or )Ctngqrw[ Friday]
-E-If Err:o.ot Xingqiri Slnday IESBxir:r,:s) Xrngqilir) Saturdayl
[Eff-rr:r. q Yrngqiyt Montlayl E-fF'Vtzs.tst )Crngqitian Sarda_r

*' Raaical a. I l ri'

# ilunou,,on
1'l strokes

"Do you want to use this or that earth

this or that {tz:si * earth t(s+,) =
foundation 4 for the foundation?" the builder asks,
pointing. / "In either case h,e'll need so
44rr:rt jibdn basic, .fundamental much thqt it'll tqke the giant and his jeep
4dHrrrsrjichi base, Jbundation to transport it."

238a Ir
, \
7( ffi" The big fisherman felt a drop ofwater on
)t1,rzl + 241oo \ (22a) = dog ,l( his arm (but there was no cloud inthe sky).
The dog was shaking itself after having
Compare this character with "too much" been in the rler- / [No pronunciation
(Character 48), which was also formed out neededl
of "drop" and "big". It's the same fisher-
man, but notice how in the stories the drop
is on top of him, or falling from him, as
appropriate. When appearing on the left as
a radical, this character uses the distorted
I
fom (see 263a), in which the drop dis-
appears.
CHAPTER 15 t34

238 r\ Radical Jt
T ir, .lrl
7t L";..*,, 4 strokes

I The fairy found the wheel useful, espe-

This is a deformation of the previous cially in her yoga class.
character.

lLtst::si y6uqi especially

239a
tf
-)-r
"tall"
A wooden lid fits across the mouth ofthe
.1zsu1
* mouth E cave, but (since it is hinged at the top) you
lid E tst = tatl
need to be very tall to open and close it. /
[No pro nunc iat i on needed]

239b 'r -
l' ,tr
LJ .trfl,l
4 \ capital
There were both tall and small build-
: ings in the capital. / [No pronunciation
tall E(2rer) + small zliisoy capital fi neededl
That is, a capital ciry This is not an HSK
A character but you will see it in JL,H,
"Beijing".

239 --)- lr Badical

t2strokes
i :;r i:. :tj
E/f, ',i;n,,-,, :i,1, rii'.

capital fi1::eL,t + especially /Lr::sr =

In the capital it is especially important
to get on the train right away. / The two
f,I
dwarf atte dqnts don't like people joking
This character can also mean "regarding, around (as meryone s in a rush).
concerning".

-....!-fi...t,t yiAjiil B no sooner A th.tn B

[iJtEi:or jinshi even if; exactly; precisely]

Test yourself: f-rr+or l4tttt f lcri J tuut !o,r !1zzu1 EE",

i-r]o,,r t,oa El,uo, iffic-r t{i,ooi llput l!nu,
 135 CHAPTER 15

240 >.^ Radical

4 slrokes
f
) r ,t
,t'l- I'l / giant is sharpening his oxe on the
The
Often used to mean a unit ofweight (equiv- grinding wheel, and has a swig of gtn
alent to 500 grams). every so often to keep up his strength!

; fl6s1 gongiTn kilogram

241 \ r.- Badical

7 strokes
L )' t ti 1tl d
trff li:."
road L(zo,) + axe FT(u+ot = close iE
[iE*tosl jinldi recently, nowadays)
I
j{X!(203) JrcJtn be ctose to)

An axe was lying in the road and he

swerved dramatically to avoid it. "That
was close!" / In the passenger seat the
dwad hatl a swift swig of his gin to
recover!

242 Radical E vJ ,Jt- ",)|

7 strokes
[rT m.
At the mouth of the cave he was working
moul h E r j) + axe ,( away with an axe (to clear the trees which
1:.101 = lislen 11[
had blocked it) when he thought he heard
l,f[,1:rn; tr-ngjiin to heer something and stopped to listei. /A tingle
l,tiirorr tingshuo to hear of; people say rqn up the giaflt's spine.
(that)

"' #/T ;r
Radical
13 strokes
,f
.i' iiri
f ,.! : 'ii

kin *trsrt + axe frt:+ot : new *,f He was so fed up with his kin that he felt
like taking an axe to them and finding a
#4rrost xinniSn New Yeqr \ew lot. /The giant chuckled to himself
as he thought of the shindig that would
create.
CHAPTF,R 15 136

244a

undergroulld river

244b
A
_l^ channel
The underground river had become
+ work silted up so they had to work hard to clear
underground river .^ (2aaa)
It r+rt : channel 4 a channel (so that the flood waters could
drarn away). / [No pronunciation needed]

244
' -,
Radical L
?A
7I
:,"*
go through
8 strokes
2 f7 tt ',:'i l;..".

(On a potholing expedition) The leadertied

a thread around his waist and swam along
thread ? (:::a) + channel 412,r+ry =
the channel to the next cave; this made it
throueh 7;
easier for the others to go through in turn
This means "to go through" in the sense after him. / Sitting in the final cave was a
of "to experience"i also "to manage"; and giant who jingled some bells (to lead them
there are other derived meanings such as to him). [Note that we v)ill distinguish
"scriptures" and "longitude". jingling (bells) from j angling (coins, keys,
chqins end all other objects)1.
4 jitroe jrnggud go through, pass
I by
L41JE, rs", jingli monagerf

245 -t^--t Radical + L i,-'r

4L qr"e 9 strokes
I -i-:-

f-J- tigttweigtrt
Cars are being allowed along the drainage
car f-tslt * channel Aeqtt,): channel but only lightweight ones. / The
giant who mqintains the channel, has
+A
spotted o chink in the channel floor (and
4FEtrosl niinqrng young so has imposed a weight restriction).

246a

\\ ice crystals
Drop after drop of water in the icy cave
a drop . {z:u) * a drop . 1z:o1 :
slowly builds up a stalagmite of ice
ice crvstals -' crysttls. / [No pronunciation needed]
 137 CHAPTER I5

Badical lft j-
t6u 5 strokes )
head
In the cavem, the ice crystals were so big
that he hit his head on one. / The fairy
ice crystals .'r:+oa r l- Jti+zr = head * conjured up a lamp for him to see by, just
This means both literally a "head" and also qs he was about to stltb his toe on another
more figuratively "chief" or "foremost". one.
Note that the last stroke is a drop; this
iharacter is not really "ice crystals" plus [,R*lrsi) diint6.u to nod onels heacfi
''brg". but we'r e used this breakdown since
this is what the character looks like at fust
glance.

---**t
"cap"

Compare this with "knee" (166a): this is a much longer stroke with a short hook at the
end.

247
x
---------.

-e4j
mii
bry

+ head *t:+ot :
Radical
6 strokes

buy *
-

(A
)'- :ll

schoolboy is going out to get illicit

[*4fUrs, r+t miibudio
cigarettes) He puts a large cap on his
head so that when he buys them he can
out o;f stock] smuggle them back in it. / Teddy puts on
a bishop s miter (fi:ying to help, but only
drawing qttention to the two of them).

Radical J- .f- '):

mii 8 strokes
* sell
(At the cathedral in Rome) The pilgrim
wants to buy a cross and there's no
ten f 1+1 + buy *rzqrl = sel * shortage of people to- sell him one! /
Careful: the top looks a bit like "earth" One trinket seller a dworf. is wearing a
(54a), but it isn't! bishopb miter in the hope that people will
think his goods are more authentic.
[**ru+a m5rimii trade, businessl
CHAPTER ]5 138

249 \ -+- Radicat l.

t .;.1' ,:L 1: i). ,ia!a

1* l"',",0
l0 sirokes

She has words written on flash cards,

words i rer") * sell *rz+sr : read ii which she sells to schools to help children
learn to read. / The fairy sits on the chil-
[i*flrr;ol di stri to read, study] drenb duvets an(l listefls to them reading
at bedtime.

+
250
shi
Badical
8 slrokes
r ..-;:

real lEl
l=1 He dreamt that the house was falling on
house +(sro)
his head; he woke up and thoughl it was
* head *tzmt = real * real, because his bed was covered in dust.
*4,rzrsr shixiin to materiqlize / But it was only ash
- the fairy had been
[*,Htr:ot shiydng u s eful, p rac t i c a ll c hain - s mo king c h ero ots !

t*'i:rarr shixi\g pLn into practicef

[*Eosr shizii honest: indeecl

Congratulations! Learning 250 characten is a real achieve- 100%

ment. Did you really believe, right at the beginning, that you'd
actually be able to get this far?
The flash cards mentioned in the story for Character 249 HSK A
are actually a very good idea. They are small cards for testing
yourself(say credit card sized) with the character on one side
and its meaning and pronunciation on the other. Use them to 50%
test yourself at odd moments, in supermarket check-out lines
for example. You can buy these cards in ready-made sets or
make a set yourself. lfyou mix the cards together, adding the
cards for each chapter as you go along, you will be creating the
same effect as the Test Yourselfpanels in this book. Speaking
ofwhich:

restyoursetf: ifrorr i[c+rr tru" !tu,r {'t"'r'ff{r"r tll,,,

B,ru, Frroor lt,r,ur llnt 4t,ur, [[f1,0:r fteort
 Chapter 16

Once again, you have already learned all the basic building blocks you will need for this
chapter.

251a
a
EI
zhi
purpose
YA |:,
I n ai iJ

He left his spoon to warm in the sun

-
with the sole purpose of making it easier
spoon hlzoruy * sun flto): EI
to bend back into shape. / lNo pronuncia-
tion neededl

2s1 Radical + ,]1,

l I i I,j

fE ;*-".
": i1
9 strokes

(In the school classroom the small chil-

dren are doing hand-painting) The small
hand f irszuy + purpose E(zsrr) =
boy puts his hand on the wall on purpose
point at tE
and the others all point at the culprit.
lf lEarr shduzni fnger (incl. thumb)) / Teddy suggests that they tum the paint

t
[isL,!jr
r r+r zhichu to point outf splodge into a picture of a geranium.

252a .i;'
meditate
"You must sit in your tent with a spoon
tent ,\(reb) + spoon h (zoou) : balanced on your finger in order to
meditate properly." / [No pronunciation
meditate A
neededl

252 \A Radical 1
1 .:,/ -t\ -iu
/C HL,,
6 strokes

"Read these inspirational words and

(67c) + meditate liQszu) = meditate on them; aftelwards we will
discuss your insights. / The ghostly dwarf
discuss iA
from London (imagine himwith bowler hat
i'liAizort tiolin discuss, tliscttssion and umbrella) has agreed to materialize
[iAXpsr linnw6n essay, thesisl and join the discussion."
CHAPTER I6 140

253 \I
) .t\
Badical L

4 strokes
7
1A, ;?n,,,"
Words have been scrawled up around the
words i (67c) + person ,\(12) : school, saying "Harry go home!" but
i everyone recognizes the handwriting. /
The dwarf teacher.finalll; spots the culprit
illtrrzzr rinwdi think (that) in oclion ond runs to apprehend him.
I i/\.1$r n s) rinde know, understaufl

E] zhi; zh7
only;
one of a pair
mouth E (:) + eight /\(20) =
; one ofa pair F,
The two traditional forms tfi
respond to zhi and zhi respectively. zhi is
a measure worrl and is also used to refer to
things r.rhich usualll come in pairs.
When this character appears as part of
anolher character we will use the meaning
"only" in the equation and the story.
Badicat E
5 strokes
met ffi The octopus is at the mouth of the
cave (it is an underwater cave and we are
on the film set for "20,000 Leagues under
the Sea"). The main scene will only work
and $ cor- if they can film lots of swirling water /
Teddy suggests using ajacuzzi They go to
see i/' they can .film in the giant's jacuzzi.
\ He gives them one of a pair of his old
gloves to make a squid costume out of!

F,ltt1.t,1 r.hih6o hove ro

[.E Errnrt zh\yio prottitled that]
Ilfli:01 zhishi only, just, merely)
[lf1a:1 zhiydu only iJ: have tol
[- .E ?rr,:rt yi zhi sh6u a honQ
,
'uu LE\ ,n*rur" Radical
8 strokes
) 2 trl |,|:,

-/
thread 2 tz::,1 + only F,(:s,rl: 'J.:*.'io,i,:,
weave f,

"This thread can only be used for

weaving, not knitting." / The giant likes
to relax in his jacuui and passes the time
knitting (but fnds this message written on
the new thread he hos just boughtl.
 141 CHAPTER 1o

rest.yourserr: #io, f$r,,tl f,fJr,^r flrrer $tr,or Jtuur *,u,

* lE Badical 1 .L
;), .;.J

y/\ shi
knowledge
7 strokes

(A cookery program on TV) "The words

: of a recipe only mean something if you
words i (oz") * only F.tzs+t
have some knowledge of how to cook."
/ The fairy holds up a shallot (and adds,
rinshi holr1 understand "You have to know your onions!")

___)- Badical S
\l yrn I strokes I i
EI sound
"If you stand this in the sun for a while
stand i,r--1 + sun sound it will make a deep, resonant sound. /B /
E (h/ = pL
the giant won't like it because it upsets his
',**tes) y[yln pronunciqtionf yin!"
'J fr1s; kduyin accerrl

Badical E .;'
EI
./ IfJ\
yr
idea
13 strokes

sound E(zsr) + heart ,L'(ror) : idea ;=-:

"If we listen to the sound of your heart,
this will give us a better idea of what is
'*r-oczsi minyi satisfdctorl, going on," the surgeon said. / The dwad
:.-y'f 1zr+y yijiin opinion, ien, stands by wirh ether.for anesthetic.
E s,otrrot t6ngyi agree, qpprove
.-=.-,S,1rosy yisi nearirg
6HEro:. ro:t y6.u y\si interesting
,.1,e.*,H,t ros, ro:t mii yisi uninteresting

1ru
r \ ti it;,
fifth
He embeds the dagger in the cliff, in the
cliff ftr+st + dagger -ti::^y : fifth I! middle of the painted star, to indicate
that he is of the fifth generalion. / [No
"Dagger" and "cliff" are fused togetherhere pronunciation neededl
(similar to the situation for {t, Character
32).
CHAPTER 16 142

"' .EI:l;l?," Radical

6
{
strokes

The blad€ ofthe fifth lordh daggerturned

blade I tz:rat + fifth Et:ssO : into chocolate. / He looked around and
turn into ,fi there was a chunlq fairy smiling mischie-
vously clearly she had done it.
[fiKrr:zr ch6ngzhing to grow upf
-
[.Etj,trzsr ch6ngjiit greatachievementl
[.frRrrarr ch6nggud positiye outcomel
l 1]I !l-( i 771 chdngl\ set up, establish)

"' !51 il;r Radical

I
A.
strokes

(A property developer shows investors a

earth:L(s+a) * turn into ,Et(25e): site) "This whole expanse of earth will
turn into a town," he says. / The chanlq'
town fi fairy lands heavily at his feet and says,
Originally this character meant "city wall", "Over my dead body."
hence its appearance in the name for the
Great Wall of China.

lltfitr:zt chringch6ng the Great llalll

[fiIE(r57) ch6ngli in townl

'utu
* oro^un
The children arive at the park to find
earlh Lr:+", I slide /r,,ttr = old man ? earth on their slide. It was the old man
(who lives near the park and objects to the
noise). / [No pronunciation needed]

261 Radical
-

fi :1t",,,,,,
8 strokes

The old man has been out in the sun for

old man 7(zota) * sun flle; = too long (and has a sunburnt head) so
he has to go and see a specialist. / Teddy
E
gives him a jersey to put over his bald
This is used as a suffix meaning -ist or -er, head.
i.e. the person doing something.

[lFh tzott zritzhi author]

[i*#eqy dtrzhE reader (eg of
newspaper)l
 143 CHAPTER L6

"'#ls ddu; dn
l. all
Radical
10 strokes
I
t.
l
/ 1' 1 ':' ri -i-l t4

2. metropolis $ The sheriffwas wor.rnded in the gunflght

and had to go back East to the specialist
1. specialist #tze rt + city [t']rul =
in the city all the people in the town
aI 6[ -
clubbed together to pay for the treatment.
2. specialist ff1usry+ city [1or,t : / The giant carriecl him so that the sheriff
could doze on the way to the hospital.

5fillrr+at sh6udfi capital city 2.

1...fi[...rsat li6n A ddu
B even A is/does B I The spaceship crew land on the planet
looking for a specialist in the city
- but
get directed to the metropolis. / The gfunt
carriet the sick alien wrupped up in a
duvet.

l t
dog

Recall that this is a distorted form of ,t "dog" (238a).

Badical { ,r t/- 1i i'1 )ai

J
zhI 11 strokes
pic :i

+ specialist #eort = pig
dog 1 tzo:ut
Character263 means "pig", but you probably
:emember that we already had a character
:or "pig" (109a). We have seen this happen
:lready a number of times for example,
-
lere were two characters for "river".
This isn't a problem, as we are always
';orking in the Chinese to English direction.
.: you see Character 263 and remember
:r're story, then you will remember that the
The dog specialist (in the poodle parlor)
4&
looked up, astonished, as a customer
brought a pig into the shop. / The giant
wantecl a jewelef, collar (for his pet pig).
character means "pig" (however'many other
characters there are that also mean "pig").
This isjust as well, as a third pig will be
coming along in Chapter 271
l\h\teztt zhirdu por*l

Test yourself: f t,:*l fi r,,l E (r2E) l.]r,rnr four 2fsy EE|rrr

hnr, ffir'*t ;fi[ ,:ai, 8,",, ,J ',,0, ?\,r.t, fi,,*,
CHAPTER 16 144

'"'zx:^ 6
Radical
slrokes
T

The old man ate everything with a spoon.

old man Jt(zoru) i spoon t1{:oout =
otd Z
"Old" here can mean either "elderly" or
"long-standing". It can be used with an old-
er person's surname (e.g. ZE, Lao weng.l
as a term of friendly respect. Conversely,
xido (Character 50) can be used as a casual,
lriendly way of talking about (or to) some-
one younger than you 1e.g. z]r$, XiIo Li).
He said, "You can do what you like when
you are as old as I am." /Teddy copies
him, slurping loutlly.
Z-r:i l5o ir second child
lZ*esq lloshi honestf
[Z-lr.irzl lior6n elderll, person]
lZ$ll*tau nt lioblixing the commotl
people)

z6sa -1'?
# xiao
J frhal prety
The old man was delighted to see that the
old man Jzrzorut * child Trrzr = child had been brought up to show filial
piety ("Unlike most ofthe youth oftoday,"
filial pietv # he mutters). / [No pronunciation needed]
This strange-sounding phrase means respect
for parents and ancestors, which is a power-
ful tradition in China.

*' Badicai
11 strokes
t
#*,i:::il"*
filial piety lpssal + tap { trsou) : The filial piety teacher taps impatiently
on his desk he wants to get on and
teach ?{ - / But the pupils are all
teach the lesson.
This character has two pronunciations but distracted, listening to the sounds of the
it means "teach" regardless! So (iust this jousting toumament next door
once) we have t'wo different archetypes
- two
dwaryes and two gianls are in lhe semi-
sharing the same story except that as fnals.
we are talking about an- i- onglide, there
are two ofeach, and so we end up with four
altogether!

[?{#iszt jiioxu6 teaching]

 145 CHAPTER I6

'*^ ,
f moon

\bu may recall that this is a distorted lorm of fi, "moon" (Character 61).

266b t-h ) I L
+Dt-
"dog food"
During the fasting season even the dog has
moon f(zooo) * dog .lir::s"l = dog food t to wait until the moon is up, before he can
hare his dog food. [No pronunciation
neededl

*u Badical ,,,.
) ) 1.' ',:.'

ffi il:;",",
! '') L
'12 strokes

dog food 4i1zoor,1 + fire ,,,.( rss") =

The dog food has gone bad so they tfuow
it on the fire however, the fire then goes
however ft -
out. / The fairy canl bear the rancid smell
:ris character also means "correct"; (so conjure.s the fre into life again).
'-:ut"; "so"; "this"; "-1y", depending on the
itrOteXt.

i
'
Errsot rdnhdu aJier, and then
3 l*ts+t zir6n nature; naturull
l,ltrrozt b\rdn ineyirqble, botncl tof
'rilttst
-
birdn or, other"wisel

restyourselr: {[r*r Ffieort ffa,ur fil'ott )frrorr ]$rr,,t [[r,our

{1r*u, Ef1,orl F,rrror ts,r*, fro,,,, l.+-ort {1:+,
Ii _!',ou are practicingwriting characters (as you should). your lirst attempts will have been awkwarr!
:ut as with most things you'll be getting better with practice. Try drawing large (1 inch or 2 cm)
.quares on a piece ofpaperand practice drawing the characte$ to fill these squares. What commonly
lappens otherwise is that your characters get smaller and smaller as you writc a line of them.
Don't be too hard on yourself(we a)l draw gawkyJooking characters when we start). Evcn now,
r ou'll be able to look back at your early attempts and compare them with your most recent ones, and

seejust how much you've improved.

Finally, try writing out sentences, or just lines of characters, on ordinary paper. To bcgin with
\ou can mark out squares to write in ifyou want to, but after that simply imagine the squares and try
:o keep your characters alJ equally sized and equally spaced.
 Chapter 17

ThetheecharactersBBEareverysimilarbutdistinct.Lookattheirthreecharacter
pictures you might think of the first character as being a bit self conscious because he
-
can feel himselfturning into a snake by the B stage he's already halfway there!
Also on this page, notice the small differences between the important fragments "gold"
and "food".

-l F
snout corpse

fl e
self already
4lrt4 {y hq fsn3ke. ..

)-
E, T
snake gold

,lT',"c;-wt-[Ti]
It *.;;;- l. l

,,h
R-
ME"
stubborn food

Ll.il
 147 CHAPTER I7

1 il

267 \ J/ Radical ./.h .t ,12 \1) .4

1
dane rtlirn*t 6 strokes
;l-f
They look like small snouts, but act as
small uJrlsoy + snout : act as g gasmasks. / The giant is h(tnding them out;
=(267a) he has them all dangling from his f.ngers.
The top three strokes are a distorted version
of "small" (Character 50).
The character means "to act as" and also
"to regard as".

_1-&&:oor
dangrin of course
.
-t dangqidn now, ar presentf
EU,q0r
[5]l[o+i dengdi local; at that placel
Iliilfzrol ddngmd regarcl as, treat asl
[9Ettrosl d ngshi at that time]
[=+(r68) dangni6n then; in those yearsl
268a
/
FJ .n
.orp."
3
r
268b r-t j) }L
)Z ii" In the convent hospital each corpse is
corpse f lzoru; * b ru oeor : nun ,E sprinkled with holy water from a spoon
by the senior ntn. / [No pronunciation
neededl

268 Badical E ,|, ,,,iL

'f
W::,,, 8 strokes

The nun's mouth dropped open in

mouth [ (5) + nun ft,pesay = as for [E disbelief. As for the other nuns, what
about them? Had they noticed tt? / No
-\ particle, used at the end of questions. which was just as well, as they d go nuts -if
One use is to repeat the question, but now they realized there was a robot creeping
referring to a new subject. It can also be up behind them!
used in a rhetorical way, or to soften the
tone of a question or sentence.
CHAPTER 17 148

,'n Radical F
no,
Jtl 4 strokes

Theyput a drop ofoilon the corpse so that

a drop .
they could squeeze it through the door. /
122,r) + corpse Ft:osu) = door F The dwarf, outraged, said, "Remember
who thqt is !"

,,0 Radical rFi

) i' !) t1
I strokes
DT ;ffU',,
The burglars broke down the door with an
door F'r(:os) * axe fi'trrot : trrildtn* , axe to gain access to the b$lding. / The
ghost$ teddy who gua ed the building
The left-hand side is an older version of rhret bars ofsoop at the intruders.
"door" (Character 269), and does not appear
in any other character in this book. Some
books suggest writing the left-hand side ol
Character 270 by following the stroke-order
used for Character 269.

Urrzot su6yi thereforc,

,Ef so
,E[6'ro:r su6y6u a//

-
fl
271 Badical
L-r
3 strokes
*,,
/Teddy is fitting new special self-cleaning
This, and the characters 274 and 275a. wheels to his jeep (and ends up in need of
are all very similar use the character some cleaning, himselfl).
- building blocks at
pictures for the basic
the beginning of the chapter to help you
remember which is which.

E dre+r ziji self; one's own

272 \ -----t Badical 1 .L

:l)
5 skokes
l,C',:,"0"'^"
(Stuck in a traffic jam) He has no paper,
so has to write the words down on
words i to;"t +
self irzzrt =
himself, as he wants to note down what
note down iE
has occurred. / In particular, he wanls to
[iEAc6r] j\zhi reporterl report the dwarfwho has blocked the road
I Fl iCro riji dlaryl with his jeep.
 149 CHAPTER I7

"' fi.,,';,",,,,," Radical L

6 strokes ,l t,

(A driver is trying to develop good habits)

thread ? r:::a) * self tlr:rrt = He ties some color-coded threads round
the controls to encourage him to be more
self-disciplined with his driving- / Z/re
This character also means an "age" or "em". dwarf won't rent him a jeep until his
driving improves .
f ni6nji age
9drrcsy
i;d/i:(r67) jinidn conrmemoratel
274 Badical -
HviI 3 strokes L
I .lr.oau
/ When thelt got to tlle fair, there was
Here the last stroke half-closes the box at already a long queue t'br the Big ll/heel.
the top of the character; this is a halfway Teddy sqt in the queue eating Easter eggs
house between "self" and "snake" (271 and (gettittg chocolate et erywhere).
I75 a).

-:Zi\u1t ytJtng dlreltlv

2 7 5a f*-I
L
IL.--.Jr''.sllake
Boththis and Charactcr 271 begar as a picture of a snake. In fact .,self,, and ,,snake,, tend
to be used somewhat interchangeably in some composite characters.

275 I €
---r- Eadicat
7 strokes
l-
i )'
,^L. i:[
(On a mountain path there is a landslide
earth :t t:.aot + l.E.(l0a) : walk E and soil is pouring down acloss the path)
He had to wait for the earth to stop
\\Ie could also break this up into "ten" moving before he could walk any further
plus "upright"; make up a story for this / Tbddy u,as bouncing uround, saying, "I
alternative if you prefer should hqve come with someone who had
the right zodiac sign!"
1;f fr1r+:1 zburlio footpath; side*-alkl
Itdr:st zduddng stretch one\ legs\
CHAPTER I7 150

Radical ft I t
"u .:iL

E '10
+ 1_
strckes
H",o
walk fttzr:l * snake Etzrsut = rise up E
This is an example ol a character where
"snake" is ollen replaced by "self" (see
215a). kr fact, using "self" is more usual
nowadays (as shown in the main character
entry here), but "snake" makes for a more
memorable story! You take your pet snake for a walk
you've trained it to rise up to greet your
ts,fttrrrt qi chu6tg to get up (from bed) frends. / Teddy wants to tqke a photo ofit.
-fro y\qi together "Say Cheese!" he says.
E*o qilrii stand up, rise up
,f-[...fut,0:l c6ng A qi startingfrom A
Xt6Errsq, st drt\buqi excuse me, sctrry

277 Radical -
Er
-T]-
uu. 6 strokes
guide
(A guided tour in the desert) Nobody saw
* inch ttro+ot = guide S the snake inching along the ground behind
snake E(zrsu)
the touf guid€. / That is, until Teddy ran
ttkBasrl zhiddo sttpenise, directl up and doused it with a bucket of water
(and chaos ensued).

,'
gold

We will treat this as a basic building block. It is the form taken by the character + (which
is in HSK Level B) when acting as the leflhand side of another character.

278 t- l naaical f , t +
tta !i
fF :*r'
9 strokes

In the middle of a gold block is set a

clock. / The giant who made it had also
gold f r::sut + middle f r::t = clock ffi
etched his jonquil design into the gold.
,F,fftrs5i diinzhong o' clock (Remember jonquils? See Character 33).
ff*tzaol zhdngt6l hour (spoken
Chinese)
j|4$rz:l ftnzhon9 q minute
 151 CHAPTER 17

"' ffF *:lJ -I ,i 7i t-, {,1

#J;i.u'nu'*'
@ The teacher says, "In the middle of
grain /i1r:oa1 + middle f the grain is the DNA which deflnes the
1:t1 = species ffi
species." ./ Teddy jumps up waving a
.\lso more generally "a kind, type, sort"; jonquil asking, "Does it work for this
also "a seed" and "to plant or cultivate". too? "

lfrTut zhbngzi see4

Radical /E i
"o !t :;:.

E. ,rJ", 7 strokes

At the mouth ofthe cave they all stopped

mouth E (si .| : ..._
nobody dared put a foot inside. / Only
,G.(l0a) foot /g
when the fairy zoomed in to check it out
When foot appears as the left-hand side of did thev rekLx.
another character. the bottom is distorted
land looks more like 29a than 30a see
Character 283 below for an example). -
liffrg(rx) m nzf' satisfyl

Test yoursetf: )leo ffirrrl j-,rrt #,,,, Ic+r fteo Hrr,,r

{tu,, fljno, 3ou,, t)F,,,, *"." IIr,,or Yjt,,,,,

1 ) r I(.
stubborn

Note the stroke order!

,r, Radicd tr , I 11 1-) :J r .1, jr

I strokes
lLl,::, (Volunteers are sought for a dangerous
mission to capture the dragon) Sir Galahad
step forward f 1uu1* stubborn piurru;
stepped forward stubbornly; he was
= uerv iR
very sure he wanted to do it. / Teddy jumps
191Rtrrs) A dehdn very A around excitedly singing, 'A dragon hunt,
a dragon hunl!"
CHAPTER 17 152

"' tR xr Radical
10 strokes
/i
I ).
.i1 t:' ir li',:

The tree stubbornly refused to move a

lree + stubborn Pq:t ,': root fft single root. / The giant went to get his
FrtoJ)
gunpowder to shift it.
l{R{rrzrt gEnb6n essence; basicl

," Raaical
13 strokes
r? -:1
t'
,.: i'

ER l:; if .:;,i ,,i-

foot rEr:sot * stubborn E(zrt"t : (Think of this as a continuation of the

previous story) The landowner puts his
with BR
foot stubbornly in the door (at the police
This means "with" in the sense of"together station). "I'm going to stay here until you
with" (not ds in "writing with a pen"). come with me. / Thereb a giant on my
land threatening to blow things up with
gunpowder!"

"' HR :;l Badical

11 strokes
EJ

.i l{
I ,| .11 '.1.-1
ii 1V

eye E,n.r, + slubborn Pr;srar = e)e BR

The little girl plucked at the stuffed
donkey's one remaining eye but it
This is the normal character for a person's stubbornly refused to budge. "I can't
eye, rather than simply El . have a donkey with one eye!" / Teddy had
always had a yen to be a surgeon and
[ERBf;reot yinqiSn befire one'.s eltes; at found a new pair of eyes fur it.
this very moment)

"' fR ,.ii", Radicat E

11 strokes
t i.1 ,! -1
t:l ti'

(At a retirement ceremony) "I want a gold

gold f 1:rr4 + stubborn Rtzsr,l =
watch," he says stubbornly, "Silver is for
silver fp
wimps." / The fairy whispers, "Don't get
iE,i:rsrt yinh6ng bank (for money) stressed, it will upset your yin."
 153 CHAPTF,R ]7

286a *,}-.. 1
r i,, i\
R- Hs A drop ofoil on the stubborn hinge did a
good job of loosening it up. ("Goo{' said
a drop \ (22a) + stubborn Plzaral:
the workman. relieved). / lNo pronuncia-
tion neededl

'* IH i"'1r?,0,
Radical
10 strokes
{ ( )l a .l :t .nj ii' _lrtl

(In a deportment class, balancing books

on the head etc) The woman in charge
woman firsy * good Eizsoo) =
said, "Good, we'll make a young lady of
yo:.r yet." / [DlY pronunciation] .

Also used to mean "aunt".

ffifPl rsa gnni6ng grrl, young woman

,,, Radical
I slrokes
A ,.1
v
'.lr- .ii:-
1r.

A;X:. (At the scout camp) "The tent's up, that's

tent -\(leb) + good ECg6O: food -A good. Now I need food," said the scout-
master. / The fairy started peeling sha ofi
[Affirr:ot shiying edible] for a meal.
288a l,
,1, 7

food

This simplifled form of Character 287 is used when it forms the left-hand part of a
composite character.

"' ffi;*r,, Radical

10 slrokes
f ,L
'rl' il\ 'i,2, tl;';,

(In the factory canteen the food is late

food f rzssut + I f{64: hungry ffi in arriving) "Food, I want foodl I'm
hungry!" shout the workers. / The dwarf
is the ingleader and urges them on.
 Chapter 18
Time to take stock. By now, not only do you understand how all the systems work, but
you'll also have a good feel for your own habits and preferences, and what works best for
you.
Ifyou look back you'll see that some character pictures and some stories have workeil
particularly well for you, and you've got them for life. Others you will have tried to learn
a few times and keep forgetting. Try looking to see if those that you remember easily
have anything in common. It is valuable to know this, because you can tailor the character
pictures and stories to suit your own style of learning. We do keep saying that you can
replace any story or character picture with one ofyour own devising, and if you do then
it is likely to be memorable, both because olthe effort you have put into it, and because it
will be personalized to you.
What next? You've leamed enough characters now to be able to pick any character
further on in the book and learn it straight away. The most you will need to do is learn a
basic building block or two if the character uses parts you haven't learned yet. But if you
can, then simply carry on, and you will be adding to your knowledge with each character.
It will still seem a long way to go to get to 800, but all you need to do is persevere, keeping
up a slow, steady routine.

28s fl
Radical
i-l il l!,i r;1

l{ x";
6 slrokes I

At the castle gate you put your mouth

flt::t + mouth Etst = ask lsl
gate close to the grill and ask (politely) to be
allowed in. / "Just this once," sc'ys the
f{lltrst winhio ask after; send. regards dwarf gate keep er grudgingly.
to

zeo naoicat fl
9 strokes
r1 )-j til jiij ir:i ii:
14] m You put your ear to the gate to try and
gate fl1:rl * ear f{tst"t: hear lEl hear what's going on inside. / The fairy
is telling a.fairy tale, starting y)ith, "Once
Characters 289 ancl 290 are actually a mini upon a time... "
phonetic series, with J'l acting as the pho-
netic (even though it is now masquerading
as the radical...)

}f J4lrzq:r xtnwdn news (e.g. on TV)

restyourselr: llo, $[rttr /Stroo )flir,ur Eua ,\r,rr fpprr

8,,,,, 8,,,, E,,,-, JL,r-,r, fil,rr, #F,,, E,s-r
 155 CHAPTER IiI

r-ql Fadicd jJ
fang 4 strokes
I ,J

T direction
(The vet stops to ask the way from a strange
.id -rr5b) + bow Etsro: direction f old man who is sitting outside his house)
The old man has a lid on his head (instead
. .r:r e called the bottom part ol this of a hat) and silently borvs to show which
-
-.:r.rer "bow", but you might like to think dir€ction the vet m]ust go. /The vet is offto
' : as a lom ol "wrap" (23a) instead, meet the gisttt to attend to his dog, Fang.
' .,.rich case you can modify the story [Fang will appear in the next.few stories:
-:-:dingly. picture him 0s a hltge soppy dog].
\s rvell as "direction", this character
-. r,cdns "square (shape)-'. ll gitesrisc to
- -':her good phonetic series, represented
:.. Frng the dog.
Some books advocate writing the flnal
' ,. ,. strokes in the reverse order

'. .iurrt fangfd method

.=ncll s\flrlg square)
-:, ,Trtoor x\fing the Westl
. lt rrs+t dtt\f-ingother side/par\,f
the
-:i trrs+l dilang place; aspectf
- ti rtnt l\flng cubic (e.g. meters)l
. --ilt r:zst b\fang anuktgyl

292 \\ Badical i -t ',,t 1x'

fing
7h visit
6 strokes

The words on the card are directions,

as this is your first visit to these friends.
trr"l * direction i(:stt =
visit in / Teddy and Fung (the dog) are mucking
about in the bqck seat of the car
;l lalt:sel fingwill, visit, interview

"'E lH:.
Radical
8 slrokes
F
i
You knock on the door to ask directions
* to your friend's hotse. / The fairy opens
door !1:oel direction ii:srt =
the door dnd casts a spell on Fang the dog
house ,E
to enqble him to shotN you the way.
This can also mean a room, as well as
referring to a complete building.

l,*Attt fingzi houseT

CHAPTER ]8 156

294 \, Radical f j .i ,/ :.t-

.! '.;t
E{ 3u." 8 strokes

The convicts communicate directions to

direction f1:ery + tap {lreouy = their accomplice by (apping ron rhe pipes
release it in Morse code), so that he can caffy out
the plan to release them. /The dwarfjailor
sets Fang the dog to chqse them qs they try
to escape.

295 Badical f ; i,
'./' :)
ptng 10 strokes
beside
He had to stand up ta1l to put the cover
stand itn;t * coYer -(82a) + over the direction sign, and set up a new
direction it:srt : beside * sign beside it. / The fairy had asked him
to divert passing trafic pqst her new
The last stroke of "to stand" has merged pancake stall.
u ilh "cover" ($e saw something similar in
f-. Character I97).

?1!r1l) Pangblan srde

lf\*ezzt liingpdng both sitlesl

win
Radical
3 sirokes
- ) ;i
ten thousand
The village elder goes on a pilgrimage to
one -1t1 * bs1u F151ry = see the fabled unicorn, trows to him and
ten thousand I explains the plight of the village. "Ten
thousand blessings will fall upon your
As well as the exact amount of "ten village as a reward for your courage,"
thousand", this is used to mean "very many" says the unicorn magnanimously. / 1D11
in a more general sense. pronuncicttionl
As with Character 291, you might like
to think of the bottom of this character lph t+ot bdiwdn millionT
as "wrap" instead of "bow". The same lhftZtzoal winn6ng multi-purpose;
comment on stroke order applies: some all-powerft l
books suggest wdting the last two strokes lT patst A winsui Long live All
in the other order.

Testyourself: \e+t ffir,,,t porul JI,*t, ifrrt t {rr,ri lfirru

H,u., ilfoo*, j&rr*r f,*,, tsrrrur /\.-(:q) ffipat,
 t51 CHAPTER ]8

?c7\ I

E*l
Radical
T
5 strokes

e drop . (22a) + king Itoo,l = lord fl

),..n't confuse this with "plant" (133a).
\bu will recall that'tade" (60b) was also
-.:rrned out of "king" and "a drop". Notice
:.,rr in this story lor "lord-' the drop is on
1..p of the king, whereas in the story for
-f,de" the drop was falling from the king. (At the ceremony) A drop of the special
-: rou keep this in mind you won't get the oil fell on the king when the man was
::L-)ries mixed up. presented, indicating thit the man is to be
made a lord. / Teddy is playing around
i4rrort zhiyio
-
main, major, chief twirling thejewel ofolfice until itb needed
zhityi iclea, view]
= g,-1:ss1 for the ceremony.
. = l{,t:rol zhigudn subjectivel
'= !r!15:y zhfiddng of one s own accord,
ott one s own initiative]
.:-/t,rr:i
-
zhir6n host: proprietor]
*it:qa mdizhiu customer, buyer]

*' Radical 'f

ir ,ti
'fI *,i",. 7 strokes 1

Harry is made a lord and given an official

'f rr:ul * lord ir:e;i : live in €l house to live in. ,/Ilr e dwarfsupentises the
placing of the lordly jewel aboye the front
This character means to reside or live in a door
llace (not simply to be alive).

-'ri tr rsi zhirkdu Shut up ll

299 \\ Radical J

E;:; 8 strokes
I :li

Water is brought to the new lord who

* lord flt:s:t ponrs it into the ceremonial um. / The
rvater I 1:suy = pour E dwarf dips the lorclly jewel into the urn to
This also means "to pay heed", "pay atten- tut"n the water into wine.
rion". "take notes".

j:S,-tu ssi zhiryi pay qttention to

CHAPTER ]8 158

*r rE^ wllngi wing

Radical
I
7
strokes
l .ii l-r-
towards; go
ffi "Step forward, Lord Vader, and walk
towards the ewok," said the director (on
step forward I tsrut+ lord itzsrt: the fllm set of "Star Wars"). But there
towards; go ,ii:
is no ewok! / "Iltang! Were s Wang the
[111] wingwine oftenl dwarfl " calls the director Teddy starts
lE llcr4r yiwine in the pastl running around calling, "Wang! Wang! \
Somebody go, go and find him!"

301a
lT
/ LJ "pedestal"
J ,L

The unicorn uses his horn to lift the small

one -(l) + boy j[,1zry : pedestal I boy onto the pedestal (so that people can
see the new "chosen one"). / [No pronun-
ciation neededl.

Radical
- ) .L
)L yuan
yuan
4 strokes

In the town square there is a statue of a

one + pedestal I[(:orut = yuan -rt unicorn on a pedestal; people throw yuan
-(r) coins onto the pedestal for good luck. ,/lr
This has several meanings: "first"; "chief"; night the fairy comes to collect the yuan
"unit"; "yuan". The last of these is the coins Jbr chaity.
unit of currency in China, and we will use
"yuan" as the soundword in the resulting
phonetic series.
Clearly we could also regard this
character as "two" plus "boy". We will be
meeting "pedestal" again in Chapter 39.

lAirr re) gongyudn l.Dl

[fi 751cy Riyuin (Japanese) yenf

302 t:? Radical !

lxl lln"
7 strokes

The historic yuan coin is enclosed in

enclosed E * yuan 7ti:ory: a display case in the memorial Chinese
tz.aui
gtrden. / The.fairy sets up a souvenir stqll
tr to sell replica yutn coins.
/a\ftJ1rre1 gongyu An park, public garclen
 159 CHAPTER I8

303

E n*,
Badical 1_
)' ,. 1:rl- . )i,
7 slrokes

You can see the yuan coins lying on the

road i*1:ruy + yuan 75i:or1 : distant )E road sparkling into the distance like cat's
eyes. I Tbddy tries to pick up all the ylua,n

'-ifr-ec\ yuinqtn
-:*tr%l distant relativesl
yuinj\n distancel
coins but canl hold them all.

304 --!-r Radical -E

I slrokes
1 i)' :,.iL

DL;;; The king likes to sneak out with his

pockets ful1 of yuan coins and play the
king Ttoo4 * yuan i(:orl = fr slot machines! I [DIY pronunciation/
1)Lort wdnr play, have fun
..'ifiJLrr:, zrt hlow6nr great funl
A
)*
)t
Radical
"::. Itr
wan 7 strokes
flnish
The high-class building firm has a custom,
house +1eruy * yuan ltrt:otl = finish ft when building a new house, to cement a
yuan coin to the roof when the work is
'i E!t::qi w6nch6ng jirffil, accomplish finished (to show that they don't penny-
, Hiir:ot ydngwfin use upl pinch\. I [DIY pronunciationJ

306 rC. Badical I

I
1
li
Ii il,' l:- l:. ir llti
lff, '*'.?il.
strokes

They built a temporary mound in flont

+ finish when they had finished building the
Itqeut it:ost =
institute ffi Institute. I The dwarf stood on it to place
the commemorative ))uan coin above the
!ffi621 xtt|yudn cotlege door, to declare the Institute for Dwarf
tfIpipos) zhiryuin to stay in hospitalf Studies open.
[ffif 1i1 yuinzi coltrtyard, compountfi
CHAPTER I8 160

3A7a

The ram left his horns to dry so that there

horns \/ (65a) + dry T(r24) : offend + would be no smell to offend anyone. ,/ py'o
pronunciation neededl

307 ----r- Radical f

l*l m,, I strokes

Ifyou offend against the rules in the outer

ten i(+) * outer limits flrtrout * limits, by going in areas marked with a
offend :Ft:ozat : south ffi cross, you'll be sent to the South Pole (to
help count the penguins). / The fairy will
ffifi1ry n6nbiEn the south side conjure up qflying rranny goat to take you
lHi&rrzer N6nHii the South China Sea) there!

308 --+- nadicat t +

1i'.
-V^ xing 8 strokes
! good lortune
You take a pot of earth to the housewarm-
earth Lt:+at + offend rF(:oru): ing party, which seems to offend the new
good fortune $ householder this mysrifies you as in
your own culture it brings good fortune.
/ The dwarf behind you has brought a pot
of shingle (and wonders how this will be
received... )

3oe
\P. prns
Radical
5 strokes
- I
! ler,el
The cow put her horns inside the tumble
dry f1r:+y * horns dryer which were such a weight
\1(e:u) = level T - to check it was level before that
she had she
Note the "horns" are inside "dry" rather could switch it on. / The fairy used the
than on top (as in "offend", 307a) and notice level surface as a ping-pong table.
once again that this difference is built into
the story
As well as "level", this character also
means "flat" or "calm".

[${1vr1 ping'an safe, safe antl sounfl

lfg$1r:ey hdping peace)
lt!-fi es\ pingfang square (e.g. meters)l
[6Trrt bnping unfair; resentl
 t6t CHAPTER 18

310

+ ping
Iapple]

grass +(ztau) + level

Radical "
Istrokes
.',
'r
To test whether the grass is level he uses
an apple (seeing if it rolls around). / Ile
*t:osl = apple #
fairy suggests using a ping-pong ball
fift1an pinggu,i appte instead (so she can eat the apple!)

"' If rll*-.,,on
Badical
7
1
strokes
t 1 ,' ,+

A sign-writer trying to get his words level

words ) iorcy + level Yt:ost : (on a shop sign) asks.people aooss the
comment on i* street to comment on how he's doing. /
The fairy gives a defnitive view by using
jftil 2zy piping criticize; criticism her ping-pong ball as a spirit level.

100%

HSK A

560/"

restyourself: ffit,,or Jfir,r:r fll3retr fltroot frlr du" T,0,,

#r,,,r f,rzest i;f,rrri i{firoer ,H,(25s) iEo'r trEo',,
 Chapter 19

+
dexterity

u.J"'u
wffi
n6 eas'f
l*ry1
p kk,
kk r.'ll f,f,? x

3r
fr
sequence 1 s..4..3,.2..1-...
rF 1F
un-
L nr11',r- Lh con necte<l
 163 CHAPTER I9

3'l2a i
t
S o.*,".,,,
312 Fadical
8 slrokes
- ; li
J'
S:H,. /"The Affair oJ the Wheel" is the title of
This is a rather complex "basic" character! a slushy romance beiueen two cyclists.
I'ou can think of a story involving "piled AJier a few pages the dwarf throws the
up" (Character l50b) and "dexterity" for it book down in disgust, saying, " [fhat q
i f you prefer. charade ! "
SlStrsrl girshi story, tale
liffSrzrol zubshi ro wortl
[il'Srr::i bdn shi to handle mattersf
1$$1zsor shishi a/acrl
[&9JLtro!,,:rt mlishir it cloesn't matter,
it's nothing; to have nothing to do)

,r, Radical
- l a rtl l,t :.'j ,5't ITJ
I
E^ il::,
strokes

(The children had been throwing flour at

thumb tack -1+oa1+ enclosed Iiz+ay + each other and some went in the girlh eye)
They used a thumb tack to secure the
fi 1s3y = face ffi
bandages enclosing the eve, which made
This character has two completely separate her face look very oddl / The two dwames
meanings: "face" or "surface"; and "flour" grumbled to each other "These children
or "noodles". The traditional form only are a right menace," as they cleaned up
applies to the second meaning. the mess.
To write the character, notice that the
-
eye" touches the box of "enclosed" and so
the stroke-order changes accordingly.

l.ffir:rer jiinmiin to meet

'l Elr)ul, langmlaIr stde, a\pecl
Iil.Et:rr wiimiin the outsidef
illfiffi1e0; qi6nmiin the front]
ilf Etrs+t dlu\midn the opposite sidel
ilt,Eo+r dimiin the earthb surfacel

314a I r
I :iL
Jff ;"
ll- );

"Stop using that spoon to eat your soup

stop il1:eu1 + spoon h1:oouy = this [1,
-
use this one!" /py'o pronunciation neededl
CHAPTER 19 104

t'o Radical
Eh^ *,u
a lew
I -
strokes
I I i ,L '::'_ :l-i

(Air show commentary) "This biplane is

this tLt:rqut + two -121 : fgy Ltl one of the few of its type remaintng. / The
th'o giqnts kindly caffied it all the wq,
nllt}jrest nixie trose from their shed so it can be here todoy."
- tblry yixi6 a sruall amount of
ilEeat zhixic these
fiLh1o:1 y6uxi€ some (items)

315a --)*
\ /,
H spit
He had to stand on the creature's moufh
sland 'L,r--' + moulh E()) = spit nt
to stop it spitting. / [No pronunciation
neededl
Not only "to spit" but also "to vomit" a
pleasant character all round!

Radical {
'10 strokes I

Harry had to spit to get rid of the vile

taste- but as the spit hit the floor it turned
person I rr:u) * spit Borsut:
into a tiny version of him. He kept spitting
le Ifr
until there were multiple versions of him
IEi*cqr sibEi Jour-foktl everywhere. / The dwa{ had to be c.tlled
on to take the baby Hany s away!

"' Bl5:;,,". Radical

10 strokes
I ; il

Spitting was not allowed in many parts of

spit *i3l5a) + city [1s04 : section B[ the city but the bylaw varied from section
to seclion. /The dwarfcould boot out a4-
one founcl breaking the law.
f BlJrr:+l ginbir cadre, parly fficial
[*Fllczr bnm6n departmentf
t6*l3(r1e) niibi the interior, insidel
IBFKIrzt bitzhdng (govt.) minister]
tH*[oort ninbir southern partl
 165 CHAPTER ]q

317a
l
)t "fuewood"

"' Jh *; Radicat
5 strokes
I
4 ,, ;lL

He packed his firewood and his trusty

spoon in his pack, and set off for the
firewood )] (317a) + spoon 6eoat: far north. t Teddy ran alter him crying.
north JL
"You yeforgotten your bucon."
It is cheating to use firewood here the
left-hand side of this character is-really
derived from something else (and it has a
different stroke order from "firewood").

fJLEor:t blimidn the north side)

i6iLtroor xibii northwestf
3'1 8a ,
4 "to lay out"
1.

In the fading light of the evening, the

f mountaineers inch along a ledge to find a
erening loeay + ipch rflto+uy = lay out { place to lay out their sleeping bags for the
night. / [No pronunciation needed]

"' ;ffi:"*," Radicat

9 strokes
)l
l ut :1, t, )z- ;it .ttj

"You should have brought the firewood

firewood )| 1:ruy * lay out$ i:rs,; = and laid out the fire by now.""I was just
going to :ffi going to!" / The two giants jangled the
hearth irons, impatient to have their fire
This time it really is firewood! made up.
This character means "going to", "about
:o". but be aware that it also has a number
..,f other meanings.

44rosr jiengldi. 1in the) furure

f i+f Er t0tr jidngyito about ro: going rol

restyourselr: fr,,r $r,r:r {Jrrarr {\eo ij\rrnoy ftr.ut

+I (r95)
Ffirrrot *,u, *uo" .EI,^r, lErrror Efrrul H (236)
CHAPTER 19 166

319 '^ Badical

- /, ti
lh tx- 5 strokes

tr /
,j : l\

The giant took the big wheel from the

Notice how similar this character is to "car" east gate of the city (o fix his cart) and
(Character 83), "music" (Character 320 made a quick getaway on his donkey!
below), and especially to "select" (713a).

fiffi1rooy ddngxi tfifug

]fi)Qznt dongbii northeastl
l*fi egl donglang the East, Orientf
320 D--.1 Radical J L T li.
LI... vuE l! r I 5 strokes
,{\ -u.t.
This story is attempting to give you some
B / The music box on wheels (that is, a
banel organ) has been set up outside the
help with what is really a DIY pronuncia- dwarfb house again, and he comes out to
tion. complain: "You, eh? I ve told you before,
With the pronunciation lE, if also go and play somewhere else! "
means "happy", as in the phrase "Happy
Birthday".

SfJil::r1 yrnyuB zrsic

32 i; r r
t'tt-{
bamboo

Fadical AF

H suin
reckon
'14 slrokes
:.; i:,
:; l.

bamboo ^41::r"y * eye E|1s:t * i::

two hands il-rr:o) : reckon H
tJHrr::t dXsuhn plan; intend

The pirate captain raised the bamboo

telescope to his eye and steadied it with
two hands. "I reckon I'll need fifty men
to storm that castle," he said to his crew. /
But it was actually a sand castle that the
ghostly dwarf, who guarded the island,
had built to deter pirates.
 167 CHAPTER 19

4 lr i,
sequence

322 lflia Radical tu

4 .ia

F $1,,o*
'11 strokes
4t'

bamboo s€quence frezza):

(In the panpipes factory) The bamboo
^h1::ra1+ pipes have to be sorted into the right
Number H sequence and labeled Number 1,
fi -1ry diyi Number l Number 2, and so on. I The dwarf has
been demoted (so is given this job, which
he thinks is beneath him).

\/
323
di
Radical
7 strckes
ri ,,li ,).
younger brother
The goats were all being lined up, the size
\/ * gsqusnss flezzi): of their horns determining their place in
{osa)
the sequence. One goat noticed that his
younger brother fi younger brother had sneaked in above
## didi younger brother him. I He told the tlwarf (organizing the
line-up), so thqt his brother was d.emoted..

324a -+J- ;t;

glowing
They tried to hide the radioactive waste
grass +1ztsu1 + cover -(82a) = by putting a €over over it and putting
grass on top of that, but it soon started
glowing, which gave the game away. / [No
pronunciation neededl

324

v l6o
toil

glowing A1::aay * power

Radical
7 strokes

jir+; :
-+
+ ,i
Keeping the furnaces glowing at the power
station was hard toil. / The fairy played
toil rl loud music for the workers (so that thq)
could hear it over the ruar of thefurnaces
.ztdJtstt l6odirng do (manual) work while they worked).
CHAPTF,R I!) 168

"' I[ **
Badical
5 strokes
]!

A power socket has been installed by

power f 1r+y* mouth Et:t = add ]ll1 the mouth of each cave, to add the cave
dwelling area to the electrici4t grid,. / Two
llllll'{rt:0, jiayi moraovar, L.trtght rof gionl workmen arrive, carrying a huge jor
I
rlU L, ,"', .iia gong rc ptucess hmfini.:hed ofplugs and switches between them.
products)7

'4
)ta jin
drive (a vehicle)
Radical
I strokes
4

The cart salesman says, 'A11you have to do

add ]l[1:zs1 + horse : drive 4 is add a horse and you can drive it away!"
-1t++t / The two dwarves who are thinking of
fr S,r:+' lSojiir nay I rrouble you.' buying the cart are now arguing over who
should smqsh the jar against the side to
"launch" it (ike a boat) and who should
drive it awav.

"'frlJ [1,"",
Radical
I strokes
E

As he put the mug to his mouth he

moulh E,5, + add l[,375, = coffee remembered that he must add milk to his
U][
coffee. / The giant got a carton of ruilk
This character', and Character 329 below, frcm his fridge.
are both used for their sound. You will only
ever see them when they appear together in
the word lltrflE]F (kdfEi, "coffee").

.,' Radical ][

JF fl 8 strokes

/ "Its un-wheel" was the catch-phrase

[]Fi*rs7r IEifX unlawful, itlegat) of the famous giant with the speech
impediment!
 Radical E rl pl .l '.4 ,jl ,ll qt
l l slrokes
HF i::..", 'iF

kE.Fei coffee

Radical f t
I
4 )) .JJ -fi jjl
41 JJT tiF
flFm 11 slrokes

1 -anp{i arrange

Icstyourself: flirrrri ffitrtsl $oual l*,uu flppsor ]oo Enot

troo tPrrrrr ;f,n, ftp,,1 trfreq fur,,,t ,f,1zeol
 Chapter 20

With this chapter you will have completed halfthe chapters in the book. Once again, we
already have available all the basic building blocks we will need.

331 Radicat I
4 strokes
E,:H",. The young prince has to be dragged along
drag .l-lrsouy + right hand !1szy : to shake hands with all the dignitaries,
F but is opposed to all the pomp and
circumstance (and vows to do things
The older form ofthis character uses "cliff" differently when he is ktng). / Tedily is
instead of "drag" and you will still see this happy though, as he gets to play fanfares
form arourid. on his trumpeL
It is often translated as "anti-", "counter-".

EXftrs+t fXndui oppose, object to

[,E.drss) findbn g reqctionary)

'"' tfr.,;:^, Radical

7 staokes
I

There were so many t)?es of food that the

food f 1:isal * oppose [1::i r : fussy guestwas opposedto (on ideological
mew grounds) that it was difficult to put together
a meal for him. / The dwarf chef demands
Used to mean "cooked rice", or more gen- that a fanfare be played (to accompa4'
erally, "a meal". his entr{tnce with the resulting meal, after
all the trouble heb gone to).
Tffiozst wifin lunch
&I5tre6l findiin hotel; restaurant
333 I r.i Radical fr
strokes
TE Hr
8

The tree is opposed to the new highu4'

and he is certainly opposed to them naiL.
tree /rlroay + oppose [1::ry: ing a board to him announcing the der-el-
board tE
opmen[ / Teddy pulls the board off atJ
lZtfueaq l obdn boss, proprietorl bandages up the holes.
*X** Badicat
6 slrokes
X
t'7 I

t' ) ;ji.-
CHAPTER 2O

(A party game) "Animal horns have been

horns \/ (65a) + tree ttroul :
hidden in the tree, with rice inside you
rice * have to climb up, find a horn and bring
1--.o means "meter", the unit of length; it down without spilling any rice. Who
.ee also 777a lor another character for wants to try it?"/ "Me", says Teddy, "me,
-:::eter"). me, me!"

-
-, Xr+zr dimi rrcel
'- E(i32) mifin cooked rice

Testyourself: fclt @r,eor $tsrr fn]rr*t ffi,,*01 A,*" Z,r',t

El ,r,, {i!,,,r *[o," ffionu, ffi,rrl Eeor lfi1rso)
Radical F l
qrng 8 strokes l I
FI blue-green
(On a cliff face) The plant in the moon-
plant .L + moon =
light looks blue, but itt actually green.
1r::o1 ,E (ort
/ Only the gi nt is tqll enough to see
into the chink of rock where the plant
The character means either "blue" or is growing.
-green" (though there are also separate
::lamcters for each of these two colors) so This situation arose because the pro-
.r: have called it both! nunciations have gradually changed down
This character gives rise to a good the centuries (although you can see that the
::onetic series, coming right up. In fact we two sounds are still very similar), while the
:-r\e hro phonetic series, one pronounced characters stayed the same.
-:ing" and the other "jing". We have already
r'in something like this with Characters +€frrost qrngnidn a youth
:,1 to 136.
[f€t,ua) niinqtng youngl
\+ qing
Radical
10 slrokes
l, ,L
il. r
,l
i-
i,1 ':
i;
'i
ii
l.H^ please
The words are written in big blue-green
(67c) + blue-green metal letters on the cliff face: "Please
don't disturb the pl ants." / Teddy clambers
ptease i6
tp on the letters to peer into the chink.
.:is is used in various phrases such as
-Please come in", and also means "to
-rr ite".

..i nf,::nr qinguin Exrtne me, ...

. H qPTER 20 t'12

337 \\/----lr
-J- Radical l :] .i
iil
{tr 11 strokes tl
111,t,,,.,, r t-j

water J + blue-green fr1::sy = When water falls on the blue-green plant

1r:o1
t it turns it transparent. / The giunt verifies
iE*
this by peeping into the chink in the rock.
[i6]Errss) {tngl\ to put in order, sort oLttl

338 Badical E .:
il t:l- i+ ii' i,l
l1 ..,
HH ;i:*-"^,,".
12 slrokes
:i.: 'i
l.

sun Eltot + blue-green fr1::s1 = The sun turning the plant blue-green
fine weather flfi again is the first sign of fine weather. .
The fairy keeps flitting up to the chink to
[Eff{1re1 qingtien a sunny day) check a,ut this natural barometer.

33ea , t
,I
I h"u.,

This is the folrn taken by Character 16l when it appears as the left-hand side ol :
character.
Some books suggest wdting the strokes in the order left to right.

"n.lffi li:i::-J"
$iT"r"r"uun. *
heart 'l + blue-green fr1t:s1
r::sa) : The heart of the plant only turns blo..
state of affairs 'ffi
green when this state of affairs (the fiE
/ Only the fairy can g<:
weather) persists.
This and the previous four characters form right inside the chink to see the col,r
a phonetic series based on € (Character
l
change.
335). The following two characters form a
second series based on the same character
but with a different pronunciation.

S'lffora shiqing affair matter

IlE]jfftrooi t6ngqing sympathyl
1,[''ffi1roLy trnqing mood, state of minfl
 173 CHAPTER 20

340 tr+ ._ Radicar El t

13 strokes
1 li !1 il- i:l- :1j

H El 'r',11, rtil iiil 1:?,

"r.r., "Color your eyes with blue-green eye
shadow to set offyotr plupilsl" / The giant
fancies a job in advertising and is trying
!REH(284) ya4irng eye to u,ritejingles (this is hisfirst effort, for a
cosmetics company).

341 \L+ ._
Badicat
'14
*
strokes
.I
1 ',| /, ':i i+
4E l;L1,,. .li
;t,i
,i.:i- t.
,r.
,i.l :'i ij .1
','t
ll
i)

rice X(::+) + blue-green ff1::s.1 = "Blue-green rice is splendid!" / Another

of the giant's advertising.iit gles.

$E /J041 Jrnglr energy, vlgorl

restyourselr: Eu, i{.lun flJr,,rr jpr,orl /1lt rt 'fSo,tr t#,,,,

drr,r 4r,ror 2l,rrl Etl,rt, )fip.oy fifiprnl *trrt
342a
E'
"gazebo"
Erect tall poles and sling a cover over the
tall fr(239a) + cover n g2a) = gazebo E top, and you have a gazebol / [No pronun-
ciation needed]

fr
Radical
EI lihng 9 strokes J- ,^,
shining
In the gazebo were several golden statues
Er:+:nt + several JL(rr = of a young boy, shining so b ghtly in the
shining H sun that they were dazzling passers by. ,/
The two dwames had foud the statues
In some oldertypelaces "several" isreplaced languishing in a back room at the museum
:1 "boy" (Character 2l) in this character. and had polished them up (rather too well
it seems!)
I Htort yuBlihng the moon
CHAPTER 20 174

-r ET ting
pavilion
Inside the gazebo is a box of nails so the
gazebo E1:+zay * nail f trrut : carpenter can convert it into a pavilion (by
nailing up walls to i1). / [No pronunciation
7
neededl
This character is also used for a small kiosk
or stall.

343 Radical 'f .t)

i /.|\

t+ tfng 11 strokes
I ::-
halt l'f-

person 'f 1r:u; + pavition Ff:+:ui : IIarry wanders into the pavilion and halts
rralt IF in his tracks. / A beautiful fairy hovering
near the ceiling sends a tingle down his
spine.

344 Radical \/
H uu"
single
8 strokes
IEE I
-f ]EE,I
t:Il They carried horns into the field and
horns \/ * field tied them to a cross which marked where
(osa) El(rsoa) + ten f (+t
the single rare flower would bloom. /
: single $ Unfo*unately the giant came along and
[.Flitrzst danwii vtork unit] picked it, thinking it was a dandelion!
[+iA(23r) ddnci a worfl
[$/r.Fr,r, rry danr6nchudn g single
bedl

34s Badical fl
,.::r
ln] strokes
7

The huge city gates blocked the sun

gate fltzrl + Sun El tet
: room 14
from the room. / The fieo giants set up a
generator lo provide lighting.
This also means "between".

EJslrzq1 fdngiian a room

f l'uf ,.r:, zhongiidr. center: among
EtJ4trost shijian a period oJ'time
Zlr]trzrt A B zh.i ian betweenA ancl B
lif f J4rrs, rt xishdujiin washroom,
toilet)
 t't s CHAPTER 2O

346 /? ^ RadicattA -I
13 strokes I lri
ls.l 11il,,. iit a
bamboo iAr::ru1 * room fn]1:+:y :

-:- Sr:++l jidndin sirflple

The bamboo stands ready in the room

and a piece of papei headed "simple
/ The
Instructions" is pinned to the wall.
two teddies (rather optimistically) set
about builcling their own generator.

restlourself: fftl'rt ilent ffitrtrr ]$rrs:i fioel

fltzeat flFo,
Hurl fF,r^r ,*,,rur iEo*, ifi,rnr', ?,nr' fir,,,,
ll7 z\ Radicat \ !.
/-i r,r 6 strokes
.i

EI join rogether
(At the end of the marriage ceremony)
g6mfoing z\1:ray * mouth = They combined mouths in a kiss for so
E (s)
long that they found they had become
joined together. ,All very enbarrassing,
L--:s means "tojoin together" or "combine"; as they had to shulfle along to the lhiry
-::rce also "to suit" or "suitable". who brewed up a herbal remedy to sepa-
rate them.
'
,i-4r r58) hili logica[ reasonablel
. ,:
iFootl h,izrtit co-operution)
' h6long
:'r Errrot agreement, cofitruct7

* 6,u Radical
10 strokes
+ ;. ,,'' '.,i'
.):-

-;f usrng
joined
To make a long table the carpenter
join together f1:+ry * hand -f-r:r1= together two pieces of wood
with a
hand underneath to support them while
using a screwdriverin the other hand.,/I&e
:-::s character means "to grasp" or "hold in fairy had supplied wood with a beautiful
-:: hand"; hence "using". swi ing grain from the gnarled tree.

n6qir to take (away)f

=l*rsr,r
CHAPTER 20 116

"' fA;i; Badical f

Istrokes l a ., i
)
/.!
'rl' l.i-

(The king says to the princess) "You must

hand | 1rs:ay + join together
pick up ffi
This character and the previous one are
another pair of characters made up from
the same components. Notice that in the
previous story the hand is underneath, to
reflect this difference.
1A is used for "ten" (instead of
bank checks. to prer enr alterations.
accept the hand ofthe winning suitor and
-S1:+r1 =
join together with him in matrimony. Each
suitor will pick up the madtal plate. / The
foiry will sit on the plate with a shallot
balanced on her head, and the one who
keeps it balanced there the longest will be
the winner"
f) on

Radical I
[A ha
laugh
I slrokes

At the mouth ofthe cave the potholers are

mouth Iis1 + join together '$1:+ry : joined together with ropes so nobody can
laueh FA
get lost. when they hear a laugh booming
round the cave. /Z/z ey run in all directions,
IrA FA ham ftound of laughter) falling over the ropes , and the giant laughs
even hardet

351 Radicd L-

h i;l::-.",.,
9 strokes

He took colored threads which he joined

together, plaiting them into abracelet. But
thread 2 t:::at + join together f 1:,r;y =
who is it for? /For Teddy's new girlfriend.
for h the geisha.

352 F..,'(i Radical hk

-trl d6 ide)
answer
'12 strokes

bamboo B1:u rul * join together -f;1:,r:y In the old days a couple had to ask the
: answer $ village bamboo pipe if they were suitable
to join together in marriage a lot
El6t:o:t huidd to reply, answer depended on the answer it gave-- / But it
was really only the fairy in the dark who
was whispering the answers.
 Chapter 2l
after the first twenty chapters, onwards into the second twenty. This is where you
-A.nd so,
need to keep to your routine, slowly and steadily, and after a few more chapters it will be
all downhill.

,]

entangle

+
a well

(i-
(4,".-::2t h
J r4'a;--
:v'
.-#-
)

long time

DELAYS EEE
A g
claw wait for
CHAPTER 2I 178

353 Ll- ,t
n
Faaical
4 strokes
il::
/ (It's the racing driver's birthday) They a I I
[.HHAr:t pilnmilrn oneskled, unilatera| want a slice of the bithday cake, which is
in the shape of a steering wheel. The beo
dwarf chefs carry the cake up to the pent-
house where rhe parry is in lull swing.

"entangle"

354 Badical E
[4 l*l
5 strokes

At the mouth ofthe cave youhave become

mouth E (5) + entangle calt entangled in the brambles and call for
4 t::,rut = El.]
help. /
Unfortunately the tteo mountain
This can mean both "to call" and "to be rescue dwarves {tre watching the jousting
called" (as in "I'm called Joe.") on TV (and can't hear you calling as thq'
are too busy arguing over which is the
Itr4,ffrcror jidozttd be called, be known asl better team).
IEL]fl1:1 jiiom6n cull at the tloorl

"'IIt:::J* Radical
6 strokes
t

(ln a mountaineering contest) A climber

gets entangled in his ropes and has to tap
entangle * tap {lreout =
Ll 1:s+u1
accept ffi on the rocks to attract attention he has
to accept help from his bitter rival. ,/ Tlre
Il!ffiO4st shoushi put in orcler, tidy up giant, who would normally do the rescues.
L!{ E- U1,25-. n, Shouyrnir /".tdir., J?/ is away watching the show-jumping.
(receiver)l

l)Oi
inferior

You could think ofthis as "drop" plus "field" plus a distorted form of "entangle"
 179 CHAPTER 21

356 Radical E
[4 ir'"",,
11 slrokes
'i
nit

mouth E tst + inl'erior -Pt:sout : beer [-fl "Normally I don't let anything inferior
into my mouth, but what I really fancy
$lfi1rozy pijii 6eer right now is a beer. / h's just what I
need to go with my pizza," said the fairy
(slumming it a bit).

'u'"#:,*,, +, t"

Radical l,
'u' 7 1' ,.. ;ll
)f,,,** 6 strokes
tt+t
hE] Mvsterious words have appeare4 etched
rvords ] 1azcl * a wel #r:::ut = talk i# around the inside of the village well, and
the villagers can talk about nothing else. ,/
. tul.E,2lzr Jtangzuo lecture, lectttra The two teddies, eager to investigate down
coursel the well, jangle the chain as one lowers
the other down in the buckeL

'u' j#,0["""0 Badical l- ),, ,] 'ii i tl' i-i1.

7 strokes

The road to the well was so full ofpeople

road L(zo, * a ryell fi-1:szuy : that you could only proceed slowly along
it. / The dwarf, stuck in the queue, was
glad that he had brought his hip faskfull
:l*(80) jinqir go lz of gtn.
$*iuri j\nl6i come in
:t1:rsrr j\nxing to conduct, carry out
lliiEtso) qi6nj\n to advancel
lls*ffo:rt qing j\n please come inl
Iitffrrra xianj\n advancec[)

Testyourself: {rr+ot {oa S[rttt $fieort ffit *t $a,ol iffuru,

i$,,r*, *,rnl Dfio,rt Hrrrot E,rn Ll,rr,, )(-.,,r,r,
CHAPTER 2] r80

"'&:i:. Radlcal
7 strokes
{
t :IL
) ii ,d
The magician needed merely to tap
self B(zrrt + tap {lreouy = alter li himself with his wand to alter his
/
appearance completely. Teddy (clressed
tltEos:t g}rijin improvementl up as his assistant) cries, "Will you look
ptrSja:er giiqi ro change the date (ofa at this guy! "
meeting etc.)l
ptr Elrol gXiri another day (than today)l
Etfitzs) giizhing rectifv)

1Ce

This is "water" (80a), but with one less drop.

"' ffi lff;r",

Radical 7
7 strckes

His older brother fell head-first through

* the ice. "That's another fine situation
ice / 1:oo4 older brother fl,1oray:
you've got me into," he spltitered.. / The
situation |[,
ghostly ic e-guardian dwarf bounds across
OK, sokangaroo may notbe the best idea on on his kangaroo to investigate.
ice, but how many choices for a soundword
did we have?!

'lEifi,o:sl qingkudng situation

361a t -
/
xl\ qiin
-/ lacking
As he watched the man bowing to him-
bow Fistay * person ,\tr:): Harry found it difficult not to laugh as
the man's trousers fell down, lacking a
5i
belt to keep them upt. / [No pronunciation
This HSK Level B character also means "to neededl
 l8t CHAPTER 2]

Radical /
IR ci
times
6 slrokes
il ,)

The ice in the rink was tacking depth for

the umpteenth time. / The dwsi started
ice I t:oou) + lacking t{:orut =
keeping statistics on the number of times
times ii
it happened (so that he wouldn't be
itsA(rrt tlic\ next, secondly; seconelan) blamed by the management).
i6iftrzz:r liingci rr+,rcel

sG2 Radical E .r' .\

I

ffiru, 7 strokes

The mouth of the cave is lacking a door

mouth E (s) + lacking jl1:ouy = so every pulT of wind comes in. / But
the owner wsnts to see who's coming to
visit, so he can welcome them before the
(overzealous) ghostly giant, **ho guards
the caye, chqses them away.

"' trt,x;il, Badical

6
n
slrokes
1 \ :;)

(The New Year celebration at the

right hand !1s21 * lacking j11:oruy = orphanage) They all shake hands, and
joyful Ii despite lacking the basics they are all
joyfnl. /The ghostly giant, who guards the
orphanage, hsnds out htndfuls of hand-
made streamers !

"o hirru,,,," naoical

3 strokes
J
)
^
/ (A guidedtourin anoldmine) "Thiswheel
T l'.o1 biiiiu not long hasn't turned in a long time." But then it
-lllrir:r hiojii a long timel moyes ! Two teddies hacl got it moting.for
ajoke (and roll around laughing to see the
tour guide b shocked face) .

zhrio; zhuri ) 1 ,;(

claw

\\'hen it is used as the top ofa composite character, "claw,,takes the form 365b below.
CHAPTER 21 182

365b *-.
claw
The old lady always puts a beret over
beret
-- + hands reaching down her hands when she reaches down for
189a)
- something, so that nobody can see that her
"' {s:t1 =
"1'* hand looks like a cl aw . / [No pronunciation
neededl

365c
.}-!-&
hand down
(The old crone is in the attic) She lifts the
claw # * cover =
cover of the chest with her clawed hand
E-
1:o:uy $2a)
hand down and hands down the precious heirloom
(to her granddaughter waiting below). /
[N o p ro nunciati on n eeded]

E Badical JTI
/'
,L al
love
10 strokes

The dying duke says, "I intend to hand

hand down E1:0s"1 + friend ft1s:1 : down all my possessions to you when I
die; you have been a true friend to me and
love E shown me the only love I've ever known."
*\ozt iirdn spouse / The dwarf butler actually smiles: this
[Ejiiorsl diqing (romantic) love) had meked the ice in his heart.
I nJf
1r+oy k6'iti lovely, lovablel
[+E(reo qi'nii darling, beloved]
366 Badical fl r1 I 11j ii' ri'" i.
::a

flE nuan
warrn
'13 sirokes
;, !1,:.:

sun fi + love Er:ost = warm
1oy
If you look very closely, you will see that
the "cover" in the middle of the right-hand
side of this character has been abbreviated
into a simple horizontal line.
The holidaymakers lie in the sun and love
ffi
the feeling of being so warm. /The ghostll'
teddy (who guards their well-being) rides
up and down the beach on a nanny goat (to
warn people against getting sun bumt).

Ef[trzoi nuinhu o warm (weather)

 183 CHAPTER 21

t
J' 2
nadical
fi 4 slrokes )'
father
(At the barber's) Picture the octopus
+ 51gx.r Xr:s,y = 1",n". wielding a pair ofshears, giving a haircut
./f1zoy U
to your fath€r! / In the next chair along,
'{$rrool firqin larler a dwarf is grumpily trimming the beard of
Fu Manchu (he doesn't hold with all this
personal vanity).

restyourself: $rtr frt,r,t f't'ort lfio,tr ftourr fionu; [Hot

fi,ono, Eorrt F' tH,r,uo, {Foo,, ifu,,, i,rr,
(33s)

tt t-_
be
wait for

This means "to wait for" but also "to hope for".

368 Radicat E '; i'' r,0

[F,
lJ ',
suggestron
7 strokes

You open your mouth and wait for the

mouth E (5) + wait for [,1:osal : dentist to start work, but instead he says,
suggestion [[, "I have a suggestion. / Perhaps you d like
to tr,y y fobot assistant
This is a particle put at the end ofa sentence work at a bargain price."
- he can do this
ro indicate a suggestion or a supposition.
:E is also used for its sound often with lst
tone, as in the following compound.

',{[Prro:, jilba bar ta place sening

drinks)l

*' Radicat f
l ir ), .:u
fE H.0,"
7 strokes

(There's
4

a queue for the sale at the

hand | (r52d)+ wait for Errosar : department store) You are at the front of
handle {E the queue waiting for the shop to open,
your hand ready to grab the door handle
This character is also used to mark a direct as soon as the door is unlocked. / Behintl
object in a sentence. you, Teddy excitedly hops around, hoping
to bag a bargain.
i- t}n o rt . y\ bd ddo a knifel
CHAPTER 2] 184

"'6H. naaical
I
1l
strokes
, ,t '/-:- ;; t2-'
r,.

(In the queue for the sale at the department

father id(:ez) + wait for Et:orot = store) Imagine waiting for your father
dad € to come (so that you will be allowed in).
When he arrives you shout, "Drdl" / You
€€ nera dad, daddy, papa both race off to stop the dwurf grabbing
all the bargains.

371 Radical A I ,l ;\ . t\- li

8 strokes

claw ,lll:oso) * wait for Et:oru) =

. climb IIW

This also means "to crawl".

[ilE[trrrot pA s\an to climb e mountainl

The cat sits with its claws at the ready, and

waits for the mouse to come through the
hole in the fence but the mouse climbs
-
over the fence instead. / Nothing will stop
him getting to one of the fairy s legendary
parties.

Testyourself: foont ttrui ffio.rt Tf,trtoi ilcrni frr,,rl So*,

Eirrur ffo,r ,Hutl I[u", {i:1,our lftoua iHu,r,
 Chapter 22

This is another chapter where you've already learned all the basic building blocks you will
need.

372 \, \/
-F. ^ guan
Radical
6 slrokes i 'i\

-/\ switch off

(Arriving at a fancy dress party in Heaven)
\/ (65a) + heaven "You shouldn't wear horns in Heayen
-
especially not plastic ones with flashing
switch off i
_
lights switch them off at oncel" / The
This originally meant "a guarded mountain voice came from a ghostly giant sitting on
pass", which explains why today it can also a gdnt ? aboye the Peqrly Gates.
mean "to shut" or "a barrier", but also "a
connection"-

a,51lor1 guanxrn care for, care about

[i@*trzst hdig.urn (frontier) customsl
373 \ \/
l5::xY".
road L(:0") + switch off i:r:zzt :
deliver iX
This also means "to give" (as a gift).
Radical L i i 1i. :i
9 strokes
The delivery van driver's instructions
read: "Park on the road, and switch off
your engine before you deliyer the packet.
/ Otherwise the dwarf will make a song
and dqnce about the fumes."

[,51tt:rt sdngxin g see olf Oisitors))

lliEao:r huansdng see off (ttisitors))

4
"o Radical
t
ffi
1;.

12 strokes
I
1 ;' ,i
:Ti,"", .t:i" -li(

* (The bomb disposal expert has been called

ear $1stoy switch off *t:r:t =
to deal with an old unexploded bomb) He
connect 4t puts his ear to the casing until he hears
-#h1ctl \i6rth6 unite, get togetherl the mechanism switch off, then he can
connect up the two wires to make it safe. ,/
Twofaiiesfy in with a bowl oflentil soup
(to relax with, afterwards).
CHAPTER 22 186

Radical E
yan 7 strokes
trt words
In the biplane you can see your co-pilot's
lid -1:su1 * two l(2) + mouth E (5) : mouth moving but can't hear what sheh
saying (because ofthe wind noise), so you
words H fit a canopy or lid on top so you can hear
When this character appears as the left-hand each other's words. / The fairy has a yen
part ofother characters, it has the simplified to go for a ride (and might do so now that
i
form , which we have already met (67c). the canopy will protect her hairdo!)

iEHrrE ynydn language

lbi acq Fa ydn (make a) speech)
Badical 'f
xln I strokes
=FI letter
Harry is good at reading documents
person 'f ir:uy * words Ht:zst : letter fi written using old words, and people often
bring him old letters to decrpher. / The
Notice that we have already met a character dwarf brings him an old shin bone with
made up from "person" and "words" in the writing on it (hoping to catch him out).
other order: )\. lcharacter 253.1. Ifyou read
the previous sentence and recognized the
two forms of"person" and "words" without
thinking about it, itjust shows how familiar
you are getting with Chinese characters!

tBifftro:i xidngxin believe (in, that)

l*firea lriixin incoming letterl
lE{irzoa hlui x\n a replyl
fifi,51r0r1 x\n{tn confdence)

Testyourself: fttrr !{,erlr' Sr,ra dflr,,,r ft,ol 'ffio,rl *"r,

Elool Hoo, 7..ouo, 4orut [f,o., Su,r, S1,,u,
Badical ,4\
,' shio {shdo) 4 slrokes
few
The small slide is for small children only
/ O*): * but there are only a few slides like this
small ulrisoy + slide few D
/
in the whole country Teddy clambers
This can also mean "seldom". "to be up and shouts with joy as he slides down.
missing/lacking" or "yoturg". (Teddies are allowed on too as they're
very light.)
4 Dreq d$sh6o how many?
[64'tqi bishio quite a fanl
 187 CHAPTER 22

rl- Radical l| I .F ):- rj- ,!t' ,

ry bt
step
7 strokes

"Stop! only a few may walk in the

stop jli:eat + few master's footsteps ." / The dwa( carefully
Dont: step b removes his boots to lead the chosen few
\ote that the third stroke of "few" disap- (placing his feet in the footprints) .

fears in this character

j4ossr j\nbi make progress)

'' fi' ;1;1,'.""

Radical
9 strokes
4\ 2- ,l-
1 I ., rii :i
The governor chooses a few trusted
few jl'1:url * eye f{10:;: officials to keep an eye on the province
H.
while he is away on his next foreign trip. ,/
-€itr+t shEngli to sqve effotll [DlY pronunciation]
- 6'4ool shEnght\ provincial capita|

J'
Radical
Jrao 6 strokes
) j\
pay
The boy bangs a saucepan lid by his
lid '1zsry * father 'lora : pay i father's ear. "Pay me my pocketmoney!",/
But the father only grunts
The basic meaning is to "hand over" or - he s watching
the bro giarrts jousting on TV
-transfer"; hence "exchange" and (social)
"intercourse".

-lf.tOrl wnijiao foreign alfairs)

ri jiio
dumpling

(288a) + pay i(3so)

Radical
I strokes

:
I ,| j;
'j t;
(In the canteen) "The food is a disgrace,
you have to pay so much, and then all you
c /ii.(-

get is dumplings." / The two teddies (the

dumpling li
cooks) are watching thejousting onTV (so
;i7tra jiXozi stuffed dumpling haven't bothered to cook anything else).
CHAPTER 22 188

382 -L \ Radical f L :T ') :) :t\.

*A g;,,,,.", 10 strokes

(At the freeway toll booths) The cars are

car $1s:y * pay {1:so1 = comparison {t queuing up to pay, with the drivers in the
two queues making comparisons about
LL*ic:sr bijino comparatively how long they had b een there . / The queues
are building up because the two dwurves,
who man the tuo toll booths, are both
h,atching thejousting on their TV sets.

& fr
Radical
xlao '10 strokes I 1.1-

school
In the village there is a special tree, and
* the villagers make people pa) to see it.
tree fr1roat pay it:sot = school & using the money to build a school. / Zpa
#&rs:t xu6xiio scrool dwarves go round the local qreq like town
lti ldaoa xiioyrin canpus) criers, shouting out news about the tree
and drumming up business.

"- ::r
Badical
4 strokes
+

^l- While the criminal was on parole he had

label ,/ + criminal to wear a label with a picture of a cow on
(124a) *tr:o"t =
cow + it to show that his job was to look after
-
the cows. / [t took tt'o faiies (working in
When this forms the left-hand part of a shifts) to keep an eye on this notorious
composite character, the lower horizontal criminal.
stroke is slantecl and drawn last (see
Character 466 for an example).

If ]4r:zrt nifrbu beell

"uf,ft,,,n
I I
:1*?Jffi number ofthings
(In the "Best Trained Cow" competition at
person 'f (r:u) + cow St:s+t : the village fete) Harry trains his cow to do
number of things 'ff a number ofthings (uggling, standtng on
its head. etc.) / It fnishes by genufiecting
This is a fairly general measure word for to the two brarf adjudicators.
various objects such as items of clothing or
pieces of furniture.
 189 CHAPTER 22

386 El: Radicat E !L

E gE
older brother
l0 strokes

At the May celebrations there are two

'1-

may {1r+01 + may d1r+oy : Maypoles, one for the older children and
one for the smaller children. A small boy
older brother E dances round the smaller pole and looks
- EJ gege otaet Drotner across to where his older broth€r is
t+l{47r dage eldesl brotherl dancing round the other one. / The giant
accompanies the dance with s hme on
chimes made out of girders.

"'ffiil, Radical
'14
jl
slrokes
:.:i
J

Your older brother is totally lacking in

older brother ff1:soy + lacking ft1:or,y
talent but insists on singing his favorite
song. / The gianl accompanies him on
-lt*ort g6sh6u (pro./bssional) singerl the chimes made out of girders @ut
'l[ffipry 6rgE nursery rhymef unfortunately cqn't quite drown him out).

388a
\\/
___l- "haul up"
The unicorn has fallen overboard from
+ the Ark but there are soon friendly hands
hands reaching down "/ (82b)
reaching down to haul it up onboard
one .'-(l) = haul uP )Y.
again. / [No ptonunciation needed]

388 >-l- Radical I" l,i

7 strokes )
/!l.'.;::,',"'*' in;' S{OUID
shelter l-tro) * haul up ty. (388a):
should D
'ileot yingdang should, ought tof

The hermit who lives in the mountains

hauls up his supplies (in a basket on a
rope) and stores them in a shelter next to
his hut. Each delivery should be enough
to last a month (but he always eats them
up early). / [DIY pronunciationJ
CHAPTER 22 190

389a *-*
lml l 1 l,',
i" J "sLatighf '
At the outer limits of the kingdom there
outer limits [l1roo"1 * mouth [11sr = is a special cave: from the mouth of the
cave you can see daylight as this cave has
"l a skylight! / [No pronunciation needed]

389 Radical J
xlang I
6 strokes
towards
(Looking around caves, with a view to
a drop . + skylight buying one) A drop of rain falls on the
(22a) lr.l1:rqat =
torvards [i] skylight and they realize it faces towards
the prevailing wrnds. / The two dwuryes
This character has various shades of mean- argue back and Jbrthfor awhile but finally-
ing and the traditional form only applies to decide this is a small price to pay to live
some ofthcsc. in Shanghai.

trlilr:srr langxiing dit"ction

.,, Radical E
9 slrokes
Ufu Xff
The mouth of the cave faces towards a
mouth U(sr+ to$ards [i](]8ql: noisy part of town. ,/ The fioo teddies.
qa though, are excited: "We'll be qble to see
all the Shanghai goings-on."

3el Radical 'f

fu *in^r" 4 strokes

Harry looks in his diary and sees thar

person { 1t:n1 * seven tt:;t : change {t in seven days he has to change the clock
orr the church to\ er (to daylight saving
This also means "to alter" and can somc- time). / Last time he hacl forgotten and the
times be translated by using word endings ghostly dwarf who guaruls the tower had
such as'aize" or '1ify". given him q hard time.

{t,*rs:r huixu6 chemistry

j,'lt o, wlnhud ctlxue

Test voursetf: Efrr,,o1 fr,t;ort ffir:,;r,l [1Ll t::+l x (roe) ,[o,,r R,,r-
{,,rry fi1,,r1 'fFJ,,o,, H,,,,, 'lr r rN ) !n|1,, ,, fifl,,,-
 t9l CI]APTER 22
+
-J+- Radical
I a,. L
hui 7 strokes
4r_, flower
Rather than just having grass, she wants
grass +1:tt") + change ltr:srt = to change part of her garden into a flower
flower 7t bed. / She employs the ghostb, giant to
look aJter the fiowers, ancl he uses his
'
Z Er:o:t hua yu6n gardenl hord hdl Io protcct then lruut fiost.
-iriiyttsl zhdng hu[ lo grotv flowersl

*t ) t1 :):

ml^,",r"n..
cliff f 1r,rey + power f 1r+r
ffi
=
He builds the power plant at the bottom
of the cliff experience has taught him
that this is a good place for a hydroelectric
plant. /The dwarfhas to go ronnd checking
-1is also means "calendar" (and if so the for leaks in the pipes.
.:cond traditional fom applies).

.',!lfi lul jingli experiencel

3e4 Badical E
l rl :1
5 strokes
IEI rx,.,,..
(In a town park) Using a stick and the sun
stick I rrs"t + sun Elo: outdated JEJ
is a very outdated way oftelling the time.
/ The two dwarf park keepers mutter to
-nother character for "old". which often
:.rans "traditional".
each other
- they think it is a joke that
something so outdated is still used, qnd in
their park too.
.
I Et:e3t jiil\ lunar caleudarl

100%

HSK A

61./.
 Chapter 23

Once again there are a few pairs ofbasic building blocks where it is worth paying particular
attention to the small differences:

EunaE; *una{; ft-aE

& I PE]
>.-
history ,r#,r,
fu
tr.-
-/tr.-
/r
'. .,_
'
x "t, ,'rq \
/-rh:'
even center
more ,'--41>-\
I

*
to separate

+ jt ?&

droop industry
db
* \JL 5
Radical
strokes
jL
193

I .i a i
CHAPTER 23

1"0,.,,,
/ The dwarf had created a whole industry
iJLrr+21 gdngyi (manufacturing) out of making wheels, employing yetis to
j dustry do the work.
':]ll(207) zudye homework, assignment
-ljl1:r:y shiyi career; couse)
tndertahng]

'*'{E lx," r t1- ;ri

.,

it
The unicorn industry chums out plastic
+ industry jllr:est = Asia tr[. unicorns, each with "Made in Asia,,
one - (r)
stamped underneath. / [No prontmciation
neededl

3e6b \ /.
i' 't: t, 1
ff srand side by side
In the high plateaus of Asia they play
horns \'(6sa) + Asia jLt:qout tunes on animal horns standing side
= -
stand side by side ff by side (like a huge set of pan-pipes). /
[No p ronun ciatio n ne ede d ]

"' f]m ffil*',.. Badical

13 strokes
6
:n
:,i' li1

i,;;

stone firrr:.r + stand side by side lmagine setting up large (Stonehenge-

if t:sot = bump into 6j[ type) stones like a huge domino run
they stand side by side so that when each -
- lis can mean "to encou[ter", or to literally one falls it will bump into the next one. ,/
-bump into" something. The dwarf warns people to be punctual or
they will miss this big event.

3s7 E
Fh .n,
Radical
5 strokes ). ::
history
-\
/ The history lesson was about the
1tt:s:r lishi /ltsro,-y inyetxtion of the wheel. Teddy is bored by
this class qnd sits nrunching shallots at the
back. (Smell his breath!)
CHAPTER 23 194

j
an official

"' ,fE *, nadical

I
'f
slrokes
i r ls.

(In the gallery of modern art) Harry asks

the offrcial if he can use his camera. / He
person 1 (t:") + an official Et:s:ut =
wants a picture of the sculpture "Teddy
use 'f{
sitting on a pile of shallots ".
This also means "to send" or "an envoy".

'fE,Hrr:ot shiydng use, apply

Radical
-
geng 7 strokes
even more
/ (At the tire shop) Even more wheels
[Elli:z:t gingtria still more, even morcf than yesterday are being returned by the
customers. The dwarf orders them to be
coqted with gunk and resold ...

4OO Badical f
4EE pi6n; biirn s strokes
lX r advantageous 1.

2- convenient + In the saloon llarry had had a lot

to drink, but his opponent had drunk
l. person 'f (r:,) * even more E(:9s) : Harry would find this
,iE eYen more
-
advantageous if it came to a gunfight. ,
The two.fairies wanted to avoid bloodshed
2. person { (ru) } even more E(:9s) =
so each conjured up a bullet-proofvest so
convenient 'f@
that any bullets wouldni penetote.
i'iEcsrr fangbiin convenient, handy
2.
J'iSfi{1r;zt biil.nl\ convenientl
e On the spaceship llarry has even
more room in his cabin than the Captain-
which is convenient (as he can accommo-
date large aliens and get to know them). .
The two dwames complain that they have
to sh(tre a cqbin, with barely enough room
for a bench.

Test yourselr: t,+" {pesri tr t's'r 'ffic"r ][o'*r ffioou

J}-hp,*i

fio,',' E,,oa *.,.ur, *fieor, froorr $trta [4o"

 195 CHAPTER 23

v
'o"
R :#:. +
::7-
*

401 -#- Radical

.i.{
ymg 8 strokes
* hero
Who's that standing in the center of the
+r2l8a,+ grass? Itb a statue of the English hero,
center drlolar = hero {
Nelson. / [DIY pronunciation]
This character is also (from its sound) used
to mean "England" or "English". By the
rvay, ftm6i (not in HSK Level A) is the
corresponding character for America or the
USA.

E i5"'osr yrngy[_ English (lan_guage)

R X,2)) yingwdn (v,ritten) English
[4$rrs:l yingli a mile]
a02a
-fi ), ,t
-/\ to ,"pu.ut"

"'4[H Radical
7
+.
strokes
l t it ) .l ir

(Someone sneaks into the vegetable

earth :L.(s+ut + separate *1+oz,y = gardens) He separates the good earth
from the lumps which he dumps on a
neighboring plot. / The ghostly dwarf,
-\lso (colloquially) used to refer to a yran, who looks after the gardens, hoists a red
the unit ofcurrency in China. kite to alert the authorities.

*"Rx*:l Radical'f
7 strokes t .1.- ,iL .i),.
'1..(

heart 'l (::s,) * separate *t+ou,t :
If
conjoined twins are joined near the
heart then the operation to separate them
has to be quick. /f/z e ghostly dwat' @ho
has been assigned to protect the twins)
decides that he can't be expected to hang
around and watch so goes outside to fly
his kite during the operution.
CHAPTER 23 t96

*o' Badical /
)
R H:." 6 strokes

(Youte out skating on a frozen lake) The

* ice starts to separate, and you have one
ice / 1:rool separate *(+o:o) =
foot on each side of the gap so have to
decide j{
decide very quickly which way you're
This is a DIY pronunciation. ln this book going to jump! / [DIY pronunciation]
the pronunciation 'Jue" only applies to this
character and the following one.

[]t,L'trrrt j:u6xtn be deterntined, make

up one|s mindf

405 \\' Badical L 'I 1 )'t'

I strokes
E1T:liu;,,".0 1.

* They unveiled the new name on the

front ofthe saloon so that everyone could
1. unveil )"(s:c) * see [,tzr+t = feel iri
see it had been named after the local
s(s:.) *
- But how would this make the
outlaw.
2. unveil see ,!Ltzr+t = sleep fi relatives of the outlaw's victims feel?
fil$rrrsr ju6de feel, think (that) (Picture a widow bursting into tears). ./
[p ffi1ea ziju6 being aware of; roluntarl) [DIY pronunciation]
2.
g The spacesh p captai unveiled the
statue (to be left behind on the planet) and
wondered why everyone was laughing
-
they could see the sculptor who had been
sleeping under the cover. / The crew won-
dered why q statue of two dwames joust-
ing was appropriate.

P-z ding
Badical
8 strokes
"'

,(E decide on
Since the house was on a riverbank he
A1rr,1 * upright : checked carefully that it was upright
house E(iob)
before deciding on whether to buy it. /
decide on E The dwarf ntas happy that he could tie up
REi4o+t ju6ding decide; decision his dinghy alongside.
- i€trr yiding fixed, specit'ied

Testyourself: ;lqt,t,r 4na" fiaror f,oor, [,,,,, ffi,,,,1 F]p1rn,

fi,,r, Jl,,ur, $,,n,r HF,r,,, ffi,,,,, lN-,,ror, fir,r,,
 t9'7 CHAPTER 2]

407 Badicat J
,f.
zhdng (chalng) 9 strokes
heavy
/ "The heavy wheel on your tractor
This is another character where thcre rs a squashed this rare jonquil," said the
choice we can regard it as a somewhat policemqn. The dwarf can't see what the
complicated basic building block, or ry fuss is about ("lt was only a f.ower, for
to split it up into parts. We've chosen to goodness' sake," he mutters).
regard it as a basic building block, but
rou can regard it as "thousand" plus "in"
(Characters 89 and 157) if you like: a bag
u.ith a thousand pebbles in it would be
heavy!

SSlror) zhdngydo important

1@,fi1rsst zhdngdiin mqin point,
emphasis)
[€Jir+a zhdngod major, greatl
_*t-
H ddng
director ,:.t,
it.

grass +1zrra; + heavy (The young office workers have sneaked

E({7): into the washrooms for a "cigarette" break)
director E "This grass is heary, man," says one. But
the other one sees that the director is
comingl / [No pronunciation needed]

408 t-++.. Radtcal 'f

t'
'liE l;;"*..,,"0
I
15 strokes
.i: 'i'f'

'l (;:sot +
director 6(+os,t = The heart director (head of the cardiac
understand 16 unit) is trying to get his students to
understand irregulatheartbeats. / He gets
I E iB, rr", dingde under,rctnd. graspl Teddy to lead a dankey round the lecture
hall (so that the hooJbeats drum out an
irregular rhythm).

409a --+ r ,t;- +

#r ctrut
droop

Notice how this differs from E (Character 407 above), and be careful with the stroke
order
The two small vertical strokes on either side are joined on at the top and bottom in
some typefaces (this is shown in the large character here) and not in others (as shown in
the stroke-order diagrams).
CHAPTER 23 r98

.,, Radical H
il '.) tl' ili
13 strokes
'il
HE:i.:; ii'ir

eye fl ir:y + droop #{+or,t : His eyes began to droop and all he wanted
to do was sleep. / Fortunately the ghostly
FEffirqostshuijiho sleep; go to bed dwarf (guarding the emperor s palace)
lF*tsrrort shuizhdo to fall asleepl was wearing shades, so nobody could see
his eyes close.

Testyourself: ffir,,ol St'*r ffio''l f'N-.,tzntt ffit"'l I1[r]o'or 4 (348)

'fEI1,, {fto,,, iRi,*, 4Xu,., i[8,,,,r ffiu.,, t7

,L 1244)

At the end ofChapter I I we gave you some tips for what to try when you have forgotten the meaning
ofa character. what ifyou can't remember the pronunciation? Here arc some suggestions:
First, can you remembet the archetype? Sometimes you will flnd that you can, and then you
can ask yourself what would a dwarf (fairy, etc.) do here? Ifyou can picture the scene, with the
archetype in that scene, this may be enough to trigger the soundword
If you can'f remembct the archetype, try using the personality faits- Does a mischievous
or grunrpy archetype seem to belong in this story? Were there two archetypes? (Does the stor)
secm to need two e.g. were they arguing or holding each end of something?) Is the archetype
ghostly? (was it guarding or protecting something?) one particular point to beaf in mind is that t$'o
archetypes arc never ghostly an archetype can be ghostly, or duplicated but not both (that would
be silly!).
-
lfyou really can't remember the archetype, don't worry too much the tone is the leasl
important part to remembet less important than the meaning and pronunciation
Another avcnue is to go back to thc llrst half of the story for clues which we have sometimes
been ablc to put ifl (for examplc when we had the soundword "tandoori" we had an lndian theme to
the n1.St half of the story).
ca]] you rcmelrber the pronunciation ofother similar charactels? It',s possible that the character
you're thinking of is part ofa phonetic series (sec the comments atter Character 46).
FiDally, try saying the story, or the part of the story rvhich you remember' to yourselfout loui
this soD'retimes brings back other details of the story, including the soundword (we tried thi'
-onnelves a nunber of times, and rvcre surpriscd how much easier it was to remembel things abou:
the story when $,e started relating it out loud).
 Chapter 24

Note that while "thirty" is simply three tens, "twenty" is not simply two tens. The extra
sroke in "twenty" is necessary to distinguish it from "grass" (218a in Chapter 14).

-t
bird's wing
t
to fly

(, q
2nd with

5
choke
+ tr
two tens joined
together" make 20!

rF
towel
+r+
thirty
ttt3x1O=3O
CHAPTER 24 200

41Oa -"1 -L
t\1 "bird\ wing"

o'o
-K, Badical
3 strokes
\ -L
['0"
/The chairman ofa car component compa-
\t,Lrror terj r 41lp/r?rc ny is reporting to sharehoklers) "We were
prepared to fiy the wheel long-distance to
the famous giant it wos worthwhile to
get the
-
celebi\t endorsement."

411
E
_\ ql
Radical
4 slrokes
1
air
Clouds gathered above the unicorn
when he discovered the dead bird with a
clouds l-lrz+u) + one
-o) * broken wing. He sniffed the air angrlly. /
bird's wing l*t+rout = air tsi,
He would tell his sttspicions to lhe db'arf
This can also mean "angry". police chiefwhen lrc at'riyed.

l.F;1 t t1 tidnq\ -* e a t he r
IJ]F1rr+r liqi physical strengthl
If ir:rot nrtdnq\ centt.al heatingl
ly'(-1trsrt hludqi (person s) temperl
412 \,4... Badical J
7 strokes
Yi,. r;,.,
(A crime scene in a bathroom) "Water
I 1;s"1 * air
/it+rrt : in the air becomes sleam so if we run
water steam it the hot tap to \,,arm lhe room again. ue
fi,Eis:t qichE cer, atiomobile will see if the victim wrote a message on
the bathroom mirrot" the junior detective
said. / "I'm the chief, I'll give the orders,''
said thc dworf police chie/ in charge.

413a
3
Lli*,.
Be careful not to confuse this with "bird's wing" (410a).
The character J
('hail", 8lb) is also used to mean "fourth", and we willmeet E "third"
later (510a). Strangely, F "first" does not appear in HSK LevelA, even as a fragment.
 201 CHAPTER 24

"' llill,,o*.,,u,,", lllllJ I L

H Harry came second in the contestto guess

the distance from the Earth to the Sun. He
person { ir:u1 * second Z(+r:u) =
hundred million {Z said a hundred million miles. / The d.warf
logged the guesses on a blackboard set up
-fZr+r shiyi q bitlionl on an easel.

L
4'14 Radical
yl 4 strokes z)
-
art i' ijl
t-.\'.t|
,--iL

j
grass +1:tsul * sec ond Z$ :,d: art Z
lf,p1 w6ny\ the orts

(In the soccer stadium) When cutting the

grass it is the second cut that creates the
pattems and tums it into a work ol art. ./
The dwarf planned the design out on an
easel.

:'5a /
i\
C-J t.e
The clouds had a competition to make
clouds F(t:+t) * se cond Lgtzot=beg Z interesting shapes. Second pdze went to
a cloud who took the form of a person
beggrng. / [No pronunciation ieedetl]

"' VIL:,1 Badical

6
E
slrokes

The refugee didn't speak the local lan-

mouth [ + beg eat tZ guage so pointed to his mouth, to beg for
(s) Z@sut:
something to eat. / The giant took pity on
:".11ff7at2t
:2rro h6och7 delicious him and gave him a chapati.
chifln to have a mealf
t= 'P7,i5o) xilochi sractl
ioost clnirwin eat up, fnish eatingl
CHAPTER 24 202

o'u Badical -L
A n,u" 6 slrokes

The king sat in his tent he was so

-
plump that he took up the whole space. /
tent ,\(leb) + king I(rou): whole A pronunciationJ
[DIY
This is a unique DIY pronunciation; in
other words it is the only character in the
book with this pronunciation.

fifoosl w6nqudn complete

A*Fi:rol qudnbir all, without exception
A{{trzst qudnti all (of a group ofpeople)

417 ,--, nadical /J

ffisi
I I color
6 slrokes

The monk was trowing at the pedestrian

* crossing, waiting for the lights to change
bow h(sra) wait for E(:oso) = color E
color. / His dwad sewant (fed up of this)
This may also mean "scene" or (someone's) impqtiently pressed the butto !
"looks".

lLlE ettl hdngsi the color redl

418 ,-, Badicat fr

7 slrokes
ffi'.m" The beggar bows to passers by and says,
* 'Buddy, I could use a dime!' / Hes a bit
bow ts1sray use ffitr:ol = dime fr mffid as further down the sidewalk two
You will sometimes see this character in teddies are jousling to amuse the crowds
an older form where the middle vertical (and raking it in).
line does not extend beyond the bottom
horizontal line (sri the inside part looks like
"earth" rather than "criminal").
This character means l/10 of a yuan, or
ten cents another character (€, Charac-
- used colloquially for the same
ter 453) is
thing. Other meanings for fi are "angle",
"corner" or (actor's) "role".

[./L ]H tI 7lrl8. lo. 71r JIU JlaO wU len

ninety five cents)
l- Ro saniido tiangle)
 203 CHAPTER 24

,,, Radical fi ti' .ti

ffi 7;;r,
.t i:1
'12 strokes
,L) .ii
(Theytossed forit)The dime landed on the
stone fi1rrsa1 + dime ffi(+rst:
certain ffi stone. "Heads I win!" "Let me see
-
are you certain?",/ [DIY pronunciation] -
\nother unique DIY pronunciation.

i!*rzsot quishi indeed, veritably

Ififitzsl zhingqui correct, accurate
12oa 1pb
) d
R heron ,ii j:) ii;

this IlLt:r+ut + dime frr+rst : heron H (A zookeeper is showing offhis collection

of strange objects) "This is the dime I
found in the stomach of a heron." / [No
pronunciation neededl

"' frH ,r;,rn Radical

16 strokes
E
l',?
n ",i 'i:: ,
iI:

mouth E (:) * heron ffi lazouy : mouth ffi The heron had a fish in its mouth, which it
took back to its nest to put into the mouth
.\n almost-unique DIY pronunciation, shared of its young chick. / [DIY pronunciationJ
.,nly by this character and the next one.
This is the character which is usually
.sed to reier to a person's mouth (rather
tan E ).

EI
E
Radical E
t_ I 4
zlf,l 12 strokes
utmost ,7

sun E (o) * acquire 4ttssi: utmost ft "I would acquire the sun for you if I
could, to prove my utmost love," he said
EEtrsot zuihbu fnally, fnal stuge (while she reached for the sick bag!). /
E jfitz,lrt zuijin rece tly, recekt time [DIY pronunciation]

Test yourself: 6o, flot ffir:;or j{,ron, H(r7t) E(2r2) ,ffl,ooo,

lEa*i iEjr,.,r *oro, LArrrrt ffi,,,rr &ur,, H,rru,
CHAPTF,R 24 204

orr"
ft ]an
inflammation
"I can't believe it a fire on top of lasr
fire y'(trsr) * fire 4.(tsrt = week's fire, now the inflammation on m]'
inflammation { burnt hand is even worse." / [No pronun-

*'ift tdn
talk over
Radical 1
'10 sirckes
ciation neededl

-t ;)' t' .:j:

a hospital) The nurse said, "I've written

(In
words i (rr.) * inflammation down a few words for you about this
\iezzut =
talk over jf inflammation but our burns expert can
talk over the details with yol. / I'll get the
[]jf1ss1 huitdn hold (brmal) talks) fairy to fly off and arrange a tannoy call
[I&llir:r:t zttdt n have an informal .for him."
meeting/cliscussion]

, ir--t 5iu 1'

J with

tr
423 Badical -
xte 5 strokes
write
(In the school exam) The boy covers his
co\er -(8'a,+ with 5,a2rar = !rrite E paper with his hand so that his neighbor
can't see what he wites. /The two tedtlies
ffiEcqzr tingxiE dictation hate been put one at each end of the shelf
[5'ff aoa xi6zud to. rite; writing] (so that they can\ distract anyone during
I tl -!l ( li6) snuxle to write; handwritingl the exam).
ll.qr+a dnixid uppercase letter;
capital lettersl

424a

"choke"
 205 CHAPTF,R 24

E] Radical E '{
3 hio
date
5 strokes

(Reading the newspaper at breakfast) He's

mouth E ts) + choke !1,r:+u1 : date
\lso used more generally to mean "Number"
:s in "Number 3") or "symbol".
-a$o++t ddnhiro ar odd uuuberl
J $1sy kduhio s/ogan l
$ just put a spoonful ofcereal in his mouth,
and chokes when he spots the date on the
newspaper (he's forgotten their wedding
anniversar5 l) / l-he dwarf butler h very
houseproud, and mutters as he sweeps up
the comfiakes from the floor.

:zsa II -l l- -r l-
I

t-l iJ:h,
\otice the stroke order (and number of strokes) this is not "pit" (see 626a) plus
Dne

"'E l:r....
Raaicat I-'-
I strokes )
The farmer agrees to buy twenty shelters
for his cows and shakes hands on the
shelter f oTrl) + twenty f 1+:su1 *
right hand nt:zt : degrees l{ deal; under the agreement they'll be
delivered when the temperature drops to
''Degrees" can refer to temperatures or to /
twenty degrees. The dwarf selesman
.:ngles. says he'll also throw in a duvet.jacket for
the cowherd.

426 RadicalrL\
/r\ t;,i 8 strokes
.i lfj\ attituae
(At the vet's surgery) "Too much food is
too much ar+st * heart ,L'ool : bad for your heart
you need to develop
a more healthy attitude to eating." / The
attitude * dwarftelk the tiger to eat smqller portions
f,.$t+z:t tlridu attittrle,approach (not noticing the tiger sizing him up ...)

Test yourself: ffii,oot fr-o,t, fr,oonr ft,trt ,r -Srrtrl lftcurt fr t rrt

fA,,*, A,,,0, ffi,',, i+,,.' 'F,,u", +,,',, 8,..,-,
J27 a *I* Radical ffl -1
tlliin
, 3 slrokes
l I.
l, rouel
CHAPTER 2.1 206

427 ---)- Badical

I al ''.t:

ftJ ',,T.0",
5 strokes

He puts a lid on the box of towels (before

lid -(25b) + towel ft t+:uut
: market fi loading it onto the cart) to take it to market.
/ Last time the towels had got wet and the
Take care to distinguish between this dwarf had hit him with a shillelagh !
character, "encompass" (428a) and "sash"
(429b).

fi|fi1:ooy ch6ngshi clly

lfFrFr:o:l dnshi cl4rl

428a

ffi" "encompass"
The grateful villagers made the unicorn
one + towel fll = encompass ffi a large towel which was big enough to
-(l) lazru;
encompass him (even his horn). / pr'o
p ro nunciatio n needetll

o" Radical
6 strokes
I

lJF *,,". (At the murder crime scene) They drew a

* chalk line round the body which encom-
knife I.]tz+,) encompass ffii+:sur =
passed the knife he was holding they
master lJfi -
would need a master detective to solve
Zllfitzo+i l5oshi teqcher this. / The gisnt spotted a blood-soaked
[& liFtuasr ji]roshr teacher) shillelagh on top of a wardrobe ('I didn1
need to be q master detective to spot this,''
he said).

o'n" I I I'
thirty

429b

'fF ,u.n
The ambassador had just had a shower-
rt' and so was covered only in a towel when
cover -(8h) + towel fll t+zrot = sash
the doorbell rang. But at least he put on
his sash before answering the doorl / [No
pronunciation neededl
 207 CHAPTF-R 24

429 Radical fi i'o' .ij'

dii I strokes
TF- belt
(In the embassy laundry) At the end
thirty +}+'(42ea) + sash 1i'(429b) : belt ffi of each month they had to wash thirty
sashes for the ambassador, a different one
-d,ffio,1t didhi zo,?el for each day. "Why can't he just wear a
belt?" the laundry worker complained. /
The dwarf (supervisor) told him that they
were all dyed dffirent colors (and it was
importantfor protocol reasons to httve the
right one for each occasion).

\bu probably know at least vaguely what a radical is (see the User Guide, and the comments about
-phonetic series" at the erd ofChapter4). The radical often gives a clue to the meaning ofa character.
For example the heaft radical suggests something to do with feelings or emotions, the water mdical
:omething to do with liquids, and so on. Thus it is more a classification device than an insight into
:he root meaning ofindividual characters. Many authorc feel that the u,ord "radical" (from the Latin
-.or "root") is misleading, and use other words such as "classifier" or "signiflc". But radical is by far

:he most commonly used word.

The radical doesn't always appear on the left-hand side of a character. Sometimes it's on the
:rght, or on the top or on the bottom. Here are some examples:

Character Radical Position of radical

*[ F right
E E top
I,r ,L' bottom
ln L left and bottom

Because it's not always easy to tell what the radical is for a particular character, the radical is
listed for each ofthe characters in this book. As you learn more characters, you'll find you can often
guess the radicaljust by looking at a character Ifyou've been looking at the mdicals as you worked
:hrough this book, you'll probably already have a good feel for this.
Why bother with radicals? The main use of radicals if for grouping characters togethcr so that
rhey can be organized in dictionaries. For hundreds of years Chinese dictionaries have used the
radical components of the characters as a way of groupiug them. All characte$, even the really
simple ones, are assigned one radical or another (mainly just for the purpose ofplacing them within
rhe index of a dictionary). We will say more about looking up characters in dictionaries at the end
of Chapter 27.
Traditional characters all had a universaliy agreed (alrhough sometimes not at all obvious)
radical liom a set of 214. For simplified characters the situation has been much more fluid, with
dictionaries adopting their own lists of radicals which vary from about 180 to around 230. More
recently there has been some convergence towards a set of 189 and this is the set which we have used
in this book. However, note that there are plenty of characters where two (oI more) choices for the
radical are possible (and dictionaries might then list them under both).
 Chapter 25

The basic building blocks "bookcase" and "treasure" are very similar Clearly one has an
extra stroke; but how do you remember which is which? Think of ordering your books
by the color oftheir covers you put red, white and blue books on the top, middle and
bottom shelves respectively. Color in the picture of the bookcase like this, with red and
blue pens or pencils. You'll then remember that "bookcase" has three shelves. not four.

'l,A 7
sign
"'otntt 'ffiu
-r. /-" ffit
lll^L.n Pnq. bvq

. i€$ "--:'
,k H- #)c
a dress skin W-;
Fl
if .:fll

fl vl fr*'
bookcase ,*" ru
+
wool ,u":*,ffiry .4\?-144.:
 209 CHAPTER 25

rlil0 Zi -r
/l\
Radical
shi 5 strokes
sign
A small (remote-control model) biplane
two -1u1 + 56xll zjrlsoy : sign fr is flying around, doing sign writing in the
sky. / The dwarf smokes his cheroot (and
\\hen this appears as the lefrhand side of sulks now that nobodyb interested in his
"Iher characters it takes the form ] (see smoke rings any more).
133a below).

-,1',6,:1:sr1
sh\y\ to signal, hint)

E
E^ piio
Radical
'l l strokes
.,''' ..,i
-:J''
il;

/J\ ticket
-:.'.,
1J\

(Tours of theWhite House) At the entrance

west E(loo) + sign fr1+:oy = ticket S to the West Wing, the sign says "Special
-Sf1r;y piiozi banknote, bill tickets beyond this point". / The two
,' 1Hrza m6npiio admission ticketl dwarttes see q ticket on the ground and
. ITJL E(4i0. r0, IEijl piilo airplone ticketf both pounce on it.
- tf Htrsr, 83t hudchE piho trqin ticketT

*' Badical J .']n :t

')E
Izl'.Ji p.""v
,,u, 14 strokes
..+
,j-
I
.'.i

rrater J lrray * ticket Ht+:rt: pretty i4 On the water floats a ticket to see the
"Pretty Maids" daflcirrg tto\pe. / The two
:Sft6+:; piiolilrn g preuy, good-looking dwan)es both poance on this ticket too.

J33a 1\ ) ,I
,1,
I srgn

This is the form which Character 430 takes when appeadng as the left-hand side of other
;haracters. This is easy to mistake for "clothes" ? (439a), which has one more stroke.
CHAPTER 25 210

433 |t Radical T
7 'i I

T1 :::,"*
7 strokes

sign I 1a::a1 * earth +.(5aa) : society ?t

This can mean a club or association. as well
I--i
i'l
i

as society in general.
l-l

ilAtsst shihui society (in general)

"Look for the sign on the building depict-
ing little heaps ofearth that's the house
-
where the mole-fanciers' society meets. /
The dwarf sherpa is giving a talk tonight
on 'Mountains and Mole-hills'."

434 \ r----r Radical ]

9 strokes
TIL ;lI*,.n.,
A sign in the sky his older brother
: -
had organized a skywriting airplane to
sign 1 t,a::ot + older brother fl1orul
send him best wishes for his birthday. .
best wishes iX.
The dwarf said it was juvenile (probably
because he hadnt thought ofit).

Badical ]
shi I
4n to watch
strokes

(At the zoo) The sign says, "This is the

* place to see the feeding ofthe tigger"- so
sign | 1+::u1 see Ltzr4t = to watch i[,
all the children stop to watch. / The dwarf
Eifl,rrssr diinshi television feeds it shallots (or this is trhqt tigge\
f [;i[12+r1
jinsh) near-sightecll like best) whilst grumbling to himself thu
people in his position shouldnl have to
feecl the animals that are there purely for
entertainment.

Test yourself: )("'r' fL'', 6')or a (367) ffior:r ffor,rrr E EI

(.ll:
t-/'
'[4ot,, fH,,ur, /{1r,rr + (4or) z-fiOsrt lf-.ltiqt H
--t-t-

"a dress"

Notice that the second stroke has a "barb" (120a), and notice the order for writing the lal
two strokes.
 211 CHAPTER ]5

Badical K t ,
biio 8strokes )' 't, )-
indicator
The little girl puts an old dress on a
plant t 1r::u1 * dress.&.(+:o"t : plant in her lront garden, as an indicator
indicator t of which house is holding the birthday
patty. / Tit o teddies stand on either side
This character can mean "to show" or "a oJ-the front gqte, bowing to guests as they
surface", and is used for any chart such as arriye.
a timetable; also for an instrument such as
a gauge, meter or wristwatch (only for the
last of these meanings does the traditional
tbrm apply).

*z:rtr3ot biioshi show inclicqte

f *r:rt shdubiSo v,rist \ratcll
*4,rzrst biloxiin display, show
l't&, .,", fabiio publi.th. publicizel
[*Er:r:1 bilomiin a surfacef
[*E.Erra biiomfng make clear, demonstratel
o" Badicat fr
.\
& I;,n.,
6 strokes L

She lifts the lid of the box to reveal a

lid '1zsty * dress,&(+:oul = clothes d beautiful dress
-
she has never been
given clothes like this as a present before.
When this appearc as the left-hand side of / She doesn't know that the giant is her
rharacters it is squashed into the distorted secret ad irer and thot he wants to see
tbrm ] (see 439a below). Originally it her looking her best qt the Easter parade.
u,as a cloak, but now it can be any piece of
clothing.

[ftd1+1 dnyi overcoat]

li,t lKliL'rlo tu' xiyiji woshirtg ruuchinel

^" Radical -
)" ,\
Ri:#
't i
6 strokes

She wears overalls to cover her dress

cover -(82a) + dress.&t+:o"t = farm ..& when she is working oL the farm. / IDIY
pronunciationl
This is very casy to mistake for Character
137, to see the difference look at the stroke
order diagrams.

.&tlLos:t n6ngyE
agricultttre
'ftfliro+y n6ngcun
farming area,
coLultnside
CHAPTER 25 212

4 clothes

This is the form which Character 437 takes when appearing as the left-hand side of
characters. Compare this carefully with "sign" ] (433a), which is very similar but has one
less stroke.

*' RadicalT ':i ir1 -r):

lrJ
7 strokes

ffinning
The doctors cut away his cloth€s with a
knife before beginning their examination
clothes ? (43ea)+ knife ll(72) =
(of the road accident victim). / The giant
1l tries to stick the clothes together again
fti]Jt+:rt zuichu initial ly, i n iti ql s t qge with chewing gum!
t'lll f a;sr chtbn initiql, tentattuel

o'o'E:i,, )' .t.-

i)
.1:

Watch the stroke order for this one.

^r'BRl.,, Radical T
7 ,)
..ti
):) ' ,;i, ii i,l.
10 strokes

A caveman sees his friend wearing new

clothes made of animal skin. Who were
clothes i (,rea) + skin Er++oat = by ?,(
they made by? By Ugg? By Zugg? Or bY
[:iETir:r bEizi quik, blanketf Ntggl / Actually, by the dwarf who lives
down in the basement of his cave.

441 Radical E )' 1 i)' ;:rl' ,r7 'i,R

10 strokes

Wy^^* Rubbing a stone on his skin was damag-

in9 it. / But the hoarf itched where he had
stone fiirrsuy* skin p1++ouy = damage ffi
been scratched by the porcupine.
[&Firs:i pdchdn go broke; come to
naughtl
 2t3 CHAPTER 25

oot naoical I I ! 1/ :"1 ;?i

ff nuu' 7 strokes

(An archaeologist is digging) "This is not

earth t(iaa) + not 6rsl : bad fi earth I've got a bad feeling about this."
- moment a ghostly dwarf,
I At that who
lffi]di++rt pbhuii ro damage, varulalise, guards the tombs, appears and unleashes
sabotagel a hyena to chase him off.

*t Radical
5
-
strokes
'l ii ,i
FI- ,iu..u"",.,,
/ They really needed wheels to moye
''Bookcase" is our name for this character the heaty bookcase but all the b,o
rvhich was originally a stand with shelves. teddies could find y)ere chestnuts to put
\owadays its meaning is more abstract: underneath it!
"moreover", "yet", "still"; or "while .. .-ing".

fiEtrsrl 6rqi6 moreoyer

*' Badical
8 strokes
i ( ) 1. rll ltl jlil
l[^jo1u."..,.,",
"Who's that woman cleaning the book-
woman f (r:) * bookcase fL(4+:) : case?" "That's my older sister. / ,Sre3
older sister {E cleaning up qfter the th)o teddies had a
jelly fight."
,ErlE Jle.fle older sisler
I '{fl1s01 xiiojiE Miss
.iflffi10+y jiEmbi sisrersl

*' Raaicat )f fl l {:l

Ej *1,,
I T i,):
7 strokes

"We need more manpower to move the

bookcase fl1++:y + power j1r+1 : hear,y bookcase
- we need some help." /
The dwarf takes a swig oJ'his magic juice
and picks up the bookcase nonchalantly
';!?art zhish6u assistant, aide) with one hand. (At lasl, his chqnce to
shine !)
CHAPTER 25 214

oou Radical
l0 sirokes I 1' t ir ,i;fl ,tl -,ii.l

tEl il, ^
Some grain is left on the bookcase every
grain ft1r:ooy * bookcase fL(++:) = month to pay the rent. / The giant landlord
rent fE accepts this from his Zulu lodger ftut
would rather have money).
Hffii54rrr,r,,rrz, s:y ch[z[ qichE rari

oo' Radical i
I strokes
tEl ;x"".,",
(In the library) The sign on the genealogy
sign ] 1+r:uy + bookcase fl(e+:) : bookcase shows where to look for books
ancestor iE on the ancestors. / kddy dresses up as a
Zulu (as he has heard his ancestors came
iflEltooi 2igu6 ancestral land from Africa).

oo' Radicat L
8 strokes
2E^ 2i,.,,."
You decide to put different colors of
thread ? (:::u) + bookcase fl(a+:) = thread on the shelves of the bookcase to
organize its contents. ,/ Wen the thread
,E
runs out, Teddy offers to dress up as a
lHLAes:l zizht orgqnize, organization Zulu to mark the African sectionfor you.

'

H
Radical
yr 8 strokes
appropriate
The new house has lots ofbookcases, and
house +(sra) * it is going to take a long time to find an
bookcase flr++:l:
appropriate place for each book. / 'Eas1
H
if you htow how," says the fairy as she
lEHf+ool pi6nyi cheap, inexpensive waves her magic wand,
 2t5 CHAPTER 25

450 \ J, Radical i
lfl 7 -,t
:t1 l.':
10 strokes
il.,u.n,,
He was looking for a greeting card with
(67c) + appropriate Ht4+s) : words which would be appropriate to
friendship iE show his friendship (but they were all
soppy birthday cards). / The dwarf gave
tiHrs:r yduyi friendship up aru) sent an email instead.

EI
t-J ,,tleasule
1 Ji-
--r_r- ,

\ot to be confused with "bookcase" (Character 443) ',treasure,, has an extra horjzoltal
stroke inside. -
4sl Badical l- t-
a
El ill,*n,
I
8 slrokes

(The girl has found a map) 'At the

ten f1+1 * treasure E-(+sr,t: crossroads there is hidden treasure! Lett
go straight there and dig it up straight
awayl" / The fairy says, "Hang on, l'll
This means "straight" and can take on come too, just give me a minute to get out
:elated meanings such as "direct", "frank" of the .iscuzzi."
rr "upright".

' fi1ry yizhi always, all the time

d52 Radical + "l

El
/, \
,r,1o
truly
10 strokes
l
-l-

(The octopus pickpocket has lieen caught

{traight g,a.r, + s;glr1 r\,:n, = truly 4 red-handed and is being handcuffed by the
police: picture them needing four sets of
fhis means "true", "genuine"; hence handcuffs . . .) "I'll go straight from now
-:eally" or "clearly". on," the octopus says, "truly I will." /
[DlY pronunciation]
at[,:o, zhenzhing real. genuine
:r.E(2sl) rinzhen conscientious
'aIEtrsii zhEnl\ truthl
-E*tzsol zhEnshf
true, real, authenticl
CHAPTER 25 216

453 Radical € t-
't)
_l=J mao 4 slrokes
lJ wool
/ The fairy spins wool on her spinning
Compare this with "hand" + (Character wheel, to make a pulllover for her pet
31). The hook here has a longer base and mouse-
goes lo the right instead olthe left.
The character € means "wool", "fur'
or "hair"; and is also a colloquial measure
word meaning l/10 ofa 1uan.

[#€tr r rt yingm o wooll

[€t(a37) m6oyi (woollen) sweater)
o'o Radical "" ,,
ry.
l-l
o,
Pen
10 strokes

A length ofbamboo with wool tied around

bamboo B(321a) + wool {(+s:) = pen € it (to give a good grip) makes a colorful
pen. / Teddy cooks up beetmot to make
This can also mean "to write" or (when talk- inkfor the pen.
ing about Chinese characters) "a stroke".

l?Hoszt m6obi writing brushl

lHll,ent biji nores (e.g. of meeting)f

455a

"pile of earth"

455 Radical -L
min 5 strokes
the people
(At the Gettysburg address) Imagine
Abraham Lincoln standing among the
corpse f lzrtuy * pile of earth t(+ssut =
corpses buried under piles ofearth, making
the people R his famous speech about govemment "of
Notice that in this character the last stroke the people, by the people, for the people:'
of "corpse" has a barb at the end. / A fairy records the minutes (preserving
the words for posteity) .
*. Rt+:al n6ngmin farmeq peasant
/rRtra r6nmin the people
1ft {1u e1 minzhiu democracy,
democraticf
lRsf,osa mingE folk songl
[Rffitr:ot minydng for civilian use]
 21',7 CHAPTER 25

stake
The builders are marking out a building
pile of earth tta:soy + a d16p ' 122u,
: site, using a drop of red paint on a small
pile ofearth to indicate where each stake
stake t sholld go. / [No pronunciation needed]
This is like "dagger" (32a) but with a stroke
missing.

o'' Radical 'f

i\
'ft Li'iu,,,,"
5 strokes
I

Harry is playing football and hurls

* himself by mnning into a large stake, so
person { 1r:,1 stake {1,rsool =
they have to bring on a substitute for hini.
substitute,ft
/ The tlwarf team manager rolls dice to
4'itr:rst xiindiri modern determine who shoulcl replace him.
1t*gror diibi[o to represent; a delegcie
tBt''ftrrosi shidii epoch, age, era)
l$'f{1rre ni6nd}ri a decacle (of a century)l

Testyourselr: fi,rrr frtl fr+zt fino fl]on, $c,rt IBu*,

i,,ro, Etrut, li,rru, jl,,r,, Z,rrrt 'lHr,,urr €oro,

\lany books give sequences of pictures showing how characters have evolved ovcr thousands of
rears, from their earliest fomrs to their current form. An example is the following sequence for
''fish" (which we will meet in Chapter 30):

a ---------> &
---+>
Sometimes knowing how characters have developed tells you something about the character.
For example, you may flnd it intercsti[g to see how the characters for left hand and right hand have
developed from prinitive pictures ofthe two hands:

You can then notice, for example, that the intemediate form of "left hand" has the "special"
stroke that appears in the character for "send out" (Character 146). Many people find this sod of
jling fascinating but we believe that it is not thc bcst way to leam the modem forms of characters
.i hen you are starting out.It's like tracing the Latin or Greek roots ofEnglish words. It may be inter-
.:ting to know that the English word "bus" came from "omnibus" (which is Latin for "for all"), but
ris is not how you would teach a class in English lbr beginners. These derivations may give some
:elp with remembering the meanings ofbasic building blocks, but are less use for composites, and
:i\ e little if auy help with pronunciations. In any event, ifyou are interested in seeing how Chinese
-"iraracters have developed, there is no shortage ofbooks available covering this topic.
 Chapter 26

Another chapter where you already know all the basic building blocks you'11 need. As 1o-
progress, you will find more and more characters which are made up of building block'
you already know. You have learned about 150 basic building blocks now, which gives:
hugc number of combinations (even counting just the composite characters which onl.
contain two or three basic building blocks). There are now only 60 or so basic buildin;
blocks remaining in this book. After that, you would only need a further 30 or so to get )o-
through the whole of HSK Level B.

457a ---f
sht
-I-*
H tong'e
A thousand believers flocked to the
* mouth mouth of the cave, hoping to hear the
thousand f 1ts1 E tst =
famous magical tongue speak. / [No prc,-
fr nunciation neededl

"' fiU iff.* naaicat ll

I strokes

The young chef runs his tongue along the

tongue E(+szut * knife l]tzao : blow fr{ knife to lick it clean and then blows os
it to dry it. / The ghostly giant, guardiaa
of kitchen cleqnliness, excuses this as he
loves the taste of garlic too!

458 \--r Radical 1

I slrokes
trH lJ..,,
(In an ancient tomb) The explorer can read
words i (szc) * tongue fr1+:zoy :
the ancient words written above the door.
buthas to get his tongue round them, as the
speech ifr
door will only open ifhe recites the whole
Aifrisst huihui talk (with), conversation speech in one go. ,/ The ghostly dwarf
H,i6rrsei diinhud telephone guarding the tomb plays the harmonica lo
lXtifrrrs4t dn\hurit thave a) dialogue] put him off.
[A,ffitsifrrrrs,r:0, rsel gongydng
didnhtit public phone, payphonel
 219 CHAPTER 26

4s9 \ -f^ Badical 1- t; :l

lE ixi,,o,.
9 strokes

(The king likes to walk barefoot about

road L1:oul + 1s1gue 6(+:zu) :
his kingdom) He has a team of lackeys to
lick the road with their tongues to check
suitabte i6 that it is suitable for his dainty feet. / The
AEora hdsh\ appropriate dwarf is dismissive, " ll/hat a charade ! "
IE/it:+a sh\h6 to suit, toftl
tE*aoa shidang stitable, appropriatel
[E,Err:or sh\y ing app li c ab le, s uita blel

460 \,--r Badical ] i, .: ,'.

9 strokes
YH m" (In the desert you find someone lying on
* the sand) You put your last drops ofwater
water I 1:tay tongue fri+srul = alive ffi
on their tongue to revive them, hoping
This also mean" -lively" or "active they're still alive. / The ghostly fairy who
guards desert travelers suddenly notices
ifrJLizrl hu6r (manual) v,ork, job what s going on. andfies up wirh a magic
;frfi1sry hu6ddng qctivit , (physicql) hosepipe (to refll your water bottle).
exercise
tifitr::t shenghu6 a life; to live (a lfe)

461 Radical
shir 5 slrokes I /; ir
^
craft
She saw a drop of rain on the tree, and
it
' 1zzul :
tree craft gave her the idea of making drop-
f1roal*adrop zS
like Christmas-tree decorations to sell
This also means "skill" or "method". at the cralt fair. / They draw grudging
admiration from the dwad selling shoes
{/t1+r+y yishir art at the next stall.
[*.y'tart shdushir operation]
lfriErott shiyd terminology, technical
terms)

restyourselr: Tf,rrroi !o.,t l6uu {r:rr $os+i J[r:ra 5r,r,r

lfterrt ]flsrnl ll,o,t, 6[uru, Wouot -Eo,a Hr.,,,r
CHAPTER 26 220

462 t- Radical + ]-
, *_
1-;l;", 4 slrokes

At the crossroads in the maze the two

ten ti+) + right hand n(szt : branch { friends shake hands and each chooses a
t ranch of the maze to head down. / The
This also means "to prop up", "supporl" first one to reach the center of the maze
and also acts as a measure word for long, where the giant sits in his jacuzzi, is the
thin things. 'rginnex

[-{€tr,+s+l yi zhibi a pen]

"'tl:1,, Radical
7 strokes
f t
l 4 1' .iI 7) it.r.]

The expert can tell, simply by putting his

hand f ltszuy * branch l(a62) = ski +t hand on each branch, what each type of
wood can be used for a rare skill. / The
&/trlorl jishir technology,skill, -
dwarf then tells the workers which jeep to
technique load it on to.

a6aa --l...^ I- I
1
.r
\
J tempte
The pilgrims kneel on the earth and move
earth -L1s+u1 * inch ;ltro+ui : tempte * forward inch by inch towards the holy
temple. / [No pronunciation needed]

464 tA
Badical
'12
lL at-
strokes
:!:i
.J ''
bamboo Blrzruy * temple $i+o+,; = He takes the bamboo to the temple but
has to wait for the chief monk to come
wait for S and grade it, etc. / Teddy is bored, and
Two other major meanings are "grade" and plays in the dung. (Yuk!)
"etc"; notice that we have sneaked these
meanings into the story too.

[f SAost pfngd6ng equality, eqtnl

statusl
lL#oeql jiludEng to wait for a long timel
 221 CHAPTER 26

o" Radical t
] I :j
.,li ;,+
Istrokes
ffi;11,,",, "We need a hand over at the Indian temple
hand { lrszo; * temple St4o+ut : -
we need to do some work to maintain
maintain f$ it." / The fairy conjures up chapatis for all
those who come to help.
f lfSi+o:t zlttchi to supportl

*'ffi::.",", Badical
1O
f
strokes 1 I
,il-
-i
,t.i
-11. -i!

The cow who lived in the temple was

special (a sacred cow!) / The dwarf\ job
cow +(3sa) + temple *t+o+ut :
special t* is to bring in special turffor it each day.
("It s just a cow!" he grumbles).
To write the left-hand part, see the comment
tbr Character 384.

*rx
;f fit]i:g tEbi6 special, especially

\
yi
Radical
3 stlokes
) jL
just
When one worker asked for a drop of
a drop \ (22a) + shears X(zs,t = just L oil on his shears, they all wanted one,
claiming that that would be only just. /
This means'Just" in the sense of"right and The dwarf supervisor reluctantly agreed,
proper", or "dghteous". It can also mean the saying, "These days, workers haye it too
"meaning or significance" of something. easy."

s,-Lpsst yiyi significance

"' Fl ft:
Badical
4 strokes
ft ) /'t ,i" i(
Several pairs ofshears have been stuck in
several ,fl(-l + shears (r:s,r = wind R the grorurd to start making a wind break. /
The giant brings some fungus tofill in the
[,lr(J]rr+l ftngli wintl power, wind.fbrce) gaps between them.
CHAPTER 26 222

ilr
x trouble
(At the wedding)So much rice was thrown
al the roman that she had trouble seeing
rice X(lla) + women ttr:l = trouble 4 where she was going. / [No pronunciation
neededl

*, Radical t
shiri shi 13 strokes
,t' ].
t
*\, number: to coul1t -.:) j't
trouble {1+as4 * tap { (leoa) : ffi The actor is in trouble, and taps on
the rock face in the cave, furiously trying
numben count tt to get the secret door to work
it is the
fr#ts:t shilxu6 mqthemqtics fi1m set ol an "Indiana Jones" movie. But
lD*gtt shioshi r?iroriryi it keeps jamming and the number oftakes
tsrising. /The dwarf is standing behind the
door, ready to shoot the hero as he comes
through (and is gettingfed up at the clelqr).
Teddy jumps up and down and urges hinr
to shoot anyway. \ He gets so excited that
he forgets to count the number oftakes.

"' 44,J*, Radicat

13 strokes
y'!
I

,t( 'lt. i:.

1
-i. .il, ,: )''

tree * trouble The tree is in trouble it has been spor

/(1roa1 f1+oeuy = story ffi -
ted knocking bricks off the building next
This means a multi-story building, or a floor door as the workmen are trying to build
(story) in such a building. the latest story (which would overshadow
the tree). / The fairy negotid.tes y,ith the
[&lt4:l l6ushing upstairsT buildingb owners to use a picture of the
[{*Ttarr l6uxii dov,nstqirsl tree as their new logo (so then the tree is
happv).

471 E:= Radical F

/=;:l- 7 strokes

The corpse rose up on a cloud, carrying

corpse f izosuy * cloud atse t = tier it up past each tier ofthe building i tum.
rEs
/ The fairy few alongside announcing to
7- ffffin,an yi c6ng l6u the first /loorl the people watching at each level: "This
is what happens v,hen you are stung by a
killer bee."
 223 CHAPTER 26

H
Radical ..::..
J.
shi I strokes
a room
(Searching for a place to stay the night) He
house
A(sru) * until e(7ab) : a room € went from house to house until he found
a room he \ked. / The dwarf proudly
*6tzo:r jihoshi classroom showed offthe amenities: "It has q heatet
l,/A6rr::. rsr bhngongshi ffice a cooker, a sink the whole shebang."
-
t-. wu I ) i; )t
| 4\ strokes
/_lr accommooatlon
"We'11 have to find somewhere to keep the
corpse until the funeral and we need to
corps€ F(26sa) + until 4rr+ut:
accomrnodation ,E find accommodation for- all the mourners
before we can set a dale." / The giant, who
Depending on the context (and area of has been fatally wounded, had been very
China) this can mean "house" or "room". popular...

E:f ir:1 w[zi room; house

-E,Etroot t6ngwi roomuate,.flatruate]
Badical f
"o ] ) :)
.ii )t,:,'.

*E x;.,
'12 strokes

:.)!_

+ accommodation In one hand he clutched the accommo-

: grasp {,.8 dation guide, while the other grasped the
reins of his horse. ./ "llhoa! " shouted the
€*rl rr wbshdu shale hond.: dwarf, as his horse trotted straight past all
the good hotels.

t\ .l
J
Badical f
'12 strokes ..
-,(-
fE::,,, 'A hand is designed to carry things."
hand f 1rszul * is f 1:oy = carry t€ / The fairy (giving etiquette lessons)
demonstrates by carrying a tea cup.
This charactermeans "carry", "1ift", "raise";
-ud also has a range ofderived meanings.
CHAPTER 26

476 \l Radical l,

l,I;m 5 slrokes

The number of words in her essay went

wordsi ,o-.,+ above Lr,r:r = allow iL above the allowed limit. / She would have
to wrangle with her supervisor the dwarf,
lilEcra ringzluit offer seat to; invite to see if it would be accepted.
guests to be seateq

f,
477a
bli
sea shell
tr Harry journeyed to the outer limits of
the kingdom carrying the magic sea shell
outer limits l] + person {1r:y =
Lro^)
(for protection against the bandits). / lVo
sea shell I
pronunciation neededl
The top part of this character rsn't really
"outer limits" (see Character 214).
This character often has connotations of
money (as cowrie sea shells were once used
as money).

tr ye
page
Badical
6 strokes
fi

The small boy tried to use a thumb tackto

pin the sea shell to the p^ge. / The dwat
thumb tack -1+oa) * sea shell trlr4z;ot =
(teacher) said, "I told you yesterdq, that
F wouldnl work! "

o" Radical n 1

ffi [,. 15 strokes

j:i .,iii .,: .:;i
,'

is fl1:oy + page Et+r;t : topic EE

Teacher to schoolchild: "I told you to
write a page, this isn't a page!" "It is, ir
Notice how "is" curls around the bottom of is a page," said the child, 'Just not a full
"page" in this character (and is written first, page. It's all I can write on this topic."
unlike "road" which is written after the part The fairy sqid to the teacher, "You have
it encloses). to qtlmit, there s ot a lot you can write
about teaspoons,"
lalf,fl1zre1 wBntf qreslior
IEE Elrs:t timir (exam) questionl
 225 CHAPTER 26

ET Badical E :i
7 strokes
) '-1 )l

JA Hh*
You have to hold a sea shell in your
mouth (during the initiation ceremony)
mouth E (s) + s€a shell !] t4r:u) =
before you can become a member of the
member fi
seafood club. / The fairy then gives you a
-}is character is often used to mean c omruemo rqti ot't yu an co in.
-:mployee", or a person perfonr.ring a role.

. '.fitt:t r6nyu6n stalJ, personnell

. i firrset diinyu6n shop assistont)
{80 naoical
'10 strokes
n I r'l :.. .i'l t"i '.ti tri;

EJ :x; (At the summer seafood fair)The enclosed

area "for members only" was shaped like
enclosed fltu+o) * member Et+rqt =
a eircle. / All members hacl to show their
circle El
special yuan coins to the fa y to gain
efitry.

Radical
EI gao 10 strokes
) 1 ;'., ,l_, ,:l
IEI high
You have to be very tall to reach the sky-
light as it is so high up. /Iie giant woukl
tall Er::qar + skylight lEll:sral = high ;6'-
normally open it for "ttou, but he s laid up
€ Et,r:t tigdo to raise, increase with gout.
=a l{t+zst gaodir altitude;
_
highll,l

Badical t tt.-
l l-l
gao 13 strokes
+H engaged in '.,"\ 1.,:

f trszut + high Ei+srt:

engaged in lrB,.

: -j [i, r, glohio maAe a good iob olf

The doctor held his hand up high, palm

out, to indicate that he was engaged in
something and couldn't be interupted. /
Teddy didn't tant to wait so rolled around
on the floor pretending to have gout.
CHAPTER 26 226

483a ,
/L). .-'
EI i'ilo",*
tr The ants each brought a cocoon to the
c'6gg6n l-134a; * mouth E (s) = mouth of the cave, where they stacked
Z\ them up to form a platform (for their
tl
arurual rock concert they use the
This character has a number of meanings -
cave as it has good acoustics!). ,/ lVo
and at least three traditional forms to go pronunciation neededl
with them. It can refer to things like TV
stations; it is used as a measure word; and
it is also the "tai" in "Taiwan" and the "ty"
in "typhoon".

(A snake-oil salesman) The colored

water I lraay + platform fr1+s:u1 : water was ready on the platform for the
treat i6 demonstration of how to treat diseases.
/ His dwarf assistant dipped a wilted
&hrrsot zhtsngzh\ politics geranium in the water, to demonslrate the
water b reviving powers.

o'o Radical f

ffiff." 8strokes

"Give me a hand with the platform to

raise it up" (The parts are lying assembled
hand f lrsza; + platform 6(+e:u):
on the ground). / Ii e fairy then waves her
raise ffi
wand and a magnificent tiger appears on
LhE,qsr, l igdo ro raise pricesl the platlorn for all to see and admire.

485 L. Badlcal 9(
8 strokes
nH :*,
A woman walks onto the platform to start
the performance (with an operatic aria). ,/
women 4 (r5) + platform 6tas:ut =
Teddy (in the audience and impatient to
start ih
see the main attrqction) throws a shallot
#trhiss) keishi to start; beginning at her
 227 CHAPTER 26

486a

e gu
valley

eight /\(20) + tent,/\(leb) +

)' 'ri-
il i ,j-

The octopus climbs on top ofhis tent, but

even here the water comes up to his mouth.
mouth [1:1 = valley f It had been a silly idea ro pirch his renr
in the valley. (It's a strange octopus who
doesn't like waterl) / [No pronunciqtion
neededl

E
486 '
rong
Radical
10 strokes
i" '1"-
,'' ':,- ,,a

tolerate
If you have a house 'in the valley, you
house +(sru) * valley fi1+ao4 = have to tolerate the noise of the air force
jets practicing their low level flying. / The
tolerate ff
fairy thinks it's wrong. (She canfly quietly,
.l -A:(2tq) netrong contents, substance so why can't they?)
i6,(rra r6ngr6n broad mindefl

Testyourserf: ftrz,rt 'flrresl Itrol f orr ftrooor ]frou,l 5[1:szi

it,rrl $sn1 W,oou /)'crrt 60,r, ,llEor,, HlEroor,

ifyou have been looking at the traditional characters, you may have spotted the main methods used
:". derive simplified characten from the traditional ones. In many cases, the simplified forms were
:ased on widely-used existing abbrcviations, which werc just given a more official status.

Sometimes the radical was simplified: a-tr] -----f i-rl

,rff
Sometimes the remainder: ---+ fT
Sometimes both: $,+ ----+ TX,

Occasionally the same symbol is used as an FE ----+ XE

;tFl
abbreviation for several more complicated forms: ER ----+ ffi
Sometimes there were more dnstic changes: EE ----) *
4( -+ ,5
Finally, many simpler chamcters were lel-t ulchanged:

This process ofsimpliflcation is another reason why the equatiofls "don't make sense,,. As you
:an perhaps imagine, it also disrupt€d some traditional phonetic sedes (while also creating flew
:nes). Many older books used to admonish you against learning the simplified characters without
.eaming the traditional forms; but learning the simplified ones first is fine, and you can easily pick
:p the traditional ones later ifyou want to.
 Chapter 27

The picture for "pigeon" on this page, like so many others in this book, does not follow th:
historical origins of the character hardly surprising, as the character developed befor:
houses had rooftop TV aerials! But-if the picture reminds you, next time you see this basi;
building block, that its meaning is "pigeon", that's all we need. It doesn't matter that th.
strokes on the fighlhand side originally represented a bird'.s tail feathers ...

+ @=*-
scholhr
"..=.

_b-
shopping
basket
Rffi
bundle
r-1-- G

-=F
".

\
,!).
,/1

pig
(iffi
prgeon ll
r-7-ffi

Fr,,ffiil;-l
rl- /ai,
k .l
-) \g/
\l-!{,
pursue n irrness 7t
,/ ,/
0/ r---4
 229 CHAPTER 27

187a I I'.
I
shi
-FI - scholar

This character differs from "earth" (Character 54a) in that here the first (upper) horizontal
stroke is longer than the second (lower) one.

/t87 t Radical * I
--l- zhi 7 strokes
,/ l)5\ trt.ntion
The scholar has set his heart on carrying
scholar tt+sroi + heart,L\(161) = out his latest project: "It's my intention
intention fr to record every species of orchid in the
world." / His qssistant the dwarf (who
This also means "to record" or "a (written) thinks if he s going to be dragged around,
record". it might as well be in the sun) says, "Letb
start in Jamaica,"
a)iitt'at tongzl,li contrude
"T6ngzhi" is rarely used nowadays as a
form of address, although it used to be the
most common lorm ofaddress it China.

+ t
F
Radical I-
sheng 7 stiokes
voice
The scholar stands over the corpse ready
scholar t(+szu) * corpse fl1:oso; = to give his anatomy lesson but a voice
speaks from the corpse and - makes him
jump! (One ofthe students has put a small
tFt+zr dhshEng in a loud voice speaker inside it if you look at the
Ef;1:sr1 shengyin voice, sound ofloices "corpse" you will see the extra stroke that
is the microphone). / [DIY pronunciation]

"n' ;[f ,nu,n* ,l '- :,'l-

' l--l- sturdy
The scholar was so unworldly that when
firewood { (317a)+scholar ft+s:ut = sent for firewood he came back with
sturdy :{l sturdy poles instead of kindling. / 17Vo
pronunciation neededl

Test yourself: fao E,r, fr 5tl (121)

ET
Er n 16)
,L\ -f2=
E tttgt 6i:,tsl
iff,*,,' y'i,.",, fErr"s, H,".,,
++
Z, 1,,,ry'ft100:; -(.,10,0y
CHAPTER 27 230

ott ,+ nadical & :] i )' ,:a

,n,,-,* 12 strokes
-f.\- pretend 'i' 'rta-

The children put on sturdy boots and warm

slurdy .{Lrero"r *
clothes 1tr4J7' =
clothes and sneak into the indoor ski slope
pretend *
at night with ropes, so they can pretend to
be climbing Evetest. / The ghostly giant
an act, do apPearance sakef (guarding the ski slope) jangles his keys
for
to scdre them oltr

The TV weatherman was given new

: symbols for clouds, but theY were so
clouds E(rz+tl * big Jtt4;l arrow f big that he hardly had any space le{l on
the map to put the wind arrows. ./ /Vo
pronunciation neededl

f;[ *:. He shoots an arrow into the mouth ofthe

cave, so that anyone inside will know he's
arrow ts(a,eo") a mouth E (sl : know *[ there (there are no doorbells on caves). '
f[firr+sr zhidio trow, be aware of The giant appears, complaining' "l was
just relaxing in mY iacuui! "
iliAc:rr zftshi knowledge

491a 1-
I
l-* contarner
-

E*,", The ff1bal doctor has a container full of

arrows (1ike acupuncture needles, tipped
container I-(,tst"i * arrow j(1+loul = with various drugs) with which to heal
heal E
his patients. "This won't hurt," he says.
E4.tr::i yrsheng doctor / "Etsy .for you to say," says the giant.
ElHooo ylyuin hospital apprehensivelY.
 231 CHAPTER 27

'h
"shopping basket"

4e2 E+f Radical !.1 .t.

'tl .].

-F,#
I 11
gul I strokes
,{ expensive

shopping basket HGgzd'r , ,i''"., "'*

sea shell fl1+rzul : expensive ' ,i,' L
.. fr,t,, ,.

ft{S1r:sy guixing (your) family name

dlll,

On the beach the girl collects sea shells in

her shopping basket
- they'd
sive if bought in the shop.
be expen-
/ The ghostly
dwtrf who guards the beach sits on the
gate (on the path to the beach) watching
to make sure she doesn't take too many,

o" rb
{fi,
l))
,/
n,
you lpot;re)
Badicat
11 strokes
jui
'I
l ti. .i;i: 't':: i,1, t:::

you 'f6(sr) + heart,L'rrort = you 13i

When you say "you" and put your heart
into it, it is a much more polite way of
t16ft&r+er. r:sy nin guixing wiar r-r saying "yol" . / You would use this form of
your surname? (polite)) address to a ninja or a fairy (or indeed a
fairy ninja!)
494 ____r- Radical ,^ :-.
7 slrokes t: l' ,..\i-

.FR #.*
/ The dwarf loads bundles of little wheels
into his clay-pigeon launcher to prdctice
his shooting.

+ ,i :;') ;,
,l(

bundle fr1+s+y * tap t(rsout : suck *t The magician tapped the bundle of
rags, and the audience sucked in their
breath (gasping at what appears ... use
your imagination!). / [No prontmciation
neededl
CHAPTER 27 232

otu Radical lI l
fr'.,k ,nun* '16 strokes
TF^ entire
.,.'i. .i.:
l
.:: .i:.1.

suck *[1+s:ay* upright Er:vr = The lat admiral sucks in his tummy and
stands upright and to hold this
entire $ position while the- entire has
fleet sails past.
['iBt:o:r wdnzh6ng cotnplete, Last iu line is kddy in his .iunk.
inlegrated
[#l$tr:st zhlngli put in or der, tidv upl

4e6a *t
t+t't
/ l./ \ lmperlal dccrcc

bundle ftr+s+t + lacking (1:ar"1 = The old people complain that they were
lacking their bundles of firewood (which
decree ffi
rhey are traditionally giren each winterr.
An imperial decree has to be issued to
rectily the situation. / pfo pronuncicttio
neededl

*" Radical
14 strokes
E

ffii::x*n
mouth [11s1* imperial decree $,6eeo: The town crier opens his mouth to pro-
claim the imperial decree but can onll
ffi cotrgh. /The dwarf thrusts q soda into hi:
hard before he ruins rhe uhole occqsion.

497a ,\: .
ft hii
-1{ pig

Yet another pig! (See Characters l09a and 263 for the others.)

497 \ _l- Radical 1

72 ,xi,,
I slrokes

(In the old church, looking for the famous

.l pig *.ecrd = ought tomb) The floor is covered with words
words i ioz.l ii carved into the flagstones, and the pig
Di,4osir yrnggai should, ought to snuffles about. "It ought to be here some-
where," he says. / He asks the giant if he
can borrow his guidebook.
 CHAPTER 27

498 -r-l ^ Badical f it

l -:t

!2 !:i..",", I strokes
'tt) lli

"That child's riding on a pig!" "It's OK,

child f rrr + pig 4.$s7^): yotngster lZ he's only a youngster." I The /biry sits on
q hldrant, laughing.
il,Attt hdizi child
,1'&. )Lrso.zl xisohflir child

Badical E
k6 9 strokes
?
cough
At the mouth of the cave the pig coughs
discreetly to announce his presence. I The
mouth n1:1+ pig fo,l^1: cottgh fi)
Jairy emerges from behi d her curtain to
V4,f(iBat k1sitrt to cough see y)ho it is.

*' l1*?"] , ..,.1

1

The pig uses a knife to cut his lunch apple

{1+ezay * knife I]12+,i : quarter }lj neatly into quarters. / The dwarf fixes
up a curtai round the pigsty (so that
^]J[iun".(no,.)
This chamcter also means "carve" or passers-by can't see his prissy pig).
"engrave".

-.-*tl1rttt liki ut once

-ltl#rzrst kikiu hqrdy,orking,
painstaking)

Test yoursetf: fte.ot lf en t ffio*rr ffiot,l ft,oorr fiZ,or,

Er r]i8]

'ft,.rur #R,,,r, ,ff1orrl fi1ourr @1rrrr fi,rrrt h,,rrt

501a ,] ,, ]:

plgeon

llris is a picture of a bird, but looks like a composite character made up of "person" plus
-lord with an extra stroke". Feel free to make up a story along these lines ilyou like. (Also,
--ompare this character with "to live in", Character 298).
CHAPTER 27 234

*' sh,i{srr6i)
Badical
10 strokes
l, -L ',) ';.1
fi "l) 1,i ii: .i,)l

iE (ln the dusry tomb) The pigeon wriles

words in the dust with his beak, asking
wortls ) 1ez"y + pigeon @lsoruy =
"Who is in the tomb?" / The ghostll'
who? iE
fairy who guards the tomb answers, "The
This also has the (colloquial) pronunciation sheikh."
sh6i.

liEB!c:r shuide wloseTl

'" TE;:; Radical f

11 strokes
:ii ":)
::!

(She had nursed the wounded pigeon back

hand I f r:zot + pigeon ft1soru1 = push ffi
to health) She took the pigeon in her hand
This can also mean "grind", "to clip", and gave it a push to launch it into the air.
"deduce", "shirk", "postpone", "elect" or / The ghostly giant, who would look after
"esteem"! it, attached a piece of colored tspe to its
leg (so he could see which one to keep an
1ffiJ"1uoi tuigu6ng spread; popularizef eye on).
tlEE/:ori ttirddng promote, pus h)

uo' Fadical X 7 ,( ! ,i1 1l )\|

.ti: :iir
'l:

xE }ffi",n 10 strokes

The toddler tries to shake hands with the

right hand !1sry + pigeon Etsorul :
pigeon but is finding it difficult as the
pigeon doesn't have hands! / The fairy
difficult trE
tqkes the lad back to his nanny.
[X&[troal n6ngud sad, grievefl
liEEtzool nr{nkin uclv)

"' /E ;l}#","
Radical 7
10 strokes
;l .t l' :tr

Landing on the ice, the pigeon slides

ice J t:oout + pigeon tstsoru) : neatly to a stop (exactly in the right place):
it has done this so often that it's now ven'
accurate E acl.rr e./ [DIY pronunciation]
llEdfitarsr zhinqui qccurqte, exdctl
lGEt(ro, zhinshi pLulctual, on timel
 235 CHAPIER 27

505 Radicat ft t 1i .t1

'ri:-
'12 strokes
Jr i,i.,
assemble

The pigeon flies to the tree to join the

others who are already assembled ready
for the performance. / The fdiry. wearing
*Ao+rt jih6 to assemble, gather together a G-string, comes out to announce the
[€Fr:rl jizhong concentrute, focusf rtr$ act.

i
pursue

.'pursue" encloses the fortune tellel to the left and bottom

In the following chafacter (506),
sides. But more usually "pursue" tends to be on the top (as in Character 507) or on the
bottom. Compare this with "to tap" (190a), which always appears as the right-hand side of
characters. Notice also that "pursue" has 3 strokes while "to tap" has 4'

*' Radical
5 strokes
E
) l-

&-L ;l;i"no'
lltrl He pursues the fortune teller from place
* teller |'1+zu1 : to place (to ask more details about her
pursue Llsoooy fortune
predictions). / He ask the dwarf, "Which
way did :he go' ' But the dwarl ignores
-\nother meaning is "manage" (a business him and just sits chewing his gum.
or situation).

64!rrE hiochir berelr

Ilf ]Etrssr chitl\ hqndle, deal withl
[44lrroa huiicll.u disadvantagel
[ffi4lir:ot ydngchu ro me]
E
"' & ?in
Badical
6 strokes
, :1" t-

The police pursue the thieves to the mouth

of the cave and then stand guard at each
4lsoeay * mouth ntsl = each 6 of the exits. / The dwarf is determined to
6f,lczst gEzh6ng all kinds of retriete the stolen gherkins!
CHAPTER 27 236

"'ffi;1,, Radical
13 strokes
rg
, :;, tJ!
:i-i:-
i'* ilil
foot rBtzso) + each 6Oo = path EF
(At the fork in the road) "If you really
can't decide which way to go, try putting
a foot on each path." / "This is lunstic,"
lW l-e\ lislr.ang en routej says the dwarf.
llElfi&aset win li ask the wayl
[ASBir rst glngli public roatl, highway]
[9S6t++t mih) street, ayenuef
[rB6 tr ot lirkdu ftaqd) intersectionl

uot Radical
+
uu.., I
S strokes

The o1d duke has given a house to each

house +1eroy * each $tsozt = guest S of his children, providing he can stay
with each of them as a guest whenever
The meaning includes "visitor" and he wishes./ The dwa{ brings the duke's
"customer". cartains along $o that everywhere he
stays, he will feel at home).
EF1r+rrl kdqi nodest, polite
tA$fsst hui ka b receive visitorsl
t{ft$cror ntit ki to visit, be a guest)
[$11r:y kiren gzesr]
[i66o:o qing kB ro invite for dinner]

Test yourselft .lLut zJrrsot 'ftioo:l {f 1r,,y ffiozzt firorui frUro,r,

Do*i iHro,or f1o,uy ffi,,.r, ft1*no, ifriouol fi,*,r,

510a --^
[tI l;;t
When the unicorn gets inside the Ark
he sees that he is only the third creatue
one -iry * inside 6jtzrs): third E aboard (after Noah and his wife). / pr'a
pronunciation neededl

illness

Compare this with "shelter", Character 170.

 237 CHAPIER 27

510 .--)-- Badical )-

)
y'E'Iff.. 10 slrokes )

After seeing the same mysterious illness

illness y''t:rout +third Ersroot : for the third time, he is finally able to
disease,,ffi diagnose the disease.,/ "Bingo," says the
dwarf doctor'.s assistant sarcasticqlly, "l
This can also mcan a "fault" or "defect". kt1ev, what it v,.ts clll along."

€)ffit:oot kinbing to see a tloctor

:fii/rrr:r bingr6n patient, sick person)
-fi,Erz,,:l bingfing (hospitctl) \tardl
,€iEt4s:t m6obing prohlem)
\bu may have been rvondering how to look up charactcrs in a Chinese dictionary, since there is no
.alphabetical
order" for characters. Many dictionades today arc organized alphabetically by (pinyh)
:ronunciation, so ifyou want to look up a cllaracter in a dictionar.y and you know its pronunciation,
:len it's easy. But u,hen you don't know the pronunciation ofa character, there's a problem.
Whcn you don't know the pronunciation ofa chaLactcr, one way to look it up is to use a radical
:dex and this is why radicals are useful. To use a radical index you have to know which part of
:re character is the radical. and you'l] also need to be able to count the number ofstrokes that make
-p the characte. To look up {t, for example, A is rhe radical (which has 3 strokes) and the rcmain-
::r 4 has 5 strokcs. So first you find the radical 4 arnongst the 3-stroke radicals in the Edical
rdex. Then. ifthere are lots ofcharacters under ;l-, look for {f in the subsection which lists all the
-iaractcrs which have 5-stloke remainders. You would also use tlris n'tethod for the morc traditional
,raracter dictiona cs rvhich are organized by radical (instead ofby pinyin).
Many dictionaries also have a pure stroke count index (i.e. igloring the radical). To use this you
:ust count up the strokes in the character as a whole and look the character up under llut number
:o it would come under the 8-stroke cl'raracters). As you can imagine. this type of index can leave
...u with columns ofcharacte$ to scan before you find the one you're looking for. so it'-s usualJy a
rit resort!
Dictiona es sometimes use a sub-classification based ot the first strokc ofthe character (whelher
: is a horizontal stroke ot a vertical stroke. etc.) wl'rich is another reason for knou,ing the correct
'::oke-olders for characten.
Words (compounds) are often listed under the leading character. But when a dictionary lists
,.rrds as separate entries, beware that the "pinyin alphabetical order" often works by syllable/
:laracter! rather than following "strict" alphabetical order. For example, these words would appear
: this order:
... ta ... tamen ... tai... taiyang .,. tan... tanhua .,. tang..,

All these methods have their pitfalls and complications. so recent)y a conrpletely ncw rvay of
:.rking up characters has been devised. The Chinese Character Fast Finder lsee the inside back
:.tr er) organizes characters purely by theil shapes so that you can look up any one of 3,000 char-
r.:ers very quickly without knou,ing its meaning, radical. pronunciation or sitoke-courtl The Fast
::rder lndex at the back ofthis book is organized using the same principles.
 Chapter 28

Once again, we have collected together in one place a number of similar characters r:
that you can compare them and learn to look for the small details which differ from or-.
to another-

^ ,.1

t /s arft<
- lRj
,](

only just
,7"w;
/-%
,
,vl ffi- 7:_
rV
,,-l\
request ::,, ,'Df 1-:)

rfil
rl aY
,tffi-;;;
h
sunny *ffi- !

kreach
 239 CHAPTER 28

511
h-' Radicat f ) :t
zs ZA
mixed
6 strokes

The baseball has got stuck in the tree;

* when you climb up to get it, you find all
several fl1:i1 tree zltirout = mixed * kinds of stuff mixed together up there. ,/
This character and the following flve have IDIY pronunciqtion]
pronlurciations beginning with "z" for which
there are no sensible words in English to another "trick" for remembering them, it is
use as soundwords. We have collected them probably simpler if you just treat them as
rogether here, and while we could make up DIY pronunciations.

512
,E zin
Badical
I
rL\
slrokes
t' 't' ,e +j

.it5 how?
Suddenly his ffiend's heart stopped. He
suddenly € (zorut * heart ,L'rro1 : would have to get it restarted. Yes, but
how? ts how? / [DIY pronunciationJ

ff/41tq zinme how, in what manner

.Sffiir rzl zdnying /row
.E/AfrG4 'zl zEnmeying how, how
about

t'
",,
E ;:"Tffi,
i,t ti

The shelter protected the earth so that

shelter I--ruo1 * earth tt:qat = work could begin on the new premises
(regardless ofthe weather). / [No pronun-
ciation neededl

"' EE'Jffi'"n*' Radical

10 strokes
E ,t I li' ;l iI ):, il;i iirt

With the moon shining on the premises,

moon ,! ry * premises ,[1sr:uy = you can see the shopkeepers taking their
1e
dirty washing out. / [DIY pronunciation]
This character can also mean an organ of
the body when it is pronounced zirng (and it
then has a different traditional form).
CIIAPTER 28 240

514 Radical/L\
E1
rl\ zong 9 strokes
I always
They hung horns above the mouth of
horns ''(bsal + mouth E (s) + the save, and placed an animal's heart
undemeath, in accordance with tradition.
heart ,L.ttert: always ,H,
"Now we will always have enough to eat."
This character has a variety of other mean- / [DIY pronunciationJ
ings including "general", "chief", "any-
way" and "to sum up".

,H.Et+:qr z6ngsh\ always

[,E IErrs8) zingli premier, prime mitxisterf

5t5 Radical ,1 ,].

'j
ZC 8 slrokes
a-l
, ,i
duty
The prize exhibit at the art gallery is a
plant growing in a sea shell; it's the night
plant f 1r::u1 * sea shell !.lt+rrat =
watchmant duty to top up the water. /Zie
,1
fairy has given him a zircon-encrusted
wqtering can to use.

516 /r+ ..
Radical , I l- ,.,.t j;'::- :,1-
li' a..._
:il
3j( *'.n,",.-"n,
11 strokes
r'i

thrrcad 2 tz::ut * duty frtsrst : The spider developed a way of making

particularly strong thread and felt it was
achievement 4fr
his duty to teach it to all the other spiders
Ft4r*i:ss) ch6ngii achievement too a great achievement. / Even so,
-
his whole team coulcl only just make a
G-string which did not satisfl the dwarf.

517 ,-r' Radical ].ll

1 j:
It
l i":
6 sirokes
ll.r,o,ro.,
The men on the beach bow down to pick
* up sea shells to put in sacks which they
bow Flsruy sea shelt !lt+zrot =
then shoulder. / Tfte dwarf has to sample
shoulder f{ the sedfood but gets food poisonirug (and
ftfrrsrst fnz6 tu bein charge takes otd his temper on the poor men).
 241 CHAPTER 28

"' t :ii,,,.
One of the more dramatic simplifications
Radical
3
-
strokes

of
/
l- 4
The
wheels for
ha.t only just got brand new
fairy
her bike she's proud ofthem
a traditional character! In its own right .y' -
too as they are the latest s$le.
also means "ability, talent", andthe fragment
"talent" (55a) is actually a deformation ol
this character.

l.L,t el rdncfii talented personl

l)i;toal tidncii geniusl
sls Badical I '4 ',li
]l :a
E :x;
6 strokes
rl lri

(An exiibition ofprecious jewels from the

* only just Taj Mahal must be enclosed in a secure
enclosed !12+uy aorst: glass case; imagine the museum staff
group El
scurrying around trying to get everlthing
This means a group of people, but also ready) They only just get the jewels
-unite", "ball" or "dumpling". enclosed when the fust group of people
aftiyes. / The ghostly fsiry (teho b going to
guard the exhibit) complqins that it smells
oftandoori.

52o Radical !
at I )a li.i ijl
EI il::".,"
6 strokes

"He's so big, he'1l have to be enclosed."

enclosed ! 1:+uy + f 1lr1 : because El "Why?" "Because he'll frighten every-
one." / Poor giant. that will upset his yin.
Be careful not to mtx this up with the
previous character

ffi )ir:zy yrnwli because

[flffi1r:ry yln 6r so, thereJbrel

s21a n ? ,t
EI
/ IIJ\
on
, ru,n.
iJi iI ,€, t{
ji, tiJ
,1.::'

Because she has such a kind heart she

because [l1szo1 + heart /L.(t6l): is always doing favors for people. / [No
favor ,E pronunciation neededl
(]HAPTER 2It 242

s21 Radical E ,l ,1 .-t ,,rt,l

[K:r 13 strokes
.:],.:

mouth E L'r* favor .E.rs:r,r : eh II,EI You open your mouth to ask your friend
a favor but, before you can ask, they say,
"So what do you want me to do now? Eh?"
/ [DIY pronunciation]

522 Badical I .l :; irj l,) t.: .,.|

EI IH",,,,
7 strokes

The tree doesn't want to be enclosed so

enclosed [1:au)+ tree fr(iou) =
IE
EltrEiso:r kirnndn dilfculty, dfficult
keeps reaching down with its branches
and pulling up the fence. The workers
have difficulty erecting the fence with this
going on! / The dwarfforeman is cunning
and brings along his pet cqnqry to sing
and calm the tree down.

"' 7K.#:, naaical 7K

4 slrokes
l 7: tl' :,\

/ The water wheel has stopped and the

When this character appears as the left-hand
side of other characters. it is abbreviated
to the form J which we have already met
(78a).
ghostly tetldy, who looks after it, is shak-
ing his hearl he can't .fix it because he s
-
dropped his shades in the mechanism (and
canl see very well without them).

i1i,r.Kt+r:t qishui soft drink

zK*trsrt shuigud liuir
zFTt:ost shuiping profciency: level,
sta.ndard

524 t\ Badical \
'l .;.i
)N :.T,.,,
7 strokes 1

/ (ln a wheel shop) A request comes infor a

Note that the bottom ofthis character looks new wheel. The owner chooses two fairies
like "water" (Character 523), but all four wearing sparkling chokers to d.eliver it
small strokes are written separately. righl away to his best cliefit.

{frtrou yaoqiri require, requirement

[i6r]io:o q\ngqii requestl
 243 CH.\PTER ]\

"' I* ul,
Radicat
11
I
strokes

king Itoout + request *rszqt = ball
fiFltrr:or piiqiri volleyball
El*czo z(rqit foorbatl
E }*rort yulqiri the moon (scientific)
[ff!]*rs+t diqiri (the plonet) Earthf
]* (The king is playing football, but not very
well) The king has to keep requesting the
queen lo return his ball lrom her prirate
garden. / Sha asks her twofairies. wearing
sparkling chokers, to deliver it back each
time-

Testyoursetf: Xarol {itrr *irur i-n]clt EJIi::r1 ft1rs:1 lilu*,

* ^ drq":r fl,,or, 9(,ou", +n (434) ffi,.r, @gu1
urU,
1 ,j
N::^,r,
s26 rb r
fu
-llJ\
.i
no
sudden
Radicat
8 slrokes
n 'r ,:, ?al
,.:..

The surgeon in the operating theatre shouts,

. don't h1zeul + heart ,L'trrrt = sudden ,?" "Don't touch the heart!" Suddenly blood
spurts everywhere. / The giant comes lry
kf*eaq httrin suddenly with his hoover to clean everything up!

"' Raaicat
8 strokes
f
l i a).) i;: :i2
WJ:^i,r
The cow says, "Don't touch me I
cow +(rsa) + don't htsza^t: thing W washed my hair this morning atd I - can't
do a thing with it!'" I The dwarf whooped
Remember that "cow" is written with the with derision.
slanting stroke last (see Character 384).

-t;)$)6a1 ddngwit
animal
t?]4r r:sr wirli p/tysics
lH'fIl,r \t shengwir living rhingsf
1ft$1pstt shiwir foodl
li)Vl froz.:ozt dbngwiyuin zool
CHAPTRR 28 244

u" Radical E 1 t1 { 1 ;i yj
ry r,^",
I slrokes

"Don't lie in the sun for too long

- ith
sun + don't Dozaut: easy D easy to get sun bumt." / The dwarf decides
El(6)
to put up this worning on an easel (as heb
S f gzsl r6ngy\ easy fed up oftelling everyone).

u" Radical /g ri !11 i7

!i
15 strokes

ffi,;"u , tY i\ )t* t
* The soccer player draws his foot back;
foot TElzsoy easy hozzl: kick Ek it is going to be an easy shot, and he
[FE]tr:xt tl qil6 to plalt footballl kicks the ball hard into the goal. / The
giant cheers the winning team (almost
rleafening eve4,one around him).

sunny

Compare this with "don't" (526a).

t
"o th rr"r Radical
6 strokes
I ;4 J',t-l 1t0

They look for a patch of earth that is

earth t(;+u) * sunny trl tszout: site ttrl sunny, for the site oftheir new plantation.
/ [DIY pronunciation]
ln Soot jichdng airport
[Alh ast huiching (meeting) venuef
lFth,,rrot gulngching (city) square)
7fi!j1 gztt shiching market, marketplace)
IEFEI ot:.ztt tingchEch ng parking
lot, carpark)

Character 530, you will see that 530a is a simplified form

If you look at the traditional form for
of something which looks very like Character 528 (but with an extm line). The same abbreviation
happens in the following two characters (531 and 532). Simplified characters usually exhibit this
sort ofconsistency but not always!
 245 CHAPTER 28

531 Radical ]
i1 )/; ifi
lh
'/
tdng 6 strokes
soup
"Put the water in a sunny spot (to warm
water J (78a) + su nny ,j tl;oa) : solup lrl it) before making the soap. / Wen it's
ready make sure tofll the giant,s tankard
llfrihc:tt qrngEng clear soupl frst."
532 _l^--a, Radical f
stbkes i Il i1 '.i1 ;it;
{2'::f.^.*,
6

The signaller holds his hand aloft where

hand f lrszu1* su nny h {ssout = it is sunny (so that his mirror catches the
sun) to rnake known that the invaders
make known {/ are coming. / At the next relay statiofi itb
ftty'1gza1biloying to praise cloudy, so the fairy has tofiy onwanl.s with
l\tVloqet Eying develop, cany for-warcll the message, "The Yanks are coming!

,t, a )t;
h:i;n
'"' Badicat f ) ] -t1
l)!
).tJt:
5 strokes
,,*,iu
The woman gives a sigh of relief as the
woman ;(1rsy * 5igh .D1s::"1 = milk {l baby starts to drink the milk (and so
stops crying). / Teddy bounds in with a
This character is also used for "breast" or nightlight so the baby can sleep Out trips
''suckle". up, much to the amusement of the baby).

fallrrsrr nirinii_ (cow's) milk

L'{/lt(384) nalnru cowl

u'o^
, ,(-
k,:,"n
This means to "reach" or "attain"; also '.timely,, or ,,on time,,
CHAPTF,R 28 246

*- Badical 1\
7 strokes
l I i) :)
4&-'"',o.*,,,
:
The tree reaches out
- with the tips of
its branches it canjust reach the extremity
tree .y'!1r0,1+ reach &(:t+"t
tll ofthe neighboring tree. / This is where the
fairy has hung her G-strings to dry.
t&Tieor Ajile extremeb) A, yery A
[{&{c::r jiqi extremely, highlyl
IJLt&r:ra b6iji the North Polel

"' Lh;^*, Radical L

6 slrokes
I 2 , :. - ;\.

thread 2 r:::u) * reach &(s:+u) =

,k
$2&ornt niinji gratle (in school)
ll)|4],tctst chuji elementary, ini tiatl
[]-9&r+:r shingii a superior, higher
authoritiesl
I tllt ] {[' ,r. ros, iiit.iiEng I 0 ". ul{. ,t If the thread (from the silkworm) can
l0o% discountl reach across the loom without breaking, it
is high grade silk. / They can use the lefto-
vers to make the fairy a new G-string.

For Character 535 you can see that simplifying the traditional form consisted ofusing the simplified
lorm ofthe radical "thread", and keeping the same right-hand side (534a). tn character 534, however.
534a stands in as an abbreviation for something else.

536a t
I
EI ;)

4\ sP,ing
Imagine seeing small dots of white in a
white E tzzl + small zJr1561 : .o.in* U
green alpine meadow. They are edelweiss
flowers but why such a small cluster?
This "spring" is a water source, not a When you look more closely there is a
season (nor for that matter a piece ofcoiled small spring there. (lt is also a nice place
metal). for a picnic, where you can listen to the
sound of the waler). / [No pronunciation
neededl
 ( H.\P, a rr l
536 r-----r Radical f
)
/rf l}il", )'
.r
10 strokes

The whislg, distillery was sited by the

cliff.l -1r+01+
spring f.1str,1 = spring under the ctiff the water rhere
- flavor. / Each
gave the whisky its original
E,
bottle carried the trudemar* pichtre on the
This also means "a plain" (open country- lobel. ofa fairy sirting on a yutn coin.
side).

E*rr,r yludnlii former originel

ITlHr:oo1 pingyu6n flatland, plain)
IEE(5ro) yuinyin a reason)

*,8
IE,Fr+srr gaoytdn highland, plateaul

yuin
nadicatrb
14 strokes
,r';t

to desire

original rHrs:oi* heart ,L'trou:
desire ,H
This is usually written in such a way that the
"heart" creeps in under the "cliff".
He realized that the original girl he had
first lost his heart to was the one he now
truly desired. ,/ Zie tlwarf wonderecl saclly
iJ she still had the luclq, yuan coin he had
once given her

..8,s,*t:s8) yuinyi be willing; ro u,ant

F1r+,,t
Testyoursetf: fien ffir,:ur flt,ul f!rr:t /Srruor
,t6 (408)

tr (425) \l ,,rrt itrrru, 2Eoor, 4I,,tl W*ro, r (170)

+ (ll) )/fL
rv- (r6e) iXrrrrr .Ji(1+er) 9,rur, ffirornr ffi (5r0)
tr (2r3) * (436) {fl1,,*or ffi,orr, tsu,r, IiF,oro E 14s2)

The simplification process for.Character 537 has jnvolved

100%
replacing the radical with a different one! This is a bit
:onfusing, but fairly rare.
This is the last comment we shall make about traditional
HSK A
ld simplified foms of characte$. lf you are interested
69%
:ompare the simplified forms of the characters with their
-ditional forms as you continue to work through this book.
 Chapter 29

Another quiz: do you remember the difference between these similar characters and
fragments?

E,oo, Er.oro El ,r,, flr.'oa E-ro'o

+r.:rsat
l, r4l0a r 1r(allr) /f,rr,, ffg:snr

538a Il^ - -I .L-

ii
trl auspicious
When the scholar (who is normally
engrossed in his books in his cave)
scholar :t1+s:,y + mouth E (5) :
appears at the mouth ofhis cave, blinking
usE
in the sunlight, the villagers take it as
an auspicious sign. / [No pronunciation
neededJ

"' # ii:l;,'
Radicat 2
9 srokes
, -l ,.t ir-]. t+ /tj:

They used the invisible thread, produced

(z::o) + auspicious *rs:sur =
by the silkworms on the most auspicious
thread 2 to tie up their hair into
days, ornate
tie to fr palterns. / Two fairies work together to put
!#Rtrszr ji6gud in the end, fnally gel on any stray hairs to stick them down.
El#rsrsr tu6nji6 unite, show solidariry*
frfrr+s+r ji6shir terminate

-+
F xt
Radical
12 strokes
t -,i1-

FI celebration

auspicious E(s:ru) + feet * (sou) *

It's auspicious if the first feet to enter the
moulh of your cave at the start of a year
mouth E(5): celebration E
are animal feet when this happens it is
This also means "happy" and has connota-
-
a cause lor celebration. / Teddy brings a
tions of"to like". sheep early in the moming to ensure this
happens.
E1tt:e:t xihuan like, be fond of
[trtEr:o:r htdnxi i oyfut)
 249 CHAPTER 29

540a I' -). ,-

:h
FI "foul mouth"
Ifyou get earth on your mouth, you get a
earth t(sqa) * mouth E(5) = dirry. or "foul" moulh. / [No pronuncio-
foul mouth # tion neededl

Take care! This character is easily confused

with 538a.

Radical fl r-l i'1 i)itt

zhdu I strokes ) a r!.1
',\ J
..|.

JE week
"You will be sent to the.outer limits if you
* foul mouth ffOeo"l are foul mouthed and you'll have to stay
outer limits flirroal
: week I*l
there for a week. ,/ Even the giant was sent
there.for telling dirry jokes."
This also means, amongst other things,
"circuit", "circumference" or "all around".

'-, Radical J,
1 ) ;tl ,;i'l
ttl
:iii
'! i il'l
'r.,i.:j

iIfl ffi: l0 strokes ';11

(The lyricist for a songwriting team lives

tords i * week lfl,:,oy = tune i[fl on an island where he can concentrate)
ro-.r
When the week's quota of words is
Another character with a range ofadditional finished, they are ready to have a tune
meanings * "mix", "fit in", "mediate", written for them. ,/ Z/r e t*o dwarves collect
"provoke", "move" and others. them each week in their dhow (and take
them to his partnet the composer, on the
ts ilfl,+st, shengdido tone tof Chinete mainland).
character)

s42a 1[2 I :.
* riij ;ii
lql :Hr
The double glazing salesman claims, "If
small zJrlsoy + srylight lEl(38ea)
: you install a small skylight, you will be
held in great esteem by your neighbors." ,/
esteem iff
[No pronunciation neededJ
When it appears as the top part of other
charactersthis gets somewhat squashed,
with the "outer limits" compressed into
"cover" (see Characters 543-545 for exam-
ples).
CHAPTER 29 2s0

"' Radicd
15 slrokes
fl
Elff nT",,.
body $1rory * esteem jif =
If you hold your body in high esteem, you
1sazol
lie down 9ifi will lie down for a power nap in the middle
ofthe day. / Teddy tries this, but bounces
aboul so much that he gets tangled up in
the coyers.

543 Badical t
tdng 11 strokes
hall

The site ofthe famous battle that saved the

esteem [f ,;+:,,+ s21fh 11.,1,,] = hall €
town was an esteemed piece of earth, so
-Sf; pt1 shit6ng tlining hall that's where they built the town hatl. /Zre
fairy conjured up a shiny replica tank to
sit outside the hall as a memorial.

Radical tP
,*- ch6ng '11 strokes n
rIJ often

esteem dl(5a2a) + towel t!1+zro; = If you esteemthe towel the king gave
often ffi' you, you will use it often. / [DIY
pronunciqtionJ
HH chdngch6n g olien (cottoq)
ftffipu1 jingching often
lE H,'r:s, lEichSng unusual: ver)
[f Hr,oo, pingch:lng orulinary: normallyf

+ +
545
,=ru" zhing Badical
12 strokes
palm (ofhand)

esleem pft,s+::, * hand f,,r, = palm f (Briefilg to the recipients at the military
medal ceremony) "If the esteemed lady
This means a palm (of the hand), and by offers you her hand, take care to notice if
extension to control something. it is palm up (shake it) or palm down (kiss
it). / Teddy, holding the medals ready,
HIEetu) zhdngwit know well, have a will jangle them if you look like getting it
good comntand of wrong."
 251

546 Badical E
-*-*,no 7 slrokes
,{\ stip of paper

pursue 41soea1 * tree 7i(ro,t:

of paper f
l' -'l -
Also used as a measure word for long, ,,//,:11
narrow things.
"a",

,*'f*a:st ti6ojiin conditions

The squirrels pursue one another through
the branches of the tree until one slips on
a slip of paper and falls. / Two fiiries
stretch a towel between them to catch
him.

4
Radicat
) 1- )i
wu 5 skokes
to work at
He pursued power by climbing the
pursue Elsoouy * power corporate ladder, working at his desk into
7J1r,ry =
work at f the night. / His rival, the dwarf, chose
instead to woo the CEO s daughrer
llltfassr yiwir (professional) work]
lE*Ettst,ctzt yiwirshi c/lnicl
4
Badical
ir, :::. lit' t:
8 strokes

He pursued the pig round the field whilst

pursue 41soea1 * field Etr:ro): his wife prepared the other ingredients
for the meal. / They had piomised the
H
dwarf bacon for dinner
lE6t:o+t zhinbBi prepare; preparation

Radical 6 fl ;lit a.i

yri 8 strokes
lish
i The small boy bows to the unicorn in
bow tsisral * field + the field, and proffers the dead fish (but
B1(rseut
the unicorn is unable to revive it). / The
one
-(l)= fish &
fairy holds a burial ceremony and reads a
See Character l5 for "pouring rain" stories. eulogt in the pouri g rain.

l- *fuo.scst y\ tiSo yi {t fishl

CHAPTER 29 252

550 Radical E
'H rir 9 strokes
$-- rcpeat
WffiI (At the fighter pilot training school) The
clouds hlrz+r1 * sun E (6) + pilots have to fly into the clouds, then out
4lsoory tE- again into the sun, then pursue the in-
=
structor's aircraft; and they must repeat
This has various shades of meaning not all this until they get it right every time. /
just to repeat something, but often a sense The dwarf (in charge of the kitchen) grum-
of responding or replying. It can also mean bles because the food is getting cold.
"complex".

'E*-rrO fitzit complex, complicated

[F-F-ozo fdnfit repeatedly\

5s1a -f f- l]
---l-- ren
I ninth
Ceremonial berets are given out each
beret - (s9a) + scholar f1+sr,y : year to the top ten scholars in the counky.
Yours has a baseball embroidered on it to
ninth n show that you came tinth. / [No pronun-
ciation neededl

55i
,fI ;"il,".., Radical
6
'f
strokes
i r .:- /t i-L

Ilarry is at bat in the ninth innings of

person ,f * ninth A(ssrui
1r:oy
the baseball match. The coach says, "Do
: whatevelfl whatever it takes!" / Harry hits the ball
and the dwarf calls out, "For goodness'
This hasa range ofothermeanings including sake. run!"
"appoint", "allow", and "despite".

,E'fnjrr+a rinh6 qny, whateyer

lff*Aqtl rBnwu rursslon, assignmentf

552\l Radical 1
t ,-l-

l,T l',*,,,,"
4 strokes

The exam paper was littered with words

words i (or.) * ten f 1+1 = calculate it with red crosses through them. The
examiner used these to calculate the final
[itHazrl j\srirn to calculate] /
grade. Ihe dwarf posted up the GPA
scores on the notice board.
 2sl CHAPTER 29

uu' Radical 1 't :)

6 strokes
't2 t\
E:lu",,,n (Laying the foundation stone at a hospice)
He had to strike very hard to etch the
words i (670 + strike A(rosut =
words into the stone which would mark
establish il where the hospice movement was first
liq6(54s) shebei equipment) established. / The dwarf, wearing a bright
[tAitoszi shiji designl yellow shirt, was keeping onlookers at a
safe distance.

*' Radicat ll
\ , t) ]:rl

tU i:T,s'o 6 strokes

The actors, one with a dagger and one

dagger {1:z,y + knife I]fr+O : plan lill with a kitchen knife, carefully plan the
fight which will be the climax of their
Also means to "divide, carve out, delimit". play. / The ghostly dwarf grumpily hands
(Pronounced hud it can mean "to scratch"). out protectiye clothing so that he won't get
blamed ifthq come to any harm.
iti(rs::i jihun q phn, to plan

555 Radical i .* ::y. :.'1.

8 strokes

The dentist uses a small dagger to probe

mouth E (s) + one - (r) + the teeth in the unicorn's mouth, asking
"Which one hurts, this one or this one?
-tozo = or 4 - ilwarf, who
or this one?" / The ghostly
Notice that "one" is written with a
-
protects the unicorn, impatiently points
pronounced slope and that it is underneath out the tooth with the hole in it.
"mouth" this time (compare this with "piled
up", 150b).

4*r:ou hudzhE or. otherwise

556a l\-
)- l\ l;,1.

Jil., x,; With his fifth arm the starfish piled up

fifth fr(25ea) + piled up Elrsooy : the food he had caught to save for a salty
snacklater. / [No pronunciation needed]
ril
CHAPTER 29 2s4

556 .---lr Radical/L\

'-:/..
/EXr
7 p\
*u'
f'eel
13 sirokes
j:..r

salty Et,55o,) + heart ,L,,ro , = feel ll! 'All that saltv food was bad for your
heart;' the doctor said. "But now you've
This can be literal (to "feel", "touch") been on that diet, how do you feel?" ,/
or metaphorical * "to be moved", "be Teddy had dressed up as Gandhi (to
grateful". symbolizefrugality and remind the patient
that he should eat less salt).
li$f[rz,rr gindio toJbel (e.g. happy)
ffii{flrory ginxii to be grqteful

"'ffi}ffi, Radical
12 strokes
E 1

: i:i
,:; -.I

mouth E (5) + salty ]E[tssoat : shout lFqI

(On the beach) Stranded by the high tide
at the mouth of the cave and surrounded
[[Llffi1sryjiiohin to shotnl by salty water, he shottts for help. / Teddy
[![htrz:or nihin to sholn otdl clarubers clown the clil.f with some drinking
water in his handbtg!

Radical [J
5 strokes

(At the jeweler's) She tries the ring on her

Ieft hand l-(s3a) + towel t[1+:;u1 : left hand and then places it on the towel
on the counter, and the jeweler cleans it
cloth ft'
with a cloth. / The dwarf rubs his hands
This character is also used as the simplifled at this boost in his sales.
form of a traditional character meanins "to
spread" or "to arrange".

[-}ftft'rr. +ozi yfkuni bn a piece oJ cloth]

Radicar fll
*^
tft xl
to wish
7 strokes

The sheepshearer rubs the magic shears

shears X(:sal * cloth fitssrt : wish 6 with a cloth and makes a wish. / And 0o
and behold) a giant appears with a sheep
for him to practice on!
 Chapter 30
Onward! with this chapter you will have completed 30 out ol the 40 chapters in rh!,
book. As you have got this fat you know that your routine is working so simpl-v- keep
going and you will be on the final lap before long.

seal
p

.,:,,
t#fu-
@

L ffi

u
,
hairs
w world

MM
)l MM
MM ,T
grain stalks
)t as well
CHAPTF,R 3O 256

560a -t
n
IJ
1
lr or

I seal

This has several variant forms (see 560,562a and 564a).

It refers to a seal for authenticating documents, which could be carried around and
served as a badge oloffice.
+

I
Radical
ji6 1 1J
5 strokes
festival
Once a year the king allows his seal to
grass r!-(2r8a)
+ seal Itsoout : festival f5 be hidden in a huge pile of grass and the
children have to find it the resulting
In this character the first stroke of "seal" scrum is the highlight of- the festivat. /
(560a) is lengthened and the vertical stroke Two fairies prepare a huge jelly for the
starts part:way along it. Jbast afterwards (picture them having to
The character also means "a node or keep plucking stray pieces of grass out of
segment", "an agenda" or "to economize". the jelly).

lJ H (ol, Jlemu ( I v. r.ldto) progrqm

j5Eror ji6ri festival day

uu"
*[] ,,;*.
@ "I told
you to go and get me my lbvorite
* seal = despite *ll omamental seal," the king said grumpily,
{1:oy F rsroui
"But despite this you've come back with
the wrong ote." / [No pronunciation
neededl

s61 Radical E it ,,j, tr .:i; :i ilt

) ,1 t)

flt[ ln 1l strokes
)1i.1:

moon ,H (e t) * despite *lltse ru) : foot Efl

There was a bright moon, but despite this
he kept stubbing his foot on the tree roots
$ a;sr ji}Lobit footstepl
t,l*! in the forest. / At this rate he would be too
[,E*trlJrrszr jiiodcng footlightsl late to see the two teddies jousting at the
secret gathering in the forest.

Testyourself: f rr+rt frt,ra JJnrt ftrott ffl.n ffrru ffi10,,,,

Dorrl flsro1 )fi6,r1 ffioou, fien frfrornt ffi,r.,,

 257 LH \?I':I
56?a

(The young prince is instructed) ..you

seal F (560a) + right hand !1s:1 : must accept the seal of state and shake
ruler I hands with the archbishop before you
can be enthroned as the new ruler of the
As you can see, this ruler is a monarch. not kingdom." / [No pronunciation neetledl
something for measuring things!
Note how the vertical stroke of,,seal,,
extends all the way down the side of,,risht
hand"

"' tE L":",",,
Radical +
Zstrot
""
The ruler holds out his hand for the
hand I irs:,y * ruler Ets,l:O: report tE report (on the state ofthe kingdom). /Ile
dwarf bows as he gives it to him.
[{[f 1:oy bio ming to sign one s namel
f tEjEir+:r biodlo a netrs reportl

"' ,58 :t", Radical

8 strokes
fi
) rl "l ii7
II' ),; ;,|l

At the fust full moon of his reign, the nerv

ft1so:,1 :
moon fi1tt1* yulsr obey flft ruler must pledge to obey the traditions
ofhis office. / The fairy presicles over the
This character can also mean "clothes,'. ceremony sitting o a futon.

[E frs+rr filwir work for, ser-ve

tHEr+:rr yrfu clothes; gatment
Efth frt.sqt.qy firwiyluin waiter,
wqitress, attendant

564a -=2
Ftrr I I
ffi "explosion.,
(The assassins are planting a booby trap)
seal <(s60a) + use ffiit:oy : explosion ffi When the seal is next used it will cause an
explosion and kill the king. / [No ptonut
The top part of this character is the third, ciation neededl
and flnal, variant of "seal" (560a) don,t
confuse this with "cocoon" (34a) -
CHAPTER 30 258

564 \:7 L
-tEE tone
eadicat
10 strokes
I 1 :i ,i'. 'j 1,1: !i
zf,!4 pass-through
road Ltzoo) * explosion ffi1sc+,l=
E
This has a range ofothermeanings including
"connect", "know", "expert", "common"
and "whole".

@[1rooy t0nggud to pass throLqh; as a When the road was blocked (in a landslip)
resttlt of they used an explosion to clear it so that
lEtu(1qo) tongzhr to n.otify; a notice traffic could pass through. / The giant
lrClE(i80) .llaotong n'afrc, transportafiotx) used his tongs to help remove the rubble.

"' )ffi Hr. Badical

12 strokes
)-'-

,;ii.:
) JI i :)i-)

illness )-(srot) * explosion ffi1so+ul: "Doctor, the illness I had before the
explosion is gone but now I ache all over."
ache ffi / 'My dwarf assistant will use special
ffi'9tr+o:t tdngkuai overjoyed tongs to remove the shrapnel, and then
[/E"#crgr tbngk painful, tortuousl you'll befne," replied the doctor

hardship

Contrast this with "seal" (560a), and also with "snake" (275a).

566b F*
JI t,'n,,,,
There are lots of hardships involved in
* living on a cliff, but it's ideal for someone
cliff f tr+qt hardship E (566a) =
who likes an uphill struggle! / pr'o
)E
pronunciation neededl
 259 CHAPTER :]O

566 ,-, Radical Z

6 strokes )' i(-'
l-E-, x,:-.,
"If you bow to someone you meet as
bow Fisral * uphill you're going uphill, you run the danger
J[1:oou.1 =
that they will bow too (and will then fall
)8,
over on top of yot). / I once hod the full
Lip,fll,rlo) wel|r crrsrs I teight of the ginnt on top ofme, because
of bowing to him like that."

"' J-EE:["0," Radical

'10
F
strckes
)- li ]i ii' i:- ;ii .iii- jtt) ::,n

(A reclusive author lives on a hill) The

publisher struggles uphill with the pages
uphill + p age
Jfllsoouy fr@t: of the author's book, so the author can
attend to lrfi
attend to the corrections. / But the hoarf
Notice that the hook on "hardship" (566a) in doesnt mind as he is q budding atihor
the left-hand side ofthis character has turned himself and regards the recluse qs his
into a "barb". You're seen this happening gvrU,
before (see for example Character 228) and
it will happen again (see 570a).

LIF4&oogt giikE customer, clientl

Testyourself: $toot ffiorsl frt,r ffitrsrr fotoy ffitroot /Euo,,,

*rrout ffieo 'ft,orr 6,ror, ffi,.r, ,Xl,ourr lHsrot

L
conceal

Note that this is just one stroke.

568b \
f-[_- *ang 1:
psrish
The mother puts the lid on the box of
lid '1:suy * conceal L (:oso : perish t strawberries to conceal them from her
children
This can mean "to die" or "to lose". - but then forgets about them
so they perish. (The strawberries. not the
childrenl) / [No pronunciation neededJ
CHAPIER 30 260

"''E;r# Hadical
6 strokes
'l ,t .; ,iL

Your heart will perish ifyou rush around

heart { 1::eu1 * perish ttsosr,t : busy ,ff being busy all the time. / The foiry cun
(magicctlly) see thqt your arteries are all
Notice that the same two parts ("heart" and getting mangled up in there .. .

"perish") are used to make up this character

and the next one. So the order in which they
appear in the two equations (and stories)
is important for remembering which is
which.

569 Radical/L\
--l.l
,b.
, i.,
7 strokes

ffi5
(The king dictates a letter to his mistress)
perish ttsost) ',' 1sxr1 ,L,1ror1 : "Perish the thought that my heart will
* ever forget you." / His retainer, Wang the
dwarf, disapproves as he writes qll this
[6iEczr wirngii /orger] Jown. [This is qlnrost a DIY pronuncia-
tion; feel fi.ee to improye on it if you can
aq)thing that works is OKll
-
57Oa t1
!H
UR "wane"
"That perishing moon is on the wane
perish llsetty * moon /q 16l) = wane tE again," muttered the farmer (who needed
the light for his harvesting). / [No pronun-
In some q?efaces you will see moon here ciation neededl
replaced by its other form (266a).

u'o
tE *r,*
ga ze
Radical
11 strokes
I

-lr
-
The old king's health was on the wane
wane tE(s7oa) + king Ilooul = gaze 4 all he could do now was to gaze out at
#{tssqt xlwing hope, wish -his kingdom from his balcony. / Sadly he
called for his chancellor Wang the dwarf.
to put his affairs in order
 261

571 Radical N
yu 8 strokes
l -1 I

rain
i / Picntre a wheel leJi out in the roin
It's handy that the character for "rain" needs "That Tedd!'s useless qltttl.:
a "pouring rain" story! - he\rait.
leaving things out in the pouring
When this appears at the top of other
characters, "outer limits" gets compressed
into "cover". Remember that the same thins
happened for "esteenf' (542a).

lTffir+:t xii yri rain; to rainl

Radical ffi
11 strokes

rain FF(:rtt * snout f (:ora) = snow 5 The pig slept, dreaming olrain falling on
his snout but when he woke up it was
[5,(rr:r xuir6n a snowmanf snow (and everything around was white).
[TEr+:r xii xu6 to snorr^l / [DIY pronunciation]

1., , -/
7 hairs

5?3 Radical A
*..-? can 8 strokes
consrrlt I L]
t4t The silkworm farmer finds that his
cocoon l'(:+a) *
big t1+1 + cocoons are growing trig hairs, so takes
hairs ---. (stsot = consult f them along to cons]ult the yet./ The gisnt
(working os the vet's ostistq ) iunps
$lfi1ttl cdngr$n visit (a place) onto a chair saying, "l canT sttnd crcepy
3tll,:::, canjid parrir ipare,join in oawlies !"
574a E-r
Ef .trn{ J

-4\ view -:.:-

They could see the sun glinting on the

sun E (6) + capital Ffz:sui = view F capital in the distance they knew that
this was the right house- for them as soon
as they saw this view from the front porch.
/ [No prcnunciation needed]
CHAPTER 30 262

574 H/, Radical , j'

t"ifo.* 15 strokes
E9 :a:,/ i) :i
view F:(:r+"t * h rs 'rlstsut: He had taken photos of all the views, but
shadow fr7 hairs in the camera had made shadows on
all his prints. / Ir1Y pronunciationl
From "shadow" come the additional mean-
ings "image", "photo", "movie".

f;l[li]6soy yingxi5ng effecq to affect

H,avrrsst dihnying movie, flm
lw*ar.n1 yingzi shadow)
ItFJGqtl h|ying take a group photol
ttrFiH, s" ,oo, diinyingyuin cirer?a,
ruovie theaterl

575a f ,1I
't^\ 1 i't ^j
*J ''beggar"
They conceal Harry by wrapping him up
wrap !1::oy + person ,\ir:1 * in an old cloak, to look like a beggar. /
conceal L (568a) : beggar 6 [No pronunciation ne e ded]

5750 L=
y;:-
ffi ..udrirr.,
As the sun starts to get higher the beggar
* is getting desperate for r drink. / [No pro-
sun H rcr beggar @1srs"y = a drink E nunciation neededl

57s Radical E
*0,,*
E 12 strokes

mouth E (5) + a drink ts(:r:u) : They leave a drink (imagine a glass of

to drink Il.Er beer) by the mouth of the cave to see if
anyone will come outto drinkil / They re
IrEyiEirro:r hcjiit
to drink wine/liquorl hoping to catch sight ofthe giantwho lives
lWtrtotrt hEtdng to drink soupl there as a hermit.
 263 CHAPTER 30

'' yE k6
thirsty
Radical
12 slrokes
]

iit ,';i
i :r' ;i

water J (78a) + a drink ftlszsuy : Watering down the drinks in the pub only
works ifthe customers are thirsty (because
IE
then they won't notice). / Teddy does this
[ tr i6tsr kdukd r/zlrsry] behind a cartain (taking a sip from each
glass and topping it up with trater).

u"' l' L_
t& ,,cu,,,

All the farmers in the district conceal

rice X(::+) + conceal L (sesa) : cut E some of their rice from the government
inspector, in case he decides theret too
much rice and cuts the official price. / 1No
pronunciation neededl

-'2W ji Radical,
'10 strokes
I I it' ,./ ,,, ,a
',L
continue
(ln the clothing factory) When the worker
thread ? tz::,r * cut Ers:r,i = reaches the end of each reel ofthread he
continue 4E has to cut it off and continue straight away
wilh a new reel. / The dwarf supervisor
has to check each G-string which has sttch
a join in it.

u"
Hi^l;,,.
This also means "life", "generation" or
"era".
You may like to think ofthis as "conceal"
(568a) plus "twenty" (425a).
lfr2dent sh\j\ centuryl
l*frt:rt qirshi pass away)
Radical
- ,t- I-
rl
5 slrokes
/ After the round the world cycle ride, only
one wheel hqd lasted the whole trip and
this "world wheel" is now on display in
the town hall, together with a photo of the
dwarf with the "golden shallot" being
presented to him by the French president.

Testyourself: ffirroot Sdtrsel fttttnt Elorrr ffir.rrr 1rfir+oot E,r9

ifr,,u,, *Fu," {Fu*, D,,,, lrr.l (481) 7friqroy f[r*,
CHAPTER ]]O 264

j [ "grain statks"

Notice how this differs hom "boy" JL (Churuct".2l1.

*' jY jid
Radical
4 strokes
-/\
:)' ,lf
between
The farmer put a tent over the grain
tent,\(l9b) + grain stalks ll(579a): stalks, where the harvest mice had built
their nest so that the harvesters would
between f have to go- between the lenls. / The two
dwarf farmhantls were jealous ctf this
lreatment (when clid the farmer eyer shou,
so much considerqtion.for them?)

*' Radical EE
) \-
ry it,,ou,, 9 strokes
,il

There is a field between the two farms,

field Blrr:oal * between /| rsiet: foming a no-manh land so that the
boundary is disputed. / The two dwarves
+ (who each owtt one oJ the.farms) each e1,e
ff4rsxr shijii the worlcl the feld jealously.

5&1a , Jr ^
.#Ju i:*.,,
When this appears at the top of other characters, the centml two lines are truncated into
short vertical lines (as in the following character).

,:L
7iK biin
transform
Badical
8 strokes
I

(At the wizard contest) Before starting,

as well * right hand nts:t
y'li(:sro) : they had to touch wands as well as shake
transform { hands. But because they had left their
wands activated they transformed one
A,ltt:sst biinch6ng change into another into sllgs. / The two dwqrf stage-
liAr:sst giibiin transformqtiotl hands carried them off on a bench (to the
lEltasrt biinhui transformation detrans forming clini c).
 Chapter 31
As another "quiz", see if you can remember these pairs. This time, each pair has sinri_;:
meanings rather than being similar in appearance.

4ir,rr, LLcrr, Flo,,, 8,,,,, ftion,,y ft1oou, HE,roo, E]-,,..,,

ffl1,u,; Errro XEr,o,r Elrrrrr {4,,"' 8,,,,, E,,.,, *,,,.

die young
The child had loved wearing a beret which
beret - *
big ]t1+r.r = was too big for him (he had wanted to
1io4
grow up to be a commando), but tragically
die younq fr
he died young. (Picture the beret on the
Notice the subtle difference between this poor lad's coffin at the fmeral). / [No
and { ("heaven", Character 76). pronunciation neededl

s82 'if
kk^ Badicat6A
..'\
xiiro 10 strokes
/\ smile
(The prince has married the princess from
bamboo ih1:zruy + die young ntsrzu) : the neighboring kingdom and their first
child is born. It is the custom to place a
smile f piece of bamboo in the baby's hand) If
L'\*r17t da xrao lo loughl the baby ignores the bamboo it will die
lftifr(ass) xiiohui joke] young, but the baby grasps it
fl-h*rss,:oqt kaiwrinxiio to play a joke - and
parents smif e. / fre two dwarf town
the
criers
have to trudge rouncl the two kingcloms
shoaling out the goocl news.

583a -r' ,ii

7E qii,, i.
) I tatt
The boy died young, while the grain
die young {1ssza1 } grain stalks stalks were taller than he was. / [No pro-
)l$iea\ = tall * nunciation neededl
CHAPTER 31 266

"' 4fi ;ll"-" Badical

'l O
.f
strokes 1 i r til '.) '
'lj.

tree ./riroay * tall frss:O: bridge tf

They looked for a tree that was tall enough

to make a bridge across rhe river fre fiea
fairies on the other side own a restauront
famed for its clant chowder.

584a ---z- ,' ,

,ff dni
evil
-/
Each evening the unicorn comes out of
one the forest to sleep, because he's scared that
-(r) + eYening DrcgO: evil 9 there are evil spirits in there at night. ,/0Vo
pronunciation neededl

uu'o it
D[[J
,/. r
lrne up
, ,,1

The evil looking knife was confiscated by

evil f i:s+ul * knife l.]trlo : line up 4{ the police and lined up (with the others
they have seized) for the TV cameras.,/
[No pronunciation neededl

u"o Radicat (
I sttokes
lfrJ :. -,,"
Ilarry has to line up in the identity parade
person'f + line up f{{ss+r) = they need examples of people similar
(rra) -to the suspect. / The dwatf (policeman)
FII
{rrriyes y,ith the suspect on a leash!
'[I{trIrsor tir( e.g., such as
lLLillezsi biti percentagel
(ftlAott t\zi an examplel

restyourserr: Ji{rtror 6t.t,r }Errttr $oolt ffiezat JEfourr $1r,,,

f*,,ru, Boul 4rorrr E,rr, 6uo" F.lrs+l fl*f1ru,,
 267 CHAPTF,R ]]
eadical,
6 strokes
t ,,L

"If you eat from this evil spoon you will

evil ,(ss4a) + spoon aeo6d: die rZ die," said the pdest. / Teddy said, "I'll
stick to my salami then tou don't need
Note that the first stroke of "evil" extends a spoon for thqt-"
over the "spoon". You might like to think
of this character as having three parts
"one", "evening" and "spoon".

7J I

T "gimlet"
The cow uses a knife to whittle a gimlet
knife Ztz:t + cow Sf:t+t = gimlet 4 (with which she hopes to pick the lock
on the gate of the field and escape). / 1No
pronunciation neededl

"' ffi u;,,"

Radical
13 strokes
ft i .J
a l i ...;

iI:" ili
dime fr1+rs; * gimlet 4fsso,t = untie ffi The fisherman tells the workmen, "l'11
give you a dime if you'll lend me your
Recall the variation you might see in the gimlet so that I car untie this knot.",/7/re
writing of "dime" (see Character 418). bro teddies sit on the jetQt to help (one on
either side of the fsherman
1ffi106) li5ojii know understand - they're the
ones who got the nets all knotted in the
fl{ ftreo+r jiEjue lolve (puzzle). sctrle first place ofcourse).
(issue)
lffiii\esqt jiifang liberate, liberationl

587a

a nay
+ !; I
The pig has been trained to bow and rub
bow Flstoy * snout hay e his snout on the ground whenever he
=(267a): needs more hay for his sty- / [No pronun-
ciation neededl
CHAPTER 3] 268

e
./ IIJ\
Jr
urgent
nadicatrb
I strokes
i

IIay is spilling out of

:1 t-'-J

a hole in the scare-

hay 4rssral + hea11 ,f,'1rarl = urgent F, crow's coat, and soon his heart will be
exposed stopping the leak has become
H3eol zh oji anxiotts, worried Drgent. / The fairy uses her G-string to
[.=;.'lfr:osr jim6ng hunied, hasll secure it!

E t
588a i
"Yan ')
a good man
He decides to produce hairs in his factory
produce P{r,,7) + hairs i\st1 = (to make wigs for bald people) but he
a good man ,4 charges nothing as he is a good man../ -
[No pronunc iati on ne e dedJ

*rffi y6n
Radical (
ls strokes
i ]
|)

complexiol ,:i j;i :ri

a good man Et:ss"t + page f,1+rry = The good man spends all his time indoors
complexion ff! studying the pages of his good books
so ends up with a pale complexion. ,/ Z/re -
This can mean (a person's) "face", or simply fairy casts a spell on him and he suddenly
color says, "You know, I haye a yen to go outside
more."
f/jfu,gn1 yflnsi color
*' Radical 1 .i)

lT
.L
t1
6 strokes
lo'p",-i
,} The words on the sign in the street
words i (rr") * noon f-1r:sy: permit if say that from noon parking is permitted.
/ A parking attendant qppears through the
We've gathered together here the lour char- pouring rain and Teddy says "Shoo!" in
aclers pronounced "xu" (lor convenience, dn attempt to chase him off.
they're not a phonetic series). Remember to
visualize the rain in each story.

'tt *rcgl xiudttd many, much

fi.i1161 yExi perhaps
 269

Radical ffi
xu '14 strokes
need .:.i'
-7

rain m''s-r, + and yet 1fi' rsr': need ffi ir In the heavy rain, the market trader
fixes up a makeshift roof for his srall.
ffi$trorl x[yio to need; a need and yet it sags (and collapses u.ith rhe
weight of water) a proper gutter is x hat
- fixes up q chute
he needs. / The giant tu)
diyert the pouring rain for him.

591 ,---t- Radical ,

I strokes
vI|,;:",,"
fl He's stuck hairs on the page to
hairs 7 * underline certain words (this is in the
(sz:,) page fi.qt1=
have to '1fr days before highllghter pens have been
invented) but the librarian tells him to
This can also mean "beard" (in which case remove them. "Do I have to?" he wails
the second traditional form applies). (wondering how to remove the glue). /
The giant whispers to him., "Wen rny
,l'lfittazt b\xi mtrst shoelaces got glue ctn theu I just left them
to soak in the pouring rain."

,n
,#
--./^
xu
cany on
Radical
1'l strokes
, I I ,:. - /.t
):

thread ! 1:::u1 *
sell f1z,ri; : i The spiders have found that if they
on L* produce extra thread they can sell it so
each day, after making their webs, they
?Efttsra jixir to continlte carry on and produce more thread which
[f 4ort shduxir furmalities] can be sold. / The dwarf uses it to make
waterproof shoelaces, which he tests out
in the potring rain.

ling i- ,':'.

command
The emperor simply signs ordinary
combine -L(ssa) * seal p
lsoouy = docments, bul when he combines a
command $ seal with his signature it means that it\ a
command., / [No pru.tnunciation neededJ
Not to be confused with A ("now", Char-
acter 166), this character is also used as a
respectful way ofsaying "your".
CHAPTER ] I 270

"' It:"J,: Radicat

7 strokes
7 :) .l- ;r. ; a--

The ice queen commands it to be cold.

ice / 1:eou1 * command }(ss:u) = cold /A /Teddy complains, "My lungs tbkle with
the cold air"
[i+-1t4r rt lingq\ air conditioning]

Badical l:lJ ,1.

13 strokes
,:I.:
e: ii
rain ffiisrtl * command /.it(ssto) (The trainee wizard is taking his final
=
exams) He tries to command that rain
zero 4 should fall, but instead the temperature
You will also see "0" used as a symbol for drops to zero. , The fairy whispirs, "For
zero, and this is also pronounced ling. rain, you should have used linguini in
your spell."
[=f EEr:,ss.z,1l senqien fng si J004]

Radical fi t:-
i- /.'r ljii 4i
+r
1:. .?
ling n
11 strckes
to lead /?:lt

command Atss:o + page Er+rzt = The herald unrolls the page and reads
to tead 4I out the king's command it says that
-
everyone must lead their pets around the
This means "to lead" or "be in charge"; also town on National Pet Day. / Teddy ties a
"neck" or "collar". bit of linguini to his hamster and brings
it along.
[9f Srzzt lngdio tead, guide; leader)
[{ff ir:+t binling skill, ability]
u'u'E:m-",
The sentry looks over the castle walls
knife lllz:1 + mouth Ets) : summon E and sees a pirate climbing up towards him,
a knife in his mouth. He raises the alarm,
crying, "Summon the gluards!" / [No pro-
nunciation neededJ
 271 CHAPTER 3I

utu Radicd !
LE *'onu" 8 strokes
2 .1

(The queen is doing her needlervork) She

thread 4 + summon E(ssout = has run out of thread. so she summuns
rz::u)
continue 9fi a servant to fetch more so that she can
continae. / The dwarf shouts a.fter hin to
y'f9doret jiishio introduce be quick about it.

u"'ffi r1 it
:1 't11 |.';

;'ii';*
On the next day when the sun shone
sun fl irl * summon E(ssou) = brightly, he summoned all his friends to
admire his new sundial. One complained,
obvious EE
"Why do this on such a hot day?" "Well,
isn't it obvious?" / [No pronunciation
neededl

597 Radicat,,,,
1 ')11 ,/l )E ,1: :',
HH
./ )\\
zhio
shine
13 strokes
t,a,t r.l ili!

obvious [dtssz") + fire ,.,,(r85a): shine
This character has two meanings: "to shine
on, illuminate"; and "to look after.
lor".
The obvious way to get the fire started
L(
is to shine focused sunlight orlto it. / The
dwarf gets his old jousting shield (and
care uses the concaye side oJ'it as a magnifying
mirror).

IHIlIooa zhnogn bok after, care for

t*Ifiazt guinzhio take care of; notifyl

lEElf 1:s:t zhiopiin photographl

'n'A:*"0,0 Radical
9 strokes
/i I' 7" ::i

(After a storm) He went round the trees at

* dawn to checkup which ones hadsurvived
tree .f1ro"y dawn fl1r r:,y = check up A the night. / The fairy flew alongside with
[ Xf1rs+t chitdr\ verify, check] a chart showing where the trees were
supposed to be.
CHAPTER 3I 272

599a ta-
"&
!lt "conference"
The delegates combine to haul up a sign
combine + haul up over the convention hall, to announce their
-z\(59a) lY (38sa):
conference Q conference. ([magine them all lining up
along the roofat the front ofthe building).
/ [No pronunciation needed]

il\
'n'&'|ffi"* Radical
11 strokes I r ;/ .1.,\. ,,1- .l
j!

'ir:-

tree fr(to,) * conference 6tssqut: When a tree arrives at the conference, it

musl be inspecled lor contagious diseases.
{o
/ If it is genuinely healthy, two teddies will
&Ai:sst jiinchd examine, inspect, check escort it to the conference hall.

600 Raoicat fi ) I ;l\ ,ilr- ,:].

Iian 'l'l strokes
Eft face

moon ,[10r1 * conference =

(At a conference of werewolves) When
ft1ssso1
face ,[Q the fuIl moon comes up the conference
delegates have to have their faces checked
lW.LIet:t liinhSng to bhtsh, get fushedl to see ifthey really are werewolves. / Trya
teddies stqnd on either side of the queue
looking out for their friends so they can
lend them hairy masks to get past the
check.g.

601 ;.1,2\ Radical I

PlI 1',3I,
9 strokes
t.--l
LIEX] The commandos choose a mound to hold
mound [(eou) * conference 6(sgqot = their conference (because they like to
occupy the high ground), and plan how they
& are going to carry out the fnal paft oftheir
fuF0,i-, weixidn clanger. dongerous risky mission. / fDlY pronunciationl
 273 CHAPTER ]1

'o'&[:-*" Radicat
'10 strokes
$ 1
\ ll ,1 !j-

A horse with a rare disease has been

ft1seeu; :
horse + conference brought along to the conference ofvets so
-{1++y
that they can examine him. / The dwarJ'
examine 1i
caretaker watches closel"v as he has always
ftSlpael jingyin experrcnce had a yen to be a ret.
[*I0r:sor shiydn a test, experimentf

603a J \
A ''," \
He always carries a stake to work, as he
work I(ut + stake tt+soo = style tli thinks it gives him a certain st-vle. (But
his teenage son knows bettetl) / [No
pronunciation neededl

603\h Radical l,
*,., -t
t.\
l,A 8 strokes

(Designing a poster for the production of

i "1001 Nights") The draftsman writes the
words irz.y + 51yle ittoo:"t: try i{
words out in different styles, to try and
lidl)'"0:, shiyirn ro rcsr. experimentl see which will work best. /The dwarft,-aits
lifii{ shishi to have a tryf until he's f.nished, and only then poitlts out
that he s spelled "Scheherazade" wrong.
(Iou can imagine the ensuing expletites!)

Aadical T l J-
6 strokes
/ .,.t l:-
'5

The old man arrives at the hospital

old man lzi:oral * choke lf1+:+,y = choking but it isjust a pretense, to test
-
out the hospital's response time. / Teddy,
test t on reception, rings a cowbell to summon
The first stroke of "choke" has got truncat- the doctors who come running.
ed so that "choke" flts under "old man".

fjfrtsorl kioshi to examine: a test

Itttrlatot kioching exam hall/rooml
CH,A.PTER 3I 274

605a \f ,.1,
-)J--^ tl'rr: rliru
| fight
Two gangs of boys start throwing ice
crystals at each other from either side of
ice crystals ..(246a) + ten tr+r = fight * the crossroads and it soon develops into
The "cross" is rather distorted here to make -
a full-blown figbt. / [No pronunciation
room for the "ice crystals" note that the neededl
"horizontal" Iine has a definile slope to it.

eoS f 1] t
Radicar
estrokes J ) I i+
4!t l[r.in.urion
The farmers are having a grain fight
grain /i1Lzaol + fight +(605a) = (throwing bags of grain at each other)
classification 4l[ after the announcement of the grain
classification results. / The giant breaks
This character is often used for a specializa- up the .frght and imposes a curfew until
tion or fieJd of (academic) study. morning.

f'f f 1tz; k6xu6 scriezce

[f4Ktrz:t kEzhing section chiefl
l,I*F'K,r.. r0o) kexue.iie -r(-lci?/lr/l

uou Radical E
9 strokes
&T I::",.n You are issued with a special stone (with
an embedded microchip) to open the door
stone fi1tr:o1 * open f1ssl:
research if to the secret research lab. (Boffins are
always losing normalkeysl) / But the fsiry
lfltfrroost kEyin scientifc researchl has always had a yen to make the lqb\
work public, so lets a rcporter in to look
around.

Testyourself: $rcn1 ft,r'tl frroor ZJrlsol /Lut Ho, IB,,r.,

#utor lEuru, f*,ruu, zErrrur ff1rry $1rr1 fi,,r,
 Chapter 32

)ll-'
hook flood

H
because

bacon
rashers
CHAPTER 32 276

607a
yao
smallest

Used colloquially for "one"

607b ./.
7.\
.{\ rnread
The smallest of the small worms looks
just like a piece ofthread. / [No pronun-
smallest 2,(oora) * small zlrlsol :
ciation neededl
thread .f,
When this character appears as the left-hand
side ofanother character, it is abbreviated to
the form t which we already know (233a).

607 € Radical A
Ja\ xl 7 strokes
,{\ cluster
@ A spider has woven a web out of threads
in the beret, and there is now a cluster of
beret - 1rsal * thread ,6(oorut =
eggs there. t The dwarf wraps it up in a
cluster 6.
sheet and throws it away.
This has various senses including "fasten",
"system" and "department" (with the
traditional forms varying from meaning to
meaning).

l6t:rzi gudnxi connection; afrbct

{d fi1r-.,1 liSnxi rrqin. drill. exercise
lk*.?tay vzl m6iguanxi ir's oK
(reply to 'sotry')

608 Radical EE ':ri :.r t::

E ,u,,,0,, 11 strokes
.4\ exhausted

: The farmer laid a network ofsteel threads

field BJtr:oa) + thread Ator.rrt)
under the field to protect his crops from
exhausted H rabbits and it worked, as the rabbits
Notice that the threads are under the field rapidly -became exhausted trying to dig
here (compare this with Character 234). through them. / The ilwarf takes them oJf
and dumps them in the lake.
 211 CHAPTER 32

609a I\-
--t- \ I :lri

-& ,tn,

This is "dagger" (32a) but with an extra stroke.

*' Badical
12 strokes
/g I
t\
Ei,.rufT,o,, ).2, r'i
foot uEt:iot * {1oor4 : carry out ffi (A modem day Cinderella) The old hag
slips her tiny foot into the slippel and
{f[psoy shiji]rn put into practice it fits! Now the prince has to carry out
his promise (and marry her). / The two
dwames (who haye been cartying the
slipper and cushion around) mutter that
she can't possibly be the genuine article.

610 l^ l'r Badical f .|1- ':.t" ,:.

I*^ t::,,
'10 L
strokes

Tiny pieces of gold (found in the river

gold f 1::sa; + tiny {1oosu1 : money f{ beds) were the first money. / [DIY pro-
nunciationJ
l€flir:q+r lingqifin small change]

611 Radical l :- \
/i t:,i"-
8 strokes

There was only a tiny amount of water

water I ir:o) * *rooeot : shallow ii around so all the ponds were shallow. /
[DIY pronunciation]
-{lso means "easy", "low standard".

612a
L
nooK

tr, Radical i 7 1 ,')

,I
1tr

?L h 5 staokes

He sees a sign in the sky in the shape

i (a33a) + hook Lror:o = gift iL of a hook. 'Aha, the perfect gift for my
fisherman friend," he thinks. / Teddy tries
iLUJOztt lfwit gift, present his luckfshing, but only catches a leek!
iiL€rs+:t liting auditoriunl
CHAPTF,R 32 218

u" Radical fr .t .:L

7 strokes
fiL:i::,," (At night on a small fishing boat) Some-
one's tongue gets a fish hook stuck in it,
tongue fri+:ro1 * hook Ltar:oi:
chaotic fiL and chaotic scenes ensue as he thrashes
around. ./ The ghostly dwurf (guardian
lfil iLro:t lu]nshuo gossrpl mascot of the boat) holds a lantem while
tflEorsr lutirnsli tut'buletxt timesf they extract the hook.

614a
lA - new-born baby
The lid came off the cocoon and out
lid -t:sr) * cocoon popped a new-born baby butterfly. / pVo
=
^(i4a)
* pronunciation neededl
new-born babv

\ E 'i
614
.4\ yu
Radical
8 slrokes
) i '-.|

EI nurture
fl She is over the moon about her new-

net-born bab) arnrq,r * moon E,ol, = born baby, and vows to nlurtl.rre il. / The
dwarf grumbles as he has to come oLLt in
nurture E
the pouring rain to read q eulogL
ff Hrzest jilroyir education, educate
i46rra tiyn sports, PT
1ffift'fi1rzs.::ot tiyirching sradirrl
615a
) :l .,t1,
fillU
/ flood

You could think ofthis as "boy" with a "stick", or as "grain stalks" plus "hook"

I .
615b
Z\
JIL birth
Picture a mother cradling her new-born
baby on the roofofa house during a flood.
new-born baby *1or+ay * flood.tlL1e tsul
This was not how she imagined the birth
= birth i[
wouldbel / [No pronunciation needed]
 279 Lll\P.:r"i_
615 \-)... Radical l
\ /z-\
liri 10 strokes
illL to flow
The woman chose a water birth in rhe
water I (78a) + birth .l'i{orsry:6olo i* river so that the flowing water would u ash
the baby clean. / Tilo foiries fioated lotus
[ti1itOsoi jiaoliir to communicate withl blossoms on the water.
[i.r'ifr]rr:zr lldrl\ fiuent)

616a

/L :u6
hole
The house where the octopus lives is so
house -1era1 t eight ,r\t:ot: hole i( small that he had to make holes in the
walls for his tentacles to poke through. /
When this appears at the top of characters, [No pronunciation needed]
you will sometimes see the legs curl (so that
they look like "boy" rather than "eight").

"' frri,l".,,r,," Radical

7 st.okes
it
)' )1,

In one ofthe holes on the golfcourse they

hole l\10rr,,1 * nine found a baseball, and decided to investi-
/Lr:sr =
gate how it had got there. / It turned out
T that two gidnts had been joking around
ffiJl6oo1 yiniii research (playing mini-golf and trsing the basebqll
as a golf ball).

617 J-i--, Badicat 7^t

7J korg , t',,ns, 8 strokes
| ^ empty
Digging the hole (for the elephant trap)
hole {,"1-, + $ork Ltt4-) = empty ; had been a lot of work but day after
day it remained empty. / One day the
ELr,{rrt kdngqi alr giant sprained his ankle in it, and was so
ltlnla4sr kongiian space, rooml cntss that he filled it in with concrete.
ltFa:r kongzhdng in the airl
Itar+s) tdikong (outer) spacel
CHAPTER 32 280

F 7( ,) ,.;
618 Badical
tI I strokes
prominent
The hole which the dog had dug was rn
* a prominent position (right in the middle
hole 7(toroo dog )tt::rol =
t^ of the front lawn). / The giant (head gar-
dener) used his toupee to disguise the hole
This also means "sudden". until he could repair it.

[tf*r:sot tirin sudden, suddenfi,l

[4Htrr+t tichi prominent; to highlight]
619a
rs ,i:
4
,i.l
,!
,,1\ hearth
(In a game ofhide and seek) The octopus
hides up a tree and pulls a cover over his
cover -(s2a) + eight /\t:oi +
tree ;[1roo I = hearth f head but still feels cold and wishes
he was- sitting by a warm hearth. / [No
pronunciation neededl

arc Radical l I 't1

Y^ shen
deep
11 strokes
:,,:
i;\

water j (rsu) * hearth frtorsO : deep F During the flood, water rapidly reached
the hearth and put the fue out it was
- mean
getting really deep now. / This would
that the giant handryan would shun the
village (until the water receded * he
doesnT like getting his feet wet).

rou
rl 1.
..:|.

because

-' Badical t
Istrokes
+H ilu"lo"",
"Hold out your hand because it's the only
hand f ltszoy * because fr1r:ou1 : way to extract the thom." / The giant
holds out his hand gntdgingly, and chokes
extract IH
back tears !
Ilfrzkrsz:r choushui to draw (pump)
waterl
[ffi9rro:t ch6ushen get away (from
wot'Ul
 281 CHAPTER 32

621 Baaical I 1 '4 rL n rf3 i1r

HF m 7 strokes

"Because ith a city there are mail boxes

because filozouy * city Frsoo = mail fi[ everlrvhere." / The fairy explains all this
to the yokelsfrom the country.
fiFHt4:rl y6upiio postage stqmp

11 r];
shen
to state

Compare this with "electricity,, (Character 159), which has a curly.,tail,,.

"' iF Radical
9 strokes
I 7 1 ,l\ :t'1 ;I'
;:.;
The sign in the sky states that the gods
] 1.l::ay f state H roz"l : gods iF are displeased. / The fairy has begun to
shun the villagers (so the gods have to
ffil*o+rt jrngsh6n vitqlity, vigor co mmunicate dire c tly !)

:1 ,h. 'tl
"polite"
The unicorn is fed up because his mlhic
one -(l) + because fr 1ozo,y
: polite E reputation means he has ro be polite all
the time (and there are rimes when hed
really like to use a rude word ..- ) / [No
pronunciation neededJ

,*:? i
EEI ltn
tiger 'c?

house +1sru1 * polite Eioz:ay * He ran flat out towards the octopus'house,
:
,rlrzot tiger E trying to think how he could call out..Open
the *** door!" politely so that he would be
let in straight away, before the tiger caught
up with him. / pr'o pronunciation neededl
*'iE
CHAPTER 32 282

Badical ] :/ .rl, t:i

;
yan 14 strokes
perfofm i:i: i;
water + tiger fr(62jb) = Atthe finale ofthe circus act the tiger dives
J (78a)
'/E into the water, drenching the audience.
He performs this at every show and it's
ifi Slrr+1 yinchu (theatrical) pefbrmance the big attraction- ,/ Teddy has a yen to do
f,e ifit4:o biloyln perform, performance it too.
1ififi1rrst ylnyuin qctor, actress)
[fiiErssr kaiyin to start (movie, etc.)l
624 -l-l Radical
+ ,I
11 strokes
n'
_H, ffi:r
grass rts1:rsoy
+ polite H(62ta) + lf you take your grass and are polite to
:
,r\(zoi vellow A
the octopus, he will sit on it for you un-
til it goes yellow. / The ghostly fairy wtll
1fi j{1r+rt Hudngh6 theYellow River) then guard it in the aircraft hangar (until
it is ready to sell on the black market itk
that sort of grass !) -
625a I i
I l^ ..,
oacon rasners

tf
./ \
*un*
collectively
naaical/l
6 strokes

One octopus was cooking bacon rashers,

bacon rashers + 1e:say * eight /L1zot : another eggs, and collectively they
li / The dwarf
produced a huge breakfast.
sounded a gong when t was ready.
-{1ry yigdng altogther: in ull
[A]\ius) gonggdng publicl
A{ii4rrs..1r:, s:y gonggdng qiche brr
626a .
ltII
tt
H pit
 283 CHAPTER.]2

626 Radicat Ll i 1
8 strokes
IEII llil,.,
one -ru * field Etrso,r +
l- l(e:out = drawing tEU

1E1JLprt hulrr picture, drawing

The unicorn had fallen into the pit in the

field (that they had dug as an elephant
trap). The reporter (in the days before
photography) took ages to make a drawing
of the scene for the local paper. The /
ghostly dwarf guarding tlle pit suggested
attaching a harness to the unicorn to liJt
him out.

"' 'lH ,,i. Radical 'f

8 sirokes
.:,
t ',1

His heart has started pounding and his

heart 'f i:;say * white Et::t : l'ear 'fB
face has gone whit€ such a look of
- / It's a dwarf
fear! What has he seen?
[4'lErr+or k6pi .frighteningf parking attendant bearing down on his
tts['lErqsr niph no matterf parked car ...

.,' Radical I
8 strokes
1
.i- I ;.1' .:a:1 ,;I
TH ,;; The chefh hands are all white so he claps
hand f 1rs:ay * white Etz:t : clap tH them together (to shake off the ffour). /
The giant admires the pies (and wonders
This character can mean "to applaud" or how many he'll get).
"to beat time", and it can also mean a (ping
pong) bat or (tennis) racket.

[]fif1:r1 peishdu to applauf)

[tFTrrt paizi bat, racket; to beqt time
(nusic)l

Test vourself: x (25) ftrror flttzt )lu ff.rcr1 XHo, [o,,r

,/r.
-7 (166) S,,,rr fr,.0,, E,,,r,, 'f,f,rr,, ifl,*oa }[,rr,,r
 Chapter 33

Yet another chapter where we can further exploit the building blocks we al'eady have.
without needing to introduce any more.

ilH cry out

With two mouths to feed in the nest, they
mouth E (5) + mouth E (5) = must each cry out to get fed (or else the
out FE other one will get all the food). / [No pro-
nunciation neededl

utt F,F^ Radical -,i ):'

uo 10 strokes

-/\ *..p
The child cried out as her dog was hit by
a passing car, and sat weeping at the side
cry out Fri(62ea) + dog ft::sur = weep { oI the road. The giont. vho wos pa'sing
b1t in his cool nett coupe, stopped to gir,e
them u lift to the vet.

630 Bp Badical ll i:
f* qr
utersil
16 strokes
I.l.i

* In the kitchen the Chefis weeping, crying

weep 9€ro:et cry out BE(62ea) =
utensil ** out and throwing his utensils about in
despan. / Heb lost the "Best Restcturant "
YLlfi|ot ftqt Dta(htne competition, and recleons that the brarf,
hts main rival. cheuted in otder to win.

E3'r a rc p{11

ffiffi goods
(The cave dwellers are having a yard sale)
mouth E (i) + cry out At the mouth ofeach cave the owner cries
EE(629a1 =
out to attract customers for the goods they
un
have for sale. / [[o pronunciation neecled]
 285 CHAPTER 33

631b trt '.

HEt
:Ja*
./l! chirp i: t: ,.!

The magpie steals goods from the town

goods rfi(631a) + tree zlrtroat: chirp * and takes them back to his tree, where his
family welcomes him with a chirp each
time he brings home something interest-
ing. / [No pronunciation neededJ

IEl Badical {
i 4 -t.l
'l .l "j :i :i::
JX cao
exercise
16 sirokes
'! )l 1.-

The bird sits on the fitness instructor's

hand f (rszu) + chirp ftlotruy:
hand and chirps to set the tempo for the
exercise ffi
exercises. / The giant has joined the class
This can mean "to grasp" and hence "to because he is getting too stout.
operate" (a machine).

l*thotol caochdng sports grountl

632 -\, [J Badicat ]

JX;:; '16 strokes
i '2- .,]:).

water I 1:sa1 * chirp *to:rul = bathe i* The bird sees the water and gives a
delighted chirp it can bathe at last! /
ijEi*tr:sl xizXo tqke 0 bqth, shoh,er -
[DIY prcnunciation]

633 Radical E 1
-fEl z.o
earty
6 slrokes 'i'"

As the car approaches the crossroads the

* rising sun is directly in the driver's eyes
sun fl ror ten trqr = early F if only he didn't have to get to work so
This can also mean "morning", "before" or earlyl / [DIY pronunciation]
"long ago".

Fffir:::i zXofin breakfast

Ftt+zt zdoshin g morning
CHAPTER 33 286

634 -+r^ Radical jl

EI zhlng
badge
'11 strokes

stand i1r:;1 * early F.ta::t : badge F "If you stand there early you will get a
badge. You'll know rhe giant is Loning
\i;ith the bad&es when you hear them
jangling togethex"
#

H
Badical
cao I slrokes

lfyou cut the grass early in the mornhg it

grass +(2rEa) + early fl10::y = straw S will make the best straw. / Teddy decides
to watch, declaring, "I'm too stout to help
lHlto+r ciodi/awzl with cutting grass."
[H]HO:O cdoyudn steppe, pasturel

u'u Radical !
fiJ,
f-,
ouo
porcel
5 strokes

(Before the birthday pa.rty) They wrap

wrap !(::o) * snake Er::sot
EEo,:r midnbdo breqd
lfliEraroy qiinbao pttrs e, wa I letf
[fuTut baozi steamed bun)
[flErrzoi shib-ao school bagl
: parcel ts up the frulticolored toy snake to make a
long thin pzrcel. / The gimt has to bob,
down low to pick it up before he sets off
to deliver it.

"' tF.l?,i"," Radical

8
f
strokes

(At the birthday party) The food and

food '1, (288a) + parcel tsto:or: parcels look so colorful on the table.
te tffi The children eat quickly until they are
all replete. / The birthday boy then opens
This means "fu11". "satisfied" or "to eat the.first parcel, and out jumps Teddy, who
one's fi11". then gives a deep bow.
 28'/ CH,{PTLR ]]]

"' fE:ff.""" Radical

8 strokes
{
l ,1 .tt: -i -'Lr

The latecomer to the birthday party has

hand T rrs:nt + parcel E(o:ot = the parcel in her hand when the birthday
embrace JE boy opens the door, and they hug in a fond
embrace. /The dwarf butler taclfully sta1,s
bowing until the embrace is over.

.,, Radical /P
i, , |.1
12 strokes
TBE ffi. i-. .',ti

foot [1zlo1 * parcel Elto:rt : In the crowded airyort he doesn't see the
run rlE parcel until his foot hits it (and there's the
sound ofbreaking glass) he decides to
fftf 1:rs1 plobi Toggtzg run away before anyone sees him. ,/ Bar
[Et]ErL+sr pdodio rtmwayl Teddy is curious and looks insicle, sneezes,
and gets covered infine wltite powderfrom
the parcel.

64&B
1 ..1 ;:
l,*;l tij
IHJ "porrhote"
The octopus is trying to squeeze through
skylight + eight ,/\(20) = a skylight. "This should be easy I've
got through many a porthole," he-says. ,/
J4(r8ea)

INo pronunciation neededJ

Again in this character you will sometimes
see the legs curl (so that they look like "boy"
rather then "eight").

640 --\-- Badical

'11 strokes l i-l
16l ;:::-
stand i(r77) + porthole Ej(6aoa) = Imagine standing, looking out through
trade H' a porthole as your ship comes into port,
and seeing all the possibilities for trade. ,/
Once again (see Characters 197, 295) the But when yotr get ashore, the giant sitting
final stroke of "stand" has merged into the on the quctyside advises, "ld set up in
character below. Shanghai if I were you."

t l5rrrol shangdi in shop, store

[-6 lll't:sst shdngyi commerce, btrsinessf
6 )fi,rta, shangch6ng shttpping nalll
'.

. Jl (,r:, shangrdn busincssuunl

CHAPTER 33 288

641a l-1-
zt ff r,,ii
I l-l "$loo check"
Harry buys apetcentipede with a hundred
legs and has to write out a $100 check. (At
person { + hundred
1r:oy E(.ao) =
a dollar a leg, it gets quite expensive, he
$100 check {fr
muses). / [No pronunciation needed]
This is the form of "100" used on checks.
banknotes, etc. to prevent alterations.

641 Radical
+

ffi sir
stay overnight
,1 strokes

house +(stu) + $100 check {F-to4rui =

lAffirzsrt shisi
At the manor house they write a $100
check to stay overnight. / They ve arrived
G just in time for the evening meal the
board and lodgingl dwaqf heacl chef is just clishing out the
soup.

642a -:7 *fz 1t

J bestow
If the proclamation with the kingt seal is
seal + nail f,s u; = bestow f' nailed to your door, this bestows special
[,5A0cr
status on your house. / fNo pronunciation
Notice that the fust stroke of "nail" has neededl
a hook on it (a sign that we're cheating
slightly again!)

642 --r--r- Badical F

l i'i- l'n
-i):

IE Inuuo,,.,."
'10 strokes

? The authors of this book bestowed

bestow f 1r.ru 4 + page fii+:ry =
a sample page on their publisher in
in advance Ifi advance, to show them the design. / The
dwarf sub-editor said it was useless, and
I1fl6o+s) yibii prepare, get readyl threw the manuscript out the window into
the pouring rain!
 289 CH{PTER.]]

uo,
.s ,nu
Radical
8 strokes
/\ .ij:' /'i..

trl shed
The explorer pitches his tent on the dry
tent Alpry * dry f + ground by the mouth of the cave and
only then spots a shed nearby. / A-dwarf
1t:,ry
mouth I tsl : shed 6 sherpa liyes there (who will qct as his
fE6 tr+rt sishi hostel. dormitorv guide for a fee ofcourse).
uoo
49 .ro
Radical-/\
12 slrckes
,t .ii'

FU spreaclout .:.i

shed +rbal) + bestow Tro+:at = The duke bestows a shed on the cobbler
out fl so that he has space to spread out his
patterns on the floor. / He's started making
ffiflErso: r sh[fu conrfurrable shoes for the giant so he needs lots of
space.

645 Radical/\ .,,

\\/- *i,n,",n*, 6 strokes
't :,\
./ \ "^.it"o The fishermen haul up the octopus into
haul up [ 1:ssay + eight /Lizot their boat they get very excited at this
: excited )( rare catch -(which will fetch a good price).
/ On the shore they sell it to o dwatf
fr)(1+sr1 gaoxing happy, delighted Jishmonger but the octopus reyiyes qnd
-
escapes, throwing up shingle everywhere
as he makes 0 dash for the sea.

m{o J. ):
spear
(Imagine the king playing on the chil-
bestow 7(0,1:u) * slide ,/(r4b) = spear / dren's slide whee!) The king decides
- royal warrant
to bestow the on the slide
This is easily confused with "bestow" by scratching his initials on it with his
(Character 642a) so it seems best to draw bodyguard's spear. / [No pronunciation
attention to the difference by adding "slide" neededl
(even though "slide" is not usually joined
to anything).
CHAPTER 33 290

,4+ I 1 i1 i1 ;lj
m stab i:.1 j::

spear f'(646a) + porthole lEl(e+ou): The Viking poked his spear through the
stab
porthole to stab the surprised guard. /
6
IN o pronunciation ne eded]

'-' Radical '^

I 4 i'' ll i't. it!: ti'
tm llnr..,n. 16 strokes
ifi i;r ):,,. ),;{:
'*': 'rIl i;
tree f 1roul * stab ffi1r+ot1 : -'l A party game: all stand around the
tree. and lhe first one to stab a tangerine
tffi
is the winner / The fairy takes the juice
Time for some more "pouring rain" stories outside into the pouring rain, to dilute it.
we have collected together the five
-remaining characters with pronunciation
lu.
tffifrra jfzi tangerine

*' Radical
10 slrokes
/!
I 4 f .it )L ,,, ii
4H il,*".,n"
i In the palace grounds there is a tree,
tree ft1tooy + auspicious fr1s:iot = from which, on a ceriain auspicious day,
you are allowed to pick a tangerine to eat-
If, / The fairy tqkes the juice outside into the
This is simply an alternative character (to pouring rain, to dilute it.
the previous one) for tangerine.

,fHT-rra jrizi tqngerine

648 \\, Badical \

A:r
I to raise
I strokes

f The criminal is excited as he raises

* criminal *(ro,t his head carefully out ofthe prison escape
excited ,.v(r+s) =
raise # ,
Rrnnel he has dug. Teddy runs up in
the pouring rain, shouting, "I ve got you
[#1jrsri jnxing to hold (meeting etc)l some juice!" (and almost gives the game
away).
 291 CHAPTER 33

uot Radicat ! i; :1 :;
1
6 ,,:,,""." 5 strokes

ir They are fed up of his grumbling, so

wrap something round his mouth before
mouth E (5) + wrap \e:.o,: he can speak another sertence. / But the
sentence 6l
dwarf is a judo expert and escape$, nm-
tsfria jirzi sentence (of text) ning out into the pouring rain.

6s0 El Radical F
1
/4 llo""
7 sirokes

corpse Ft:oso) * sentence 611e+s1:

office E
Notice that "sentence" here is fused onto
"cotpse". An alternative breakdown for this
character might be "corpse" plus "blade"
plus "mouth",
? The corpse has a sentence written on
fiF,Eo:rt y6ujri post olJice his hand: "Look in the manager's office."
l,Efirrzr jizhdng bureau chiefl / The fairy (finding a wet judo oufit) says,
"Whoever did this was a judo expert who
has been out in the pouring rain. "

"' frb :i:,rn Badicd p

'11
strokes
:.t
'I ,l i-) tt) 't
i.

* The politician had so many sentences in

sentence 6Jro+uy many Ssol:
W
his speech that everyone had soon had
enough (too much, in fact). / The dwarf
flEfrl?eoat ndngeiu can, be able to (never one to sulfer fools gladly) gets up
and walks out, saying, "Blow this, I'm off
to the go-karl track."

uu"
4Tl
lJ
,u
pay
l 1l

(At the fairground ride) Harry was an

'f 1r:uy * inch ,ltro+o: pav ,f-I inch too tall, so had to pay the adult fare.
/ [No pronunciation neededJ
CHAPTER 33 292

652 Badical I I ::t:,.

i) :'i- ilI
fi 7 slrokes I' l'i r'l'l
near to
To see the burial mound properly, you
have to pay to be allowed, nearto it. / The
mound [(e6a) + pay ,fil1rsz,; =
near to Etj dwarfdoesnl allowfood inside, except for
the foo yong (which he himself sells).
ffii[12+r1 fijin rearby

*' +
Jffi !r,",n-"n, ;ffir
) n' ,l rai /:.)

A shelter has been set up where people

go to pay their taxes to the government. ,/
shelter I'(r7o) + pay 4i'trrzo:
,'1T
Teddy tries to pq, withfoo yong.

f( frr rqor zhingfi government

uuo' )i E ,ll
fi1
t_-{
.,,0,,*
terlble
If you've dropped your shears down
shears Xt:su) * pit I l(r:ro: the pit, that's terrible. (You'll have to
use scissors to cut the grass now!) / 1No
terrible X pronunciation neededl

'n

"Removing this lid will have terrible

Xios+u) : brain d
lid '1zsu1 + terrible consequences," says the notice on a cask
containing a brain (as it will die ifexposed
to the air). / [No pronunciation neededJ

654c ,t,
1
r*r
I J rump
lrJ

In the outer limits caterpillars make their

cocoon z'(34a) + outer limits f cocoons on the rump of cattle (to keep
Jlroou; =
them warm). / lVa pronunciation neededl
6r
 293 CHAPIER ]]
*t Radical
:a.t
-1 it,
H 10 strokes I :t:;
!',.,un,r.o-
"The trrain and rump ofa giraffe are very
brain dtos.l,) * rump 16(65ao : distant from each other." /To demonstrate,
distant from ffi the fairy pokes the giralfe in the rump
with her wand. "Now let's see how long he
This also means "to depart". takes to leap up in surprise."

fffrissy likai lo depart

tBXUosr mle bid Jdrev,elll

655a f-T-l
!,'rI 1
i iri ,t: .\]
ffi ,o,t.y
Out in the field the cow plonks her rump

- she's sat onaasqueal

fleld IX r t sr.r + rump lll{6s1c) = down but there\ and she
discovers monkey (who
is now looking rather squashed).,/ piro
Notice how tl.re vertical stroke carries pronunciation neededl
through into "rump" so that the "cocoon"
part ofthis charactcr gets slightly altered.

*' Radical l- 11
n ,l]

]E lx"o,,,.,
j\:
'12 strokes
1i ..-
road Lr:cul a monkey rE(655a) =
... As a nre or passage. each young
encounter i@ monkey has to walk along the road near
the jungle. where they encounler various
ESf rz+r yidlo encounter tests. / The frst test is to sneak past the
dwarf playing his ukulele without him
nolicing trick is to do it when itb
- the
pouring with rain.

"' ,IIfi [:,.., Radical

'11
E
strokes
iu
I i ll' lli' ;"i ll;

il

moon fi iarl * convert E,(r:r) : Whenever the moon comes out it converts
undress,EH, him into a werewolf. Each time he must
quickly undress before his clothes get
This character also refers to removing ipped. / The ghostly giant guards his
shoes, a hat, etc. clothes and gives him a toga to wear for
the duration.
 Chapter 34

Another quiz, where we've put together groups of characters which have very similar
meanings:
*L RE T]
6o Ytr',r ]Fo^i i)yta6e) frlGD) 5 \a2a)

'fto,r Ao*,r trir,rr &o,rr 'f{o' ffL',or €uot LJ,,ro,

ILt ,,ot 4,un, i[.,en lfr.,rrru, E ooot At."sr XiLoo:r ff,.oo, fi,o,o, f,ooo,

+ Z
>--
stride
write with
brush

6 K
an open brigade
door

lryLe
x
a skirt
a- =4e
 295 CH \PTFR :]

"write with brush"

We've treated this as a basic building block, but ifyou like you can think olit as "dexterit\.'
plus "two" (or even "dexterity" plus "criminal") and make up a story accordingly.

J
stride

"' €,rTL Badical

8
L
strokes
+
,...
-r-

On the building site the foreman strides

stride L(osr,t + write with brush
$1rs:a1 = build |{
Like "road" (26a), "stride" is written last,
after the fragment it encloses.
aboutwriting onthe ground with a trrush,
to mark out where they should build the
walls. / Two dwarf building inspectors
come round to check there'll be enough
room for the generatol.

E jtos:r jihnshi build, instctll

ttt Radical 'f

i* t: ,.: i,l 1 li
10 strokes
ffi'.',11,*
Harry is helping to build the floors ofthe
'f 1r:u; * build
new building, which have to be strong
person €feszt = strong E enough to take a lot of weight. / The tuo
[&3-.)Lcrr jiin'6r good athlete) dwarf building inspectors will try to find
fault with thefloor of the generator room.

'u'"
E Hi t:
1j: +
The youngest member ofthe royal family
stride L(657b) + ninth Atssr"r = court E strides arrogantly about the palace with a
baseball bat- although he is only ninth in
This is a feudal court rather than a modern line to the throne. Everyone is waiting for
judicial court. him to get his comeuppance when he gets
to co\rt. / lNo pronunciation neededl
CHAPTER 34 296

659 r \ . Radical
g slrokes
J'
) i
/13 l'J,*.*",.
They need a shelter to house the overflow-
shelter /-(t'?o) + court ing court, so build one over the courtyard
l!1osoa1 =
outside. ,/ The fairy odministers tincture
E!
(to warul olf colds Jbr those stuck outside
V. ELt to,' ii-a1ing .1r,n11r, in the cold weqther).

*' ;lffi'l I a .li: :ji :..:

+E li*ltptiono,v The head guard holds up his hand to

* court Ato:so : stop people entering the court only
hand I rrs:,t
exceptionally does he let someone in. /
tfr
Teddy gets in because he is carrying the
This is often just used to mean "very"; it lcing s tincture (and is likely tct spill it ifhe
also means "erect", "straight" or "firm". has to hokl it for long).

[l{itr;r t\ngl\ to stqnd upright; to

stand.firru1

661a
__{ia{i
rcsemble
The small moon (of the planet) resembles
small zlrlsol * moon ,{1r,ty: resemble fJ a potato. / [No pronunciation needed]

661 Radical ]
10 strokes
ll ir
7FT ;:ll,
The enchanted water resembles lemonade
water J trs,) + resembte i{1oorul = and is used to make things va'nish / The
vanish iiY beo giants take a shower in it (but then
keep bumping into each other as they are
lliiilrsit qrixieo b cancell both now irrisible).
lliiltr,r,r xieohui 10 disesll

Test yourself: fl,t,rr /(rr:1 1/qt's,t *u, ftrlrrr E' (4ii) )ffirr*,
XEun,l EX,o., ;)ft1',t it,,,, I.our, 4i r48o) !2rsttt
 29',1 CHAPTER 34

662 Badical ;L\ jl

./
Hx,
llJ,\ srop
10 strokes
1 .. .: ,l:

The surgeon is trying to do a heart

self EJte+r * heart ,L'trort : stop ,H.
operation on himself. "Stop!" cry the
other doctors. ,/ I/r e giant brings a shield
'iH .E.(oolr xiaoxl rews to use as a stretcher (to teke him to the
prop er op era t i ng theater).

663a t
C,
"au open door"

663t) I .'1
WJ "barred"
Returning to your apartment you find an
open door and see an intruder inside with
an open door 6 too:ot + knife 7lc:t =
a knife. You quickly lock the door from
barred 6,
the outside so that he is barred from
escaping. / [No pronunciution needed]

,,n lif
Radical
10 strokes
E 1, t. ,1
i
EI remain
(Cows were escaping from the field) The
6n(roru;f field E(r56a) = farmer baffed the gate to the field so that
barred
remain H the cows who had not yet escaped would
have to remain in the field. / The filo
This also means to "detain" or "keep". fairies set out to tempt the escaped cows
back with lotus leqves.
'd.), r" , lin nidn keep as a survenir
EYEts:, r::t lirixu6shEng internationql
students (in q ufiiversi\,)

L \
"brigade"

Compare this u ith "dress" & i4Joa r.

 CHAPTER 34 298

uuot

ff o,0,,-,
The commanding oflcer drags his
drag /--1rsou1 * brigade Kfoe+ot = brigade miles to the river, but when
r<
they get there it's just a tributary Ge s
got the navigation wrong again). / fi\b
pronunciation neededl

664 \ >-.- Badicat ]

/K Er;",
9 strokes

The water in the tributary is particular\

water I lzeay * tributary ]-ioe+uy =
good and only a priviteged group is
trR
allowed to fish there. / The dwarf objects
to this because he thinks there's plenty of
This is generally a group of people in the pikefor everyone.
sense of a faction or school ofthought.

BIll"o, piibid group. * hool. facrionl

I ilft
li)K f,roo-' piixi tfution (in a political
pqrty))
IiI( t,:,ror piritriu sry1e (as in "doing
something in style")l

Test yourself: n (2o 1) EI

*_ 1,101 flf1oor; jftor,r 1ftt+srt ffiru,ot H.rt,
-E
u\(487) fi\ (260) fisrr1 Eluro, fE,oo" ft1rouy
r
S1,r,
665a

JE "askirt"

This is the bottom part of "dress,, (436a), suspended from a horizontal line (which you can
think ofas a belt).

Imagine sewing sheaves ofgrass together

grass +1:rsul * a skirt E(66sa) = to make the skirt for a gown. / [No
pronunc iation neededl

Although this looks like ..grass,, plus

"skirt", ilyou look closely you can see that
the grass is actually joined ofl, as it is in
"bacon rashers" (625a).
 299 CHAPTER:.:

"'E:HL Radical
10 strokes
F i:t a:-

(The well-loved Princess Janet dies..-1

corpse Fr:osrr * gown *(oisb) = They put a gown on the corpse before
puttrng it on display (for the mourners
E to file past)- / Teddy makes a placard:
This also means to "unfold" or "postpone". "Pritlsess Janit this way.' lSpelling is nor
his strctng point).

[,EHtrr+t zhhnchi display; be on show)

BI 1 r!,J.
.\
E wli
respect
A
a i'

farmer discovers a discarded skirt in

field Bltrsout * a skirt E(665a): his field (after he has chased off some
E youngsters). "These young people have no
E
respect." he complains. / [No pronttncia-
tion neededl

666 Badical E ! ::
wli 12 slrokes I
Hey! x
(In the restaurant one diner is angrily talk-
mouth E(s) + respect €toooui = Hey! E ingto another) "Don'teatwith your mouth
fuIl show some respect! Hey, are you
- to me?" ,/ The tlwarf head waiter
listening
storms oyer to lhrow the diners out.

657a
--t^
target

667b
h r '-t.

"archery contest"
Picture yourselfsetting up the targets and
target 1(667a) + arrow ft1+eouy: arrows ready for the archery contest. ,/

contest fr [No pronunciation needed]

 CHAPTER 34 300

667f

$r "man with stick"

This hardly needs a story .. . / [No p,. . -, .

person ,f
1r:,1 t stick | 1tsal = ciation neededl
man rvith stick ,it

"' '[F l""i,,.,. Radical '(

10 strokes I

man rvith stick { (oo;ct * archerv

contest irr,rzi,) : wait for fR

This means "to await" but also appears as

the second hall of various compounds.

lltiRrrosr shihdu (the) titne

fr811':,".. r', )6u shihbu .\uut tutlct Whot the man with a stick at the archen
[fti(1+rr1 q\hitn clitrurel contcsl.' Hc s lraiting tor I neu .trin-. :.'-
his bou. //lr tlrlurf narrervant ntti: :

."f Radical
6 strokes
I
back to the hotel to lbtch one.

Xl,
In one particular culture the grain stalLs
culture {1::y * grain stalks lt(57ea) : must be tidy after the harvest. / The fai4
ii thenfies ()fl to gel the tribal chiefto con:,
and make his in,spectior.t.
Sf1+e:1 zhingqi in goocl o er
| 'ifnt y\qi togetherl
uun Badical f ti
ff i,"",.
9 strokes l

The mother tells her teenage daughte:.

,t

hand f 1s:"t * tidy f rorsl = "Give me a hand to tidy up all these

clothes see ifyou
+fr
into those- drawers."can squeeze them al-
/ Meanwhile Teddy
t+, +d
ql,'.
lJ.l r, Jt nAt to ntilk la cowtT hu.t 1san4 a G-string tand i., t,tanging):
unttl ir is s arrhed u'aay!.on hin).
 301 CHAPTER 34

670 \ -f-^ Fadical J

I strokes
.) )i
YJt i',,.*,",,.,
(After the flood) The water had receded,
but before they could tidy up they needed
i t:sat + tidy f torst =
to bring relief supplies to the stranded
bring relief lf
people. / The dwarf directed operations
;Iif C++t jrngii (county'.s) econctmy from his amphibian jeep.

67"1a

KISS
Use your imaginationl / p{o pronunciation
mouth [] tst + mouth E tst : kiss rl neededl

You can tell from the stroke order that these

are not "really" two mouths glued together
tsee also 629a), but we liked the idea of
being able to use "kiss" in a few stories!

671b

"windowpane"
The two deer met for a kiss but they were
kiss Er] 1otLal * horns "(bixl = too near the hut and their horns smashed
the windowpane. / [No prorunciation
neededl
Note the stroke order, here and in the
following character'.

671 EEl Radical ffi 1

---ts^ hci 12 slrokes
,,t\\ black

windowpane M (671b) + earth + You throw earth at the upstairs window-

L(sau)
pane to alertthe occupants that their house
fre,,,.(lssu) = black
^E is on fire they run out unharmed but
The top partofthis is olten handwritten .S- they're black with soot. / The giant lets
("in", Character 157), where the "horns" them stay in his hayloft while their house
are replaced by a single horizontal stroke. is rebuilt.

lR4rorr) hEibin blackboarcl)

lRfirq:rt hcish\ black marketl
1^Efip:y hEibii black antl v.hite; right
and w ongl
 CHAPTER 34 302

672a
Ii rt ceng;1Fng
ffi used to be .'..a
I n

horns r/ iesal * windowpane EE (67rb) + The old stag looks at his horns in the
sun ff 1o.1: used to be S windowpane as the sun goes down. They
used to be magnificent, he sighs. / /nb
pronunciation neededl

672 A
M ze,rg
nadicat
15 strokes
r :j'i jfi li
EI to increase ..'\, l;

earth f 1s+a) * 15sd to be ffi1orz51 : (A farmer looks at a handful of soil) The

increase 1S earth used to be arid and barren, but he,s
enriched it and increased the crop yield
1$f[1:21 z6ngiid to increase tr emendotrsly. / [D I Y p ro nun c i q t i o n
ll$Kotzl zengzhing tc.t increase, grow) I

673a
, L
The aunt bows down to kiss the boy
bow Ll5id)+ kiss Er + but he ducks away to avoid her (as hi
(6713)
-hates sloppy kisses flom relatives). / [No
)Lett= uro' u
pronunciqtion neededl
Although the middle ofthis character looks ^
like "kiss", you will see lrom the stroke
order diagrams that you draw a box (like
-mouth") and then the first srroke
of ..boy..
divides this in two on its way dow.n.

Radicat fl i] tf .;
wan 1 l strokes ii:; ..-
evening L:;t,

The albino animal has to avoid the sun,

so only comes out in the evening- /
This can either mean .,to be late for some- [DIy
pronunciotionl
Ihing", or late in the day, i.e. ,.evening,,.

ffiffy1ttzt wdntan supper

[4,tr,r:r winshang evenint
ffi |,5o, winhu'r ioiree. eining parry
 303 CHAPTER 34

67 4a ,r:7:7
.r-t ) ) z' .ry

4:i:;i^", 'll-

bow E(stat * The princess bows down to kiss the pig

kiss tE +
who promptly turns into a handsome -...
(671a)
5, too,1 = elephant 4.
elephantl / [No pronunciation needed]
The top part is similar to "avoid" (673a),
but the bottom is now "pig" (but note that is olten used as a simplified form of the
the pig has lost its first horizontal stroke). following characrer (674) if rhere is no
The character also means "shape" and room lor confusion.

u'r Radicaly'
ii
13 strokes
i /'i
i
@;r::""" l, l:r

person 'f rr:o) * elephant fug;+a1= Ilarry pointed at his elephant and then
likeness {4 at its passport photo, and said, "But
it's a good likeness!" / The *o dwarf-
lI{4rr:l hioxiirng be like, similar to immigration ofrcers at Shanghai are
dubious
- each takes one end of the
elephant but neither end looks like the
pqssport photo ...

),
wonderful
(At the bowing master class) The
bow ts(sta) * center {t+otot = bowing expert stood in the center of
wonderful ft the arena and demonstrated the perfect
bow. "Wonderful," they all crted. / [No
Note the difference between this character pronunciation neededl
and "avoid" (673a). By now you are proba-
bly pretty good at spotting details like this.

*' Radical
strokes
f
l 1
t)
-1 ;a l;)', ..lr-
+fu}:il*. 10

(At the sculpture class) "That hand is

wonderful would you give it to the art
hand | 1tszal + y,onderful ftlozsay =
college, in -exchange for extra lessons?,/
tft The ghostly dwarf will guard it as part of
our hand collection."
 Chapter 35

q
hird
H,,
rnsecl i_:_:==ts

rffi
avrse
Ab
ffi

,lt,i

,-)- ffi
^ -)E-*.
n1,lliln" K

A
splinter
1=\
 305 aH.\Pl :r : i
,rr"
EI :U: In the outer limits they use shears to trim
outer limits flltrouy * shears X1::u1 : the hedges on the ridge ofthe hill, so thar
they can peer over into the neighboring
E
kingdom. / [No pronunciation needed]
This character means the ridge ofa hill.
Don't contuse it with ]xl ("wind",
Character 468).

676 naaicat I]
.j
11 1 :al l
6 strokes
IEII r"a
Imagine crawling up to the ridge (at dusk,
ridge Flro;,,,r + knife l.lr7a"r: to investigate a suspicious noise), knife
8|j
at the ready, but there's barely enough
light to see what's going on. / lYhen ),ou
It]/1srs1 gdngcr{i a short while ago peer over you sec th( giqnt ond hi.\ gung
[F]{ ErJ ganggeng only.just, barclyl making camp.

"'f,tr i,::f
Radical
I
f
strokes
it 'i:l : l', tl

You take gold up to the ridge to trade it

gold f, i:rs4 + ridge ll|oroor: steel fiJ for steel. / The giant and his gang ore well
known fur making the best steel arotutd.
fil€r+sry gangbi fotmtain pen

Test vourself: H ,4,a, ifi,o,r, ffi "," \\,'., f,f,,,-., *[,ooo, ffi,,,u,
EE (iiJ &,oor, €ror,, Et,r, Huo,, ,1t,,r,, fif,,r,,

1
niia h :',.

bird
tr
There are two characters for "bird": this one and the one we have called "pigeon"
(501a). Traditionally these are said to app ly to longJailed birds and short-taiied birds
respectively.
CHAPTER 35 306

u" Radical ! 7
,ti ,'i :.\
XB l'n,.**
7 strokes

The farmer's daughter solemnly shakes

right hand Xtszt + bird El1orral = hands with each bird before it leaves
chicken tr$
no chicken is allowed to go for slaughter
until she has done this. / The giant loads
[- F,l9rr, zs+r y\ zln.i\ a birctl them onto his jeep to driye them away.

u'ou
[tJ .nnn*
insect T,+ I
,1,

-.!-\ tLl
This character also applies to olher verv small animals, including worms.

67e EI Radical E
I strokes
-EE ;i',i,",*n The exhausted insect (imagine a cute
mouth l-l(sr * insect (ir;031 = furry caterpillar) crawls into the mouth of
the cave, although he has heard that it is
E halurlJed./ The ghostb) giant, who guards
&f*eao sur n although the caye, rushes oti brandishing his saber
(until he realises that the poor .frightened
caterpillar is not a threat).

680a .-L*
ff ;::r
When it is used as a part of other characters, "boat" has sometimes evolved into '.moon"
(!, Character 6t.1. Look at "canoe" (90b) and see ifyou get an "aha" feeling.

"' flt:H., Badical

,0 strokes
fr ) I i )j! i:i

At the launching ceremony they strike the

boat ff1orou; * strike ttroeai boat with a bottle, but what sort ofbottle
= sort flt
depends on what sort of boat it rs. / The
This means a sort of, or type of, some- giant strikes up the band as the boat is
thing. launched.

*flft1ry yiban average, commouplace

 307 CHAPTER 35

681 Radicat f I )i l,l

:!
lft l:r
;,); 1t
1
13 sirokes
'i,l t\l
''.,$

"We need a hand." "What sort of hand?"

hand f (rsz,) + sort fft(oso) = move flt
"Any sort we can get, to help us move
This generally means to move house. house." ,/ The giant brings his band of
helpers land they fnish rhe move in no
lffiXoost banjit to move housel time).

v
L "a vise"

Compare this with "open door" (663a).

r.ro v ;1 ::ll
rilr asptre
He uses the vise in his shed to hold the
a vise I (os:a) * seal ll ooout : aspire fli seal while he fashions an intricate design
on it, worthy of the chief scribe which he
aspires one day to be. / [No pronunciation
neededl

"' jEllli Badical

7
1-
stiokes
t ti {j ti' itP itiil

The road aspired to be declared a

road L(zeut * aspire [[tos:r,t : greet i{! Boulevard, so greeted each car effirsively
to ingratiate itself to everyone. / [Dly
Iii0oo:t hudnyin g welcome pronunciationJ
[j![I*tzo:r yingliE to meet, greet]

shi
I v r\
surname

You can probably see "vise" and "pile of earth" here; feel free to make up a story for this
ifyou like.
CHAPTDR 35 308

"' ?fx.:,i", Radical,

7 strokes

It is customary when finishing a piece oi

thread ? r:::nt * surname fi1es:al : embroidery to use thread to sign your
fi surname at the bottom
to work out the design on
but it besl
- paper isfirst.
ItH?E,,ort biozh\ nev,spaperl Teddy.jumps onto the embroidery Jranrc
r'using it os a rruntpolinc.l qnd crier,,r,r
"Geronimo!"

"settle down"
Her fianc6 has been a playboy, so she
surname.(tos:o) + a drop =
will only marry him if he will sign his
' (22a)
surname in a drop of his own bloo( tc
settle down ft
swear that he is now ready to settle down.
In some typclaces you u,ill see the older / [No prcnttnciation needed]
form ol this character whcrc the dot is
replaced by a (very) short horizontal line.

"' ,|ft h Radical

7 strokes
{

Harry plans to settle down somewhere

quiet where he can keep a low profile.,/11e
person { 1r;"y + settle down ftrrs+,t =
row ,ift fncls the petfect place in the corner of the
giqnt's estate qnd the giqnt kindly gives
['llti]E]rs+rr didi]ro /onte.l,l him tlte deeds so that he will net er hqte
to leave.

685 \ Radical \
y6ng
7K forever
5 strokes

"Put a drop ofthis elixir in your drinking

a drop . water and you will live forever." / Teddy
{::at *
water 7,(r:::t:
qsks, "lYill it keep ue looking young? '
Ibrever z]t
and takes a s.y,,ig.
ui( jEr:o:1 y61gy11dn Jbrever
 309 CHAPTER 35

686 \,-\ Radical ]

8 slrokes
;l :j'. /:a:
':n:

YUI l*x
She wanted to stay in the water forever,
water J 1zrul * forever z]<tsasi = swim /rt now that she had leamt to swim. / Teddy
said, "You're neyer too young to learn! "
as he jumped in, feet first.

Testyourself: to, !!,ero frorr, fftooat fifiro:r1 j@1i:s1 l=

Et(a5s)

Errrr, &rorur 'f4,,rl V^tl,roo, J{c*i }Eirr,r A r,,,,

6B7a tL^ l /i
IJ banner
He looks to see what direction the clouds
direction f(usrt + clouds Pozqt, = are coming from, so that he can work out
banner ts where to hang the banner (for the fete, so
that it won't be torn down by the wind). /
This combination occurs together in several lNo pronunciation neededJ
characters (such as the following two; and
also Character 755). However, the combina-
tion is not a radical, and dictionaries simply
classify these characters under "direction"
(Character 291).

687 \ .l.. Radical i

t ;,
IiIt :r," 11 strokes

banner fl1os:,; + arrow jllleooy
clan ffi
R,Ift+ssl minzri nqtionality, ethnic group
: The African tribe have a banner with
an arrorv painted on it, as the symbol of
their clan (to match the arrows they have
painted on their faces). / They asks the
fairy to fly aloft u,ith it to scqre oJf the
neighboring Zulus.

688a ) ,^
fir
.:i ,,] J

,.,^
A banner went up (announcing that
banner flirr;a) + 6hild Trrzt = the circus was in town), and the young
roam ifr child ran to see these fascinating people
who roamed from place to place. / [No
p ronunc ial ion neededl.
CHAPTER 35 310

688 \,\. r^ Radical ]

12 strokes
/tr'f ',JI",.

water 1 q-su] * roam ff(o88"/ = tour ifi The sarling enthusiast said, "We love
roaming about on the water, and it's an
This also means "to swim" easy way for us to tour the world and
it
has rhe added benefit that we can swim
-
iffizirosor y6uydng swin whenever we want to, / We even get the
fairy to come along to give us yoga lessons
on boqrd."

U"R dOng
Fadical
5 strokes
i
) :4, i

winter
A keen photographer likes to pursue
pursue ialsoou; * unusual ice crystals although he can
:
ice crystals ..(246a)
only indulge this hobby- in winter. / The
winter 4 giant brings his donkey along to catry
41<0q ddngtidn winter things (in y)inter the donkey is Jiee from
his summer job of giving rides on the
beach).

590 .--r.... Badical

10 strokes
I'
i ;ii- '):,..,

)&::r: The illness doing the rounds that winter

caused various parts of the body to ache.
illness :['tsrout * winter &tsssl = ache F / The fairy could diagnose it by looking at
[*F(r46) t6rting heatlache) the color ofpeopleb tongues.

6e' Badical E -t i'': ]rj it t*j ii{

,:,a1
lj]
I
KI :1,*,"* strokes

The planned winter garden is enclosed

enclosed [12+uy * winter by a wall, and attached to the wall is a
{roest =
diagram showing the planaed layout. /
tr The fairy fies qround putting toothpaste
l*fi,E$q d\ti mapl on the trees so that people can see what it
will look like in the snow.
 3ll CHAPTER 35

692a I ^

"held in the hands"

692 I

6
Radical E I:
I st.okes
.1. '.'...
i-:

$;x*,,-"
(There is a statue ofthe king in the palace
held in the hands *(rs:u) * sun Fltot = gardens) When the sun gets high enough
so that it looks as if the statue is holding
6 the sun in his hands, that's the official
.6Xrror ch[ntian sprizg
start ofspring. / Ir1y pronunciqtionl.
;$ fr,soo, Ch[n Ji6 Spraing Fesrival
(Chinese New Year)l

693 -+ I Radicat fr .:.,

M fii,.,, I strokes I i: i)

They set fire to the stubble in the grain

,.,l

+ fre y'(trau: autumn f,k fleld, as they do every autumn. / Dowz-

wind, the btlo giants are choking on the
ttni;or^(r26a)
qi[tidn autumn..fall smoke (as they rush to take in their wosh-
ing before it gets dirty in the smoke).

tto Radical E f i
F- Jil*.. 10 strokes

A legendary old fish, who has never been

thumtr tack -1+oa) + eye EI(et) + caught, has old flshhooks in his leathery
4(toe") = summer p skin, and even a thumb tack near his eye.
The local fishermen pursue it all summer.
Hjioat xidtian summer / But in the end they resort to hiring the
tteo dwar.tes with their shark fuhing boat
(one drives the boat and the other handles
the lines on deck).

695a
\
"splinter"

This is a shofi stroke which crosses another stroke, as in the following character.
CHAPIER 35 112

695b I
-m \,!ii,
-,n LJ p.ttet
A youngster is sitting idly in the sur
nine ]l(:s) * splinter \ (6e5a) = pellet { carving splinters off an old traseball-
until what is 1eft is just a pellet. / A,-.
pronunciation neededJ

6esc J-L
*dl 'V rlrr
J-l hold on to
The dead man had a pellet in his hand
he was holding on to it as il it was impor-
-
hand f a pellet /L(6e5b) =
1rs:uy
tant. (Perhaps it's a clue to a homicidel r
hold on to ifi,
[No p ronun ciation ne ed e d]
This also means "to manage", in the sense
of managing a business.

*'+fi re
Radical
10 strokes
,,,.
l ) .:1. t,ri. i,l

hot
You hold on to the metal poker while stok-
hold on to {iroes.) * fire ,,^o85a) ing the fire, but it becomes so hot that you
=
hot fl.I drop it. / The dwarf growls, "Rrr... nry-
You ve burnt a hole in my rr.rug!"
You will sce from the lollowing list of
compounds that this can literally mean "hot"
(high temperature) ot more metaphorically,
"warm" to give mealings such as "ardent".

lA'lEr::s) rtqing enthltsiasnl

[l$i,*:(rss) ridi5rn hot-spotl
[#!Ei(365) ri'di to low tleepll,]
1flffi1r:ry riditi the Tropicsl
1-l7ft,f'1rorr rixin enthusiastic; t:arm-
hearte$

-_-,)-
--; riIng
J enj oy
You would thint that the tall child
tall Brz:qat * child Ttra = eniov would enjoy basketball lbur no its
E no challenge and he gets bored). /,/}b
pronunciation neededl
 313 CHAPTER 15

696b rt
f :) :A
#Jt cooked ..ir

enjoy +(6e6a) + pellet jLtoesrt : Your cat enjoys pellets because they are
cooked fi cooked she much prefers them to
raw meat- like mice. / [No pronunciation
neededl

696 -irl Radical ,,,. jla

shi 15 strokes
! a
FJ! familiar ;!. ,-:jl :'!, fll ir!
cooked Fi.(oser) * The boy scouts cooked food on the fire
fire,,,.1rrsuy =
famitiar but overdid it. "It looks
familiar," said
*{ -the scoutmaster, bravely tucking into the
[fiF,{rzssr ch6ngshri mqture, ripe) charred remains. / The fiiry tried it and
IEH\cr3) miirnshi to look familiarl pulled a face. "[t tastes like shoe leather,"
she said.

Test vourself: n (qi1) EFo,r, iFo", &ooo, $r,.,r Eooor ,L'r,u,r

*,,n, Xf,,ro llJurr, .flEu,,, fr.,orn, 4luou,
1tr (45e)

8 ,r,r, fii,rrr, @,uru, 'fr,ru lft,rr, F,rr, frrorrr

E (401\ .E,r,, ,E,or,, lJlu.rt #,ouo, D,rr, A.u,
100%
 Chapter 36

+ .'=$) ny,up
f ,r<*< *rnin
/z€ \ over...
abundant l( | I

+
leather
+ffi -J1-
leather / H H:_)
_;!-6__

!_,
 315 CH.\PTER J'.

697a

II "two sticks"
Another fragment which hardly needs a
stick | (1ea) + stick I (rqut = two sticks ll storyl / [No pronunciation needed]

ut'o
[lfe rl \i)

firm
At the start of the hockey match the two
two sticks llloeral + right hand !1szy = center-forwards hold their two sticks and
firm IIx shake hands lhe umpire will insist on
a firm handshake. / [No pronunciation
This also means "firm" in the sense of neededl
"strict" (but not in the sense of a business
corporation).

6e7 Radical L :ii

JJX i,u. 7 strokes
J t1 rli1 'iri'

----l- resollrte
(Awards are being given for bravery after
a landslide) "You both stood firm, holding
firm rR(6e7b) + earth L(s+o) = resolute E back the earth and resolutely protecting
Eilr4o5) Jranchr uphold, persist in the village." / The two giants were proud
[]Srt(104r.llanJue resolute, determinecl thqt the general himself hacl come (to
present them with medals for saving the
village).

6e8 llx. Radical 6 rti- ,i.- ,i:

jin 10 strokes
-tr\ tight
He takes a firm hold on the thread and
firm llx,oq-br + thread f,,oo-rr = tight 'fi pulls it tight. / Teddy then steps gingerl!
onto it
ond edges along (thinking thdt
+:F rr) Jrnznang ncrvous. tens( perhaps he s not cut out for tightrope
[4,Ftrort ydoj\n important, urgent] walking after all!)
[68)Fis, rorl bf yirojin Do not ...1
CHAPTER 36

699a
Illr "prostrate"
(Visiting the emperor, everyone is waiting
two sticks lllosroy+ (half) bamboo A(32ra) in the antechamber) When the emperor
approaches, a court official uses two
= nrnrlrrfa tl,lr
sticks to beat loudly on a drum, "Bam!
Bam!" and everyone falls prostrate.
(Notice that we've cheated here and used
"bam" to stand for half of "bamboo"l) /
[No p ronun ci ati on neede d]

6ee ]li naaical I

jE lli,'"*
,l ,::i'
I :1
Istrokes

You lie prostrate to seeif you can see any

+ see L(2ra): mouse holes in the skirting board you
prostrate lrr(699a)
do this every time you view a room you -
view H mightrent. / kddy says, "Why notjust ask
EHteost zhinlin exhibit, exhibition the landlord? "
[/.ffiHrossr y6utin tour, sightseel

700a
11

ITIL o,,n

700b r I l- il ria iir. tl/: ri/r

l/ \
t).1:
I iiin
lTl-l .r,p.rui."
ffi The head chefin the palace kitchen is the
prostrate !r'^(oequ) * dish IItl.(700u):
only one who can prostrate himselfwhile
holding a dish and not spill the contents;
which is why he gets to supervise the other
chefs (rather than because of his culinary
skllls). / [No pronunciation needetl]

Badical
*
ilA^ l6n 13 strokes
blue 'i1,

grass +1:nu) * The grass he was supposed to supervise

supervise H(:oout =
blue overnight had turnedbhre. / This had been
Ut
caused by the .fairy\ magic lantern (and
[ffi Eiosrt l6nt:f blueprint) neither of them had noticed).
 31',7 CFIAPTI'R 36

/r.A^ Badical !A
')"
l6n '16 strokes
'rtfi basket 'i.:,.

bamboo FA(::ra) * supervise H(zoor,t : The bamboo he has to supervise tonight

is going to be made into a basket. ,/ Tftls
basket ffi is for the fairy to keep her magic lantern
ffil*tszst lSnqiri basketball in (so that it won't tum the grass blue a y
more!)

F' t1

EI plenty
Picture potatoes piled up in the corner of
piled up E(rsob) + fietd Err:sot = every feld there's plenty for everyone.
/ [No pronunciation needed]
E

,,, aadical i i .1 I :'1

iH
',,1
fii 13 strokes
blessing 'i,tj

* plenfy f, (702a) : A farmer points out to his son a sign of

sign I 1,t::a1
plenty in the sky, "It is a blessing on us.,/
lE-
The fairy is promising that we will always
Along with characters for "peace" and have food to eat."
"longevity", this is a very popular Chinese
character, seen on many necklaces and
earrings in the West. It has the general sense
of"good fortune".

*iEt:oar xingfti hapn),.fortunate

+
J-l-t Fadical
E' fir 12 strckes 1
EI wealthy

house -1etuy * plenty E (702a) = "In that house they always have plenty,
theyle really wealthy. / They even have a
E
dwad who brings .food to them whenever
thev want it."

Testyoursetf: $iorr fro,rr fleaot fi!tr,i IF(lo5) /+'(5rl )

zA1 rooT r

4,,0, El,.*., in,^i nti,,or lSrr:or 'J'$r+s3)

t*,0"",
CHAPTER 36 118

704
-fI *"*
abundant
Radical
4 stokes
I

I Wheels are so abundant at the gisnt's

$Sizo:1 f6ngfir rich, abundant wheel shop that most of them just sit there
[tFrrsTt ftngchdn high yield, bumper untouched until fungus grows on them.
cropl

705a -J-rr
.fl\
/ 11
nr"*
natron
People are abundant in the city it
- ,/
seems as if the whole nation is there.
abundant *rrort + ci1, ;j,ruu, -
nation J [No pronunciation needecl]

"'ffrff Radica!
I strokes
[] ) ).t': 'n '1li

At the Olympics, the athletes from each

nation +[(705a) + towel fi 1+:ru1
: help ffi nation have towels with their national
flags on them, which they wave if they
ffiEllt,r+:t bangzhi to help need help. / At the opening ceremony the
tffi'llouri b:angming to helpl giant uses the Olympic torch to light the
freworks with a bang.

wet
-f
leather ta-l
L+
Compare this with "abundant" ( Character 704 ). There is also another character for leather.
coming up shortly (71 la).

706 Badical !
7 sirokes i] i=)
.--1
;i ;-j iri 4
EEI #1",,0
(In the glove factory) The highest quality
enclosed ! 1z+uy * leather t(zoeu) : leather is enclosed in a store room
surround ffi surrounded by secuity devices. / The fairy
keeps the keys on a belt at her waist.
If,l Elrs,roi zhouw6i all around, surrounding
qrea
 3t9 CHAPTER 36

^' Badical {
ili
ffi ffi; 6 strokes
I

Harry buys a new leather coat and feels

person * just great. / He also got a smaller one
1 (r:") leather fitroout =
tfi for Teddy but it won't go round Teddyb
waist!
Ifi);tqrt w idit greqt

708a --I- .l
'.t
I,
| ^ lade block
The archaeologist dug through a layer of
earth -trs,t,t + earth i(ja"l = earth, then another layer of earth, before
block * he found a j ade blo ck. / [No pronunciation
neededl
This is an old character referring to a small
rectangular jade tablet used in feudal times
as a token of authority.

"' tE f;]ft
Raaical f
Istrokes l / ;t .:> "i. ..1
1t

Rrurning his hand over the jade block, he

could feel something on the back to hang it
hand f 1rs:u1 + jade block *rrorut:
up by. / Wen he hung it ttp, a ghostly tlwuf
# appeared with some garlic to guqrd it.
[I*Eezcl gui hio register (at hospitat)l

Radicat f
*,*, I
'on
#f I strokes
i

You are sending out miniaturejade blocks,

l .:1'

jade block F,-0s,, + inch ,r,,,0,= an inch long, as Chrishaas presents, and
'J
you seal them up in little envelopes. / I/re
seal up *f giant has brought along some fungus to
Iiilr:rur xinfEn-g an
-enuelope
sectl them yrith.

[]iEirsa fEngli inside.front cover/

inside back cover (of a book)l
CI'IAPTER 36 320

"o Badical 7 :l ;t
a' ,:i /;7 t:
0",,,
15 12 strokes
i:- ::t

step forward f lsroy + jade block *1zoru1
+ footstep -(8tc,= street ff
Although this looks to be made up of three
parts, it actually comes from combining
(708a) with ;f1 (Character 8l).
He steps forward to pick up the jade
block, but hears a footstep behind him,
and he quickly looks up and down the
deserted street. / Iwo giants appear, one
* at each end of the street, each armed with
ajelffish!

L1fltE tt+sr Jredao slrcell L \ lfj(47r daure (matn) slreell

71.1a +
fft
-f-
gi
Ieather
:1.

This also means "to expel".

You'll remember that we just met another character for "leather" (706a).

711 Radical +
15 strokes i
il i !;

leather S1;rroy + jade block *(:o:ur =

shoe H
Llri+i(nso) tuo xle take oJJ one's shoes)
[$1ffir+ue) xi6 anl shoelacel

The cobbler rubs the leather with a jade

blockto soften it up to make the best shoes.
/ When each pair is made, ,o fairies fy
up and arrange them on a shelf.

"' X[,**** Badical

4
X
strokes

Someone who has two right hands is

right hand Lrszt + right hand nr::r =
ry
We've made an exception here and used "two
right hands" instead of"shaking hands".
shopping for gloves. "We only sell them
as apair," all the shops tell him. / "Tr7.
the ghostly giant of Shangri-La. He
looks after people who have special
requirements."

l$fi esrt shudnglang both sidesl [--l[4ir,;nr yi shudng xi6 apair oJ'
lln €t+z+t shudnghio an even number) shoesl
 321 CHAPTER 36

713a t L ,j 1: t-
h^ t)

.4\ to select

Compare this with fi

("easf', Character 319). The difference is the small horizontal line
at the beginning ofthe third stroke.
The traditional forms of"east" and "select" are also very similar. The traditional form
of "east" (see the entry for Character 319) can be thought of as the "sun" rising behind a
"tree". The traditional form of 7l3a can be seen in the following two entries here the
"sun" looks more like "windowpane" (671b).

,r, naaical 1t
I +L i{
f6
l;l r:1.
I slrokes
l.;:,,
The fire had to be fed with carefully
fire fk(tstt* select f;izr:"1 : smelt l{ selected wood so that it could be used to
smelt the iron. ,/ Il lo ok tuo dwarves to hrt
the cauldron of lentil soupfor the workers
at the ironworkl.

Radicd L jr,L
"u 2 --.J
.) {:
,)t.t\

25r,^,,, 8 strokes

"You must learn how to select the correct

thread ? (z::u) * setect Aru r:o :
l?!.\t\$e6) shtrlidn skitled, skilfull
train ffi thread if you want to train to become a
dressmaker." / Two dwaryes come round
with q selection of things to test the
kntils (in place
students' skills, including
of sequins) to sew onto dresses.

715a f I -i

F lvy

,rt,&l}:: Badical
g strokes
q
l'
l) ,t,1-
':2 ':i

Vandals attack the ilry they strike it and

-
ivy F(;rsut + strike *irr!,ut : piece fi leave only a single piece in place. / The
king calls in the ghostly dwarf to guard
[f flpry sh6ududn means, measurel his special dandelion (so that it doesnl
meet the same fate).
CHAPTER 36 322

"' f'fr i*:* Radicat

14 strokes
f t ,.) ti :i
,,,1)
;i ,jj tir
gold f lzrroy + piece Firrst = forge fJ[ The king donates a gold piece to be forged
into a gift. / He gives it to the ghostb.
$fi j,{ur:t duinliin tlo phtsical exercise dwarfas a rewardfor guarcling his special
dandelion.

v17a
tirn
to store

You might prefer to think of this as "seven" plus "pit"; if so, feel free to make up a ston
accordingly.

717 _t^--,- Badical fi

tltlil
t/_,,r\
or"
sesslon
'10 staokes
+ .l' ;1.,-
it i;'ii )t

You are writing a book and store the pages

store tt;ro) * page fii+rry = session tfi you have produced at the end of each
session. / The ghostly dwarf who guards
[- fifr.ffuo,ya san dirn fin three meals) the pages thinks it's such driyel th.tt he
keeps a dunce's cap on top of them as a
paper"weight.

"' ,kE nn", Radicar

10 strokes
y'(
) ll 1 ':");

He's trying to light a fire with a page torn

fire J(, r.r, + page rflra,z, : bother ,i(l from the newspaper but keeps burning
-
his fingers on the matches. "Bother!" he
l'lfifezq f nlio troublel cries. "Bother, bother,botherr." / The fairy
offers to fon rhe .flames vt ith her wings.

Test yourself: 4t,,rot Xo,o, Fturrt 6,u0, +F" eo lfrrrnrt 4it /.314)
[f{.,r, (#",, &,,0r, fH,,u,, =r (o2) HS (409)
++.
J-f (465)
I Jtnu, 4\rror 4,u0" ,,E",u, 4i
(r,r7) (506)
E (s39)

iH {,1h) Eh,r", F,'o*, E-'o-,, Hn"., +)J (230)

* (5 r4)
 Chapter 37

As you review the characters you learned way back in the earliest chapters, there will be
many which you instantly recognize, and others where you have to think for a while, and
recall the story in your head. Ofcourse, there are also bound to be many characters which
you have tried to learn a lew times but keep forgetting. Often the thing to do with these is
to go back to the story and really explore the setting, imagine yourselfas part ofthe action
and embellish the story with more details. Il all else fails, make a list of the characters
you find particularly problematic, and teach them to somebody else (one of your lellow
students, or even a friend who is not studying Chinese). Teaching son.rething is a very
effective way oflearning it yourself we've both been teachers so we know!

71ga
chi )' rl ii
d ve out
The gang use an axe to chop splinters out
axe ,Fi1:+01 + splinter \ (6e5a) : of the door of anyone they want to drive
drive out ,F out of the neighborhood. . No pronuncia-
tion needed
In some typefaces the splinter doesn't reach
all the way across the vertical stroke.

719 \ r'J Badical l,

7 strokes
-L
) t- rii ':)i
l./F x,
The lurid words scrawled on the wall urge
j, * people to drive out any tbreigners; the
words (r:.) driYe out J'-Ttzrs,l =
tell i/F authorities have asked people to tell the
police if they know who was responsible. ,/
*tll'rLur giosir ro rell. inJornr) The dwarf police fficial will be stqtiofled
qt the supermarkel (reqdy to tqke reports).

,ro^
Lfi ,,,n
,/ ii
/ J approximate
m In the palace kitchens they hang a ladle
thread 2 (2lla) + ladle tli:rut = from a thread and use it as a makeshift
pendulum (to time the boiled eggs)
n -
a
haditional method, but only approximate!
This also means to make an appointment or / [No pronunciatictn neededJ
come to an agreement.
CHAPTER ]7 324

720 --+ Badical

+
2h
.-- J 'n, medicine
9 strokes
)) t"1 j.l

The sick cow has eaten poisonous plants

grass +rzttoy * approximate ,-\ t ruoy =
which looked approximately like grass,
medicine Z! and so now has to take some medicine. ,/
But as the dwarf assistant reaches for the
l4 Eoszt ydofdng pharmacyl medicine, the cow stands on his foot and
Il{,f 1:sy yiopi}rn pill, tabletl he yells out, "Yeow! "

721a l-, :' ji

--++ zhFns
T- conrend
(In the pickpocket's master-class) The
bow F(sra) + dexterity $1:rzol = expert demonstrates his skill by bowing
to the volunteer and with great dexterity,
contend f simultaneously picking his pocket without
This character can mean "argue (about)" or being noticed. "I contend, ladies and gen-
"compete (for)". You may see an older form tlemen," he says, "that this is the ultimate
of this character which has "claw" (365b) skill." / [No pronunciation needed]
instead of "bow".

"' l#,:x, Radical

8 slrokes
/ :1 ).j i+

The tour guide in the arctic points to the

ice i rrooa) + contend frq-: .1 = clean ,fi ice and says, "I contend that this is the
most pure and clean water in the world."
Fip, r.:r, gEnjing cleun radjecrive.l / The dwarf in charge of the huslq.' sledge
for tronsport jingles the sledge bells
impatiently (heb heard it all before and
wants to move on).

722 lI:,, Radical fr- l )..

i '-l j:

Hf
1
14 strokes
un ':i i ,iI

blue-green fr1:::1 * contend !1tztu;: (Two people are arguing over the color ofa
calm ffi book in the library) "I contend it's blue!"
"I
contend it's green!" "Calm down!"
{ffi1sry enjing quier, peaceful / The dwarf librarian
says their ffiend.
lf#ooqr pingl\ng calm, quietl jingles hLs bell for quiet-
 125 CHAPTER ]7

daybreak
"We'll meet up at the crossroads for an
len J-'a' + early F.,oll, = dar break { early start get there by daybreak or
we'll go without yott." / [No pronunciation
neededl

"' Hr5 ;lrr_ Radical

12 strokes
,{
:,.ii ::t.r.l
1i
) rl

daybreak B(;z:u) * moon E torl = (During theApollo missions) At daybreak

the moon had set in the USA, so they had
+i
to swap to an Australian ground station
IEB [Fltqer chdoyrlng sunry) aspect, which was now facing the moon. / The
exposed to the sunl .fairy had produced chowder to wake the
Australians up.

zhrro
, :f
eminent
The fortune teller got to her tent early
fortune teller that day, to prepare for an eminent client
1.1+:4 + early S1o::y =
eminent .{ (picture her polishing up her crystal ball,
etc.) / [No pronunciation neededJ
This is easy to confuse with "daybreak"
(723a).

"' IH flT", Radical I

11 strokes
tI 1, .l.j 1),

ii.
hand t rts:ar + eminent
The eminent surgeon holds out his hand
EU:qat:
for the scalpel, but promptly drops it! /
1+
The two dwarfclinical assessors exchange
[,8]Frr:or ydngdiio to use upf glances they have doubts about the
If ]$1u+iy miidiio to sell outf surgeon
-
s competence (however eminent
[614oosr wingdiio to.forget) he is ).

Testyourself: i'ffirro:r ffirsol ffir,ror ffirtott f*,, fircnt ,|ff,r,

[K,uuo, ff1onrt fil],rn, [,Brr,r Er.or, El ,r,, #eo,t
CHAPTER 37 326

Radical /!
,0 strokes t- r'f-

The fortune teller sets up her stall out

forlune teller l.i+:ar * sun EJror * of the sun under the shade of the tree,
tree .tr(troul = table H and puts her crystal ball on a table. / The
ghostly giant watches over her to dissuade
F<tttlt znlJozt table, desk .nyone ftom making ajoke of hex

726a
t' 1
"earring"
"Put your ear here on my knee ard I
z * ear 4tssoi yoLt:' / [No
will fix your earring for
knee 1roral = earring 4
prununciation neededl
The bit on top of the "ear" is sometimes
written like "nail" instead of "knee",
although it's actually derived from "work"
(Character 147)!

u Radical { I ,i "I 7 .'J :ai

*u,
E-t 11 strokes
:lL

earring {lrzeuy } tap { 1rsoul

lT.fu\o.zort birgindang
(polite, modest replt to compliment)l
: dare S{ (At the pirates' lair in the creek, the door
is in the shape ofa giant pirate's head) You
Thank you tap on the earring to gain entry and
- enter
a voice booms out, "Who dares to
here?" / But actually itb only Teddy on a
gantry behind the door (speaking into a
megaphone).

Radical
6 strokes
{
I tl t'
Harry always goes to sit high up in the
leisure ,flt tree whenever he has leisure time. ,/Zoday
{ 1r:ay * tree ttroul:
he's watching the two giants put on a
lt,E.ror:r xiuxi tuke a) rest show,
 327 CHAPTER 37

"' E:[.", Radical

I strokes
L 1
V t: rI:
On the single-track road the two drivers
road Ltzra) + stubborn p1:su; : sit, both stubbornly waiting for the other
retreat iE to retreat. / The ghostly dwarf, who
guards the stretch of road, gets out his
l:8f.tritz:rt tl\d\t to retirel tape measure (to see who woulcl hcrye to
reverse the least distqnce).

"' fiB i:; Badical

13 strokes
lj
) 1 I ,i
.11
i i ir t:; i)
,,l''l lr;1 'it-

moon ,[1011 * retreat [1tzr1 : leg ffi (The Apollo astronauts had finished their
moonwalk) They had to leave the moon
[dffi1,r1 dntui rnrgr] and make a rapid retreat into their space-
cralt (before their oxygen ran out), but one
trapped his leg in the airlock. / Back inside
the lunar module the ghostly teddy who
looked after the astronauts meqsured the
Ieg with q tape meqsure (to see if it was
all there!)

E]
\/^
diru
bean
::-
The pilgrims piled up their gifts at the feet
+ feet of the statue each pilgrim had brought
uP E (150b)
-loou) = 5"u, a tin of holy -beans. / [No pronunciation
neededl

,a
ffi
Radical j:,-
1' i: .',:a
duin '12 strokes
brief nii

arrow ji(asou) * bean 9t::ou1 = 5.1"t g- Wrlliam Tell could shoot an arrow to hit a
bean on his sont head, after only a brief
[ffiHca6) dudnqi short-term] glance to judge the distance. / The ghostly
teddy $,ho protects the son suggests putting
the bean on a pile of dandruff (to give him
more roomfor error) !
CHAPTER ]7 328

73la

x FI
shout out

mouth E(5) + heaven X(76):

1l
)' i
"Tirm your mouth to the heavens and
shout out your message,"' the preacher
shout out fl tells his congregation. / [No pronunciation
neededl.

731 Radical
'l -rr -irt
]F
1,

wu I strokes
t I

mistake
(Monks are poring over a piece of
calligraphy) Looking over the beautiful
words i (oz") * shout out ft1r:rut:
words, they shout out whenever they spot
mistake i.i a mistake. / The dwarf, who wrote it, is
This also means "to miss" (e.g. a train, by wounded by their criticism (and goes off
arriving too late). in a hufi).

[j,EArsgt wntui misunderstanfl

liE,firrs5t wirdiin /are overtlue, behind
schedulel

'r t i
cIi; crii '.:\
7N pick
With her clawlike hand the old crone
- reaches up to the tree to pick the apple. /
claw (36sb) + tree zltfroo = pick *
[No pronuncialion needed]
Try not to confuse this with "claw marks"
(734a) at flrst glance they look almost
-
identical.

Radical , -) :r -x '?,, :li'2

"' 1'l strokes
I t
*/;;.,,,, ':1,)

The hairdresser picks out individual hairs

colorfil -P to highlight, producing a colorful effect. /
Teddy wants a whole new slyle !
TE 6i(14l) .ltngcal thrilling, exciting
ffilfu1ut1 cdisi multi-colorefl
 329 CHAPTER 37

733
It Radical
*
,i'
)K cii
vegetable
'11 strokes

grass +(218a) + pick ft12:ra; = The greengrocer knows the best grass to
pick, and uses it to display his vegetatrles
* to best effect. /Bul the dwarfowner always
tE*ca bfiiciti cabbagel clicrates the exact style of the display.
littjlcr0) ztritcdi to cookl
lffr#.otzt fdncii foofl
t,F,*rrssr dilncii to choose (items from
a menu)l

73aa \-f7 .I' )

7T( "",,* *,.0."
The palaeontologist fills his beret with
beret '- (8ea) + rice X(::+) :
rice and pours it into the fossilized claw
claw marks X marks to measure their volume each
-
claw mark takes up a whole beret-full
This is very easy to confuse with "pick" of rice. (So it must have been quite a
(732a). dinosa;lrl) / [No pronunciation needed]

734b -iI| i J. ,. 1.].

-S- l'1." ,j-.1

'i
'rt'

claw marks *o:+,i * field EErrsrur : Picture huge claw marks scarring the
field. They have tried time aiter time to
a time 6 catch the beast which makes them, without
stccess. / [No pronunciation needed]

"' fffi iJ** Badical I

15 strokes
'.i ,'.i
:,t

hand ] 1rszal * a time 6t::+rt = sow 16
l-f6trot guingb-o broadctlst
He has to dip his hand, time after time,
into the bag as he walks up and down
sowing the seeds.,/The giant isfinding this
boring (even though he can do it in half
the time it would take most people ...)
CHAPTER 37 330

735 Radical / <'l

1
Z Ii,."",,".
3 strokes

He uses an ice trlade to practice his

ice / 1:eoal * blade l1::ru; : practice >l fencing skills. / The fairy conjures up an
insulated sheath to keep it itx.
Notice that "ice" is usually on the lefrhand
side but here it is enclosed by "blade".

-Y.rJ1s:t xudxf to stLtd!, leqrn

E Ztsot fixi review (a lesson)
t$,41tct liinxi to practice
lI >]te+:t yixi previeu,, prepare

736a :-1:--?
ttlt
/'14 t'u
l ill :l'i
':tl
-,f J feather
You would have to practice and practice
practice {1r:s1 + practice >](73s): before you could balance a f€ather on
feather ll your nose (without sneezing!) / [No pro-
nunciation neededl

-' Radical
18 strokes
{ -t! -,.):
l n
,il

ffiII flL ou", r',.,1

-:;l.r .,i :.'r:rl ,a,:' ,.4;1,

a time ffi1r:auy * feather llfztout =
turn over ffi
lffi}fr ottl fan{tn reconclition,
[ff]lER*rzr, z+o fAn gentou rrrr
somersaults; loop the loopl
Every time the feather (on the ground)
moves in the breeze, it ttrns over. / The
giant is creating the breeze with his fa
renovate] (on a nearby hill).

,\ (5e) Jl,o F
Test yourselt frrrrr EU
(e0) trl ( r85) ilL (2rqr fltu,ro,
ffi(6E71 ]fl1;a5, lA(a8r) l1fl (51r)
4rt
J!r (466) E A13) t&or*,
737a _\-,
.r.
--.Y* t1
l^
I watch over
In the prison at each shift change, the new
right hand n ti2) + criminal *1r.rou1 : warder shakes hands with the notodous
watch over f criminal as he arrives to watch over him.
/ [No pronunciation needed]
 331 CHAPTER 37

"' ffi ,,,.,u,.

Radical
7 strokes
1,
t ;2 ;>a ;z- ;i
(A crime scene: the dead man, a foreigneq
has managed to write something on the
words i 1rr.)* watch over F(:::u) =
floor beside him) The police have to
translate 'i*
watch over the words until someone
64 iE,r.r0, fanyi translate. inrerprer arrives to translate them. / The dwatf
police inspector is impatient he wsnts
to e-mail a translation instead.
-
for
738a
lL ,r--
1- ',i: .,
ytl
,4\ surplus
The tent they are working in is very
tent -/\(t9b) + work I(r+rt + small, so you can tell which one it is by
the pile of surplus equipment outside. ,/
small 4 \so) = surplus ft
[No pronunciation needed]
We have cheated a bit here by breaking the
lower part ofthis character into "work" and
"small".

738 Radical IJ
/ I,\ iJ ii4:

h
J:
I sirokes
;jL-"""
The mound of surplus office equipment
+ surptus ft1;:toy = has grown so big that the council has told
mound l3lsruy
them to remove it. / The fairy wqnts to
remove Jh
choose some things for herselffirst.
lh Tiesr chfle except, besides

A
Radical
)/' +i ,:t-
ch6 I strokes
tea
They set up their tent on the grass
grass +lzrtuy * tent ,/'(l9b) + undemeath the tree and the first thing they
tree zF(rou) = tea A do is make some tea. / The fairy relaxes,
saying, "This is a nice cup of cha."
Note that the bottom part ofthis character is
nol "surplus" (738a). Also note that the last
two strokes of "tree" have become slightly
detached.

lll*tzt:l h6ngchi black tea)

[*ffort clrri.t,Ei teq cup]
CHAPTER 37 332

740a --l-
/\_
t{ l,';"';,"
The extra trig malpole is for the most
big I(,+-' + may EIr r4o, : strange CT senior students; it's really strange to see
them dancing round it like small children.
/ [No pronunciation needed]

"' gff o'" Radicat

'11
$
strokes
.,;!
1
t ;j lf l,)

horse 9(++) * strange 6fr+o"l
This character means to ride an animal (or
bicycle) which you sit astride. Riding in a
bus or car is different (see 783a).
: ride 96 That horse may be very strangeJooking.
but it's wonderful to ride. / The fairy
streaks along on it, explaining, "That's
because it's haA cheetah."

l9fr-1r+qt qi me n ride a horsel

"' ft L'.
Radical
'12
/(
strokes t I i :.)

,:J-

tree .t(tou) * strange ff1r.roul = chair ffi

ffilq1 yizi chair

The tree is a strange shape and part of

it has been carved into a chair. / Picture
Teddy sitting on it, munching his choco-
lqte Easler egg.

742 r+ Radical
A .;::
ii:
fi{:.. 11 slrokes
',J

house A(sta) * strange friz+ou1 = send ff "The house is really strange," she pleads,
"Please don't send me there. / The dwarf
[ffi{S.\os;. ra jijiinr6n sender (of who lives there is weird, even d he is a
letter)f genius."
 Chapter 38
We hope that you've enjoyed writing the characters at the same time as you,ve been
learning lhem. Writing Chinese characters can be fun and satisfying, even ifyou have no
interest in being particularly artistic about it. Ifyou are interested in calligraphy, however,
Chinese characters are a fascinating subject and there are many books available. To do
it properly you will need a writing brush and thick black ink. The Chinese themselves
hold calligraphy in high esteem, ranking it alongside, if not above, painting, sculpture
and poetry.

7a3a
+F- '+
I

Fl itie otooays
"Leave the bacon rashers out in the sun
bacon rashers Jl1625a) + sun El(6): that's how we used to cook in the
the old days 'H- old days, my boy." / [No pronunciation
neededl

743 h+I: Badical f 't i;l' .r, * j,.:i. r: i!

i,

?H i.lL,*.
13 strokes
L:;
,1 i'r] +tJ

gold f tzraat + the old days ffir+:uy : The sailors were paid in gold in the old
mistake fff days-which was a mistake as it attracted
pirates. ,/ So the ghostly dwarJ' stowed
ffiiitz:rl cudwi ent:tr; be mistakenl otl)qy on the ship to guanl the gold.
frffi1sy bfcud not bad, quite rightl

744 /li.
'lEt ...
Badical
'10
1
strokes i
;l- ..,...} t,
ti it' i:l' i:
'ffi,"*
In the old days Harry had nothing, and
person 'f 1r:a; * the old days fr1r+:ny = had to borrow everything. / He became
borrow iE jealous of the two pawnbroker dwuttes.

Used to mean either "borrow" or "lend" (the

meaning being made clear by the context).

['f#,Htr:ot jiiydng 6orzr,u (and ttse)l

Test yourself: x (21i) f;orrl /(rsr:r ffiooat {roxr firorq W,rrn,

ln (so) BElr, fr1srsr Si,rul f{1r,zr Er,r,r Efun,
CHAPTER 38 334

745a +I:
H "midnight feast"
They took bacon rashers into the
bacon rashers li 1oz:uy *
moon ,! lory =
moonlit forest for a midnight feast. / lNo
feast fr prcnunciation neededJ

Compare this with "the old days" (743a

above).

745 ++L Radical t

12 strokes
Fltr :?;.,."
midnight feast + tap t At the midnight feast in the forest they
fr1r+soy trsuot:
tr are eating hungrily when the lookout
taps out a warning on the tree and they
ffifa:s) sembir a stroll: to stroll all disperse quickly. / When the dwarf
arrives, all hefnds is a pile ofabandoned
sandwiches.

746a
rL
H ravlne
From the air, what looked like a string
several ,11,(r) + mouth E(s)=ravine fi of several mouths in the landscape, was
actuallya deep ravile. / [No pronL{nciation
neededJ

"' flft;il"" Radical

11 strokes
fr
ljrj
) il t:l , ti ,l'') -jii'

boat fflosouy + ravine ft1r+rul
Ii1=1ff,r+r: r qichlin sreanship]
lflhlfi,s,n' chuSnchdng rhipyardl
lflftfif+rst chu6nyuin sailor; crew)
lflfiHr+:ry chu6npiio boat ticket]
: ship ffft They sailed the boat down the ravine
until it opened out, and there on the lake
was a beautiful golden ship. / Beyond the
lake the ghostly fairy wqited to guide them
through the next dangerous channel.
 335 CHAPTER 38

747 hr1L Radical + ,.4 'i:l:

t .,..)

,tr L?J
10 strokes

The pirates store their gold in the ravine,

because there (in the gloom) it Iooks like
gold f c7E") + ravine fit:+cot = Iead ?qL
lead. / [DIY pronunciationJ
This is lead, the metal (not "lead" as in "to
lead the way").

Tij=i4sl) qlanDl pex( r/

Test yourself: ffio:tt y'qosrr f-1,+e1 frr+za fr,zee1 (6r7) [fiir*ro,

=
Eeuot E1rrr, ffi1rrr, &,rrr, *,rrrr E (3,r4) ft rro,
748a *-f--"
.!
tF^ I

,/\L* bntt nf
"t.,th
The stall-holder whips off his cap when
cap -(217a) + stop he realizes that ith the princess who has
/.b(30") =
stopped at his stall and he quickly
bolt of cloth E - of cloth for her
produces his finest bolt
This character is to mistake f'or inspection. / lVo pronunciation neededl
"uprighf'(30b).

'-'ffiriJ Radical E
1'l strokes
i'" t. r1.:.
:,:.

bolt of cloth E(748o) + insect -H,rcrs,y

: The tlolt of cloth has been invaded by
insecls. who have laid tiny white eggs in
E it. / The dwarf (a market tracler selli g
the cloth) tells his customers itl\ only
dandruff.

749a
l t: I .)'

It takes two trees to make a wood (and

tree ,,f'.1toay * tree y'ttroot = a wood .t4t three to make a foresl). [No pronun(ia-
tion needecll
CHAPTER 38

,0,
t6
AE "n,,
.1.u,
Radical
13 strokes
E 'l
+
;.::

a wood ffilzasay + bolt of cloth Etz+s,t = For the picnic they took a bolt of cloth
clear ft to the woods and had to clear a space
to spread it ott. / When they opened the
i6$o:;t qingchu clear (inage, speech) picnic basket, they found Tefuly inside
chewing on a sausage!

,t, Radical ffi

n
ffi;i, 1'l strokes
,rl l.
ri tl j;,r

shelter l'1noy * a wood ffip+eu) =

They build a shelter in the wood to hide
lfr their hemp crop. / When it is ready the
fairy takes it to mrket
You will sometimes see this character
with "detached final strokes of trees" (see
Character 739).

,ffiffitzrst mif6n to bother; trouble

lfiRfrozot miyio anestheticl
[]ffi*4/f;ars, +e:r mifan nin l(ould yott
mind...?l

751 Badical E ')' -:l

ffi*,, "i
I
14 strokes
,i!
I

mouth E(5) + hemp ffitrsot = surely ffi "You need some hemp in your mouth
you'll surely feel the effects.",/'Zerb
-send the robot to get some the market
* nobody will suspect him!from"

ir' ,1t-
::, r)a
li :Il

subordinate
ffi On the oil rig out at sea, fi-ring the
pipes under water calls for dexterity,
dexterity $ 1:rza; * water /(1s::y =
but it's tedious work so it's a job that is
subordinate fl always given to the subordinates- / [No
This is cheating slightly as the bottom half pronunciation neededl
isn't really "water" (see also Character 524);
the same applies to Character 753 below.
 337 CHAPTER 38

-' l;*:r ,I
I# Hffin."nn
i:.:,

shelter l(t:o) * subordinate ft1rs:ul : The manager wants to build a shelter for
health ,ffi his subordinates to keep them in good
health. / The giant workman comes to
lEffirosgr jiink[n g heabh, heahhv build it
- w,ith a ksngaruo assistont trho
keeps the tools in her pouch.

753 Badical=
lir 8 strokes l' ).
to record
Each time the pig dips his snout in the
water, the naturalist exsitedly records it.
snout
=(267a)
+ water f.ts::l = record * '
His dwarf ossistont thinks this obsession
Note that the flnal stroke of "snout" (267a) is ludicrous.
is extended here.

ilEcsa lr)yin (sound) recording

[id,*r:;:t jili to recorcl, a recorcfi
,uofrr,, Radicat L
'11 strokes
'|'', ,r.l
...:' :..:.

thread 9 t:::ot a record ft12::y = fl Thread-work (like the Bayeux tap-

estry) is often used to record important
!* events or stories. Picture the story of
l2-12*lf ey. wt h6ngliirt€ng rrllc Robin Hood being stitched and they
light, stoplightT keep running out of green lhtead. / The
dwarf had to go out in th? pa,uring rqiu
to get luminous gteen thread (to clo the
night scenes).

7s5 ) I... Badical , l ,,., 1j" ::i ;:, ,;,;

IR [,,", 10 slrokes

fr The brigade are looking for their

banner fl(osrot * brigade tranner as they are about to travel (and
Kloo+or =
travel nft want to fly it over their new barracks). /
Theyfnd Teddy taAing a barh iu the pouring
Jjk'[1 tt r t lixing trev t e rain with a loofuh (aru| he's pinched the
lnk$isost liki passenger; hotel guestl bqnner lo use as a bqth towel).
CHAPTER 38 338

756a l\
-HU -!
'1 't) - i:'r fn
Ll]u,u,,,,,,,.,
He combined two canoes together to
66m[i1s .z\1sea) * canoe EU (eob) =
make a catamara\. / [No pronunciation
neededl.
catamaran ft

'uu ,|ft Radical'f

12 strokes
,I :/ l.\ '11'
-
'ii' i- ,tf.
il[,, ,' 't,..1'

heart 'f (::sa) * catamaran f|1;s0,1: i He had set his heart on a catamaran
'tff so is really happy when he finally gets
one. / The fairy comes out in the pouring
'ffi'ft1+o:y yikuii happy; pleasant rain to wite the name "Eureka" on the
side of the boat with her wand (which for-
tunately conjures up waterproof paint).

757 Radical f L lri.

i[ ,1 ;1"
13 strokes
i,l ittl iiir

car $1sry * catamaran 6i(;sou) = The car has a race with the catamaran
but in the end it loses. / Halfway round it
lose ffi
had crashed into the giant's shoe.
This means "to lose a game" (not "to mislay
something") and also "transport".

[:Efftor yirnsht transport, catry,

trqnsportqtionf
[fft,!jlrray sh[chu emit; exportl
LtE{ ,(rt0q) shu.lla the loser (in a game)l

758 \--)r Badical / ,j" /n

/El::r 10 strokes

Ice covers the capital and finally cools it

ice 7 (:eoa) + capital Htz:sut : cool lH dorryr after the sweltering summer. / The
two faiies, who had been languishing in
7fi'Rr+o:l li6ngkuai (pleasantly) cool the heat, come to life again.
 339 CHAPTER :]8

759 \ _)- Radical l, :,.i

t 1 "t'i
l,rfl
'10 strokes
H1."
The peace activists have painted words on
words i 62") * capital fr12:ery : walls all over the capital: "Forgive your
*?#+ enemies" is the message. / The two
iB
dwartes object to the uncouth language
Fiio:o yudnliing to excuse, forgtue (and take it in turns to remove the b'ords).

760a
) i i1 ..i1

lV ,"rtin one's sJeep

Ifyou spend all evening dwelling on your
evening f lorlu; + hardship g(s66a) = hardships you will turn in your sleep all
turn in one's sleep ,g nigltt. / [No pronunciation needed]

760b /;l-r' ," ,' - rii

ra
fE
';.

;il,,-
Once again the house had appeared in his
house ^'-(9ra) + turn in one's sleep dreams, and he turned in his sleep with a
,g(760a) : winding ,E groan, knowing that the endless winding
path would be next. [No pronunciation
neededl

"' frfr, #*, Radical

13
fi
skokes
iit" li;; i,,,{
t 1' i,' trr' ti

stone 6(t* winding fEt;oort :

tsa) The children ro11 small stones down
bowl ift the winding marble-run and the stones
clatter into a bowl at the bottom. / IDIY
lffilftotzl fdnwin rice bowt; li,elihoofl pronunciationJ
lfrffi,ffr.ezz,:tzt liing f)rn wln two bowls
of icel

Test )oursetf: Jf,,r,r, li (62s) fri:o,r ftr,rzr Erro, fficra *16,or,

[Eot #b (262) fJlrsa fipnul #,,," !fi6rot t { (s rr,)

CHAPTER 38 340

761 Radical * -t ,,]-

'n lj
I
6ffi:^,, strokes 1

The grain drying in the sun gives off a

grain fr1rzeu) + sun El rrt = fragrant 6 fragrant smell. / The beo giants from
Shanghai agree that they hqve never
This character appears in the name Xidng- smelled anything like it.
gI"g, 6j6, "Hong Kong" the other
character (ffi, "harbor") is not an HSK A
character.

t6,k,::,, xidngshui perfume. scenr)

t{ffi',rr, riangilng essence tof planul
IH r) xidngq\ aroma. sweet
-trar smelll
[6$isosl xiangki pilgrim]
[6y'<trsri xianghud burning incense,
etc. (in a temple)l

,ur^
bv
,/).A
,u
slave
( ) -j1

When the woman shakes hands with him

women ;N1rsy + right hand n(52) : he notices the mark on her wrist which
marks her out as a slave. ' [No pronuncia-
slave fi tion neededl

762 ]!
Radical
, -x :l.l -1t
'1 ,/:
nu 7 strokes
exert oneself
They used slave power to build the
slave fi1lrzu; * power pFamids the foremen made sure that
)J1,t):
the slaves -exerted themselves to the full.
exert oneself $ / Nowadays it s just a ruin and Teildy sits
4 f' u' n i make graar efforts; rryt han) on it eating his noodles.

763a ,r ti r:
l}
'hfl .. t ,n
r''n
,l\\ scorched :;i
,;l-

pigeon ftlsotuy + fire,,,.(185a) = The pigeon sat by the fire for too long and
scorched H scorched his tail feathers. / [No pronun-
ciation neededl
 341 CHAPTER 3I]

763 +

H
Radical
2 i
Jrao 15 slrokes
Ibanana] it ,'.;

grass +i:tsu; * scorched R(763a) = The grass had been scorched by the
banana H fire, but the bananas on the trees were
tndamaged,. / The two giants (who owned
the banana plantation) had been off at a
jousting match (and were relieved that
their crop was alright).

764a j!
It t
*
FI ruoe
He displayed great dexterity with his
dexterity $1:tzal + mouth E (5) : mouth to make laces of which
- many needed]
rude A were rude! / [No pronunciqtion

Notice how the bottom part ol "dexterity"

has been truncated.

;i i:l
'uoo H ,,inu
ri'- tl
/ l:7 rang
They had to build a shelter to hide the
shelter l-(no) * ruds $1zr4oy = Tang ,E rude statues from sensitive eyes, particu-
larly those from the Tang dynasty. / [No
This is "Tang" as in the name ol the Tang pronunciation neededl
dynasty.

"- Badical
16 strokes
ft .i
i r' i:-r
ffi:il*", i:t! ;"::il J:,'i' :).:i;:j. .i,ti,.
't,i

rice )(1::11 + Tang ffi1ro+u1

: sugar ffi Rice from the Tang period was as sweet as
srgar. / Bur only rhe fairy can conjure up
ttffR(r87) tinggurl caruly, sweetsf Tang rice nowadays.
[tEtt+:a tingyi sugar-coating, sugar-
coqtedl
[-lftffitr,4o:t yi kuAi ting a lump oJ.
sugarl
CHAPTER 38 342

765a A
,R )' , e
hesitate
The butterfly emerges from the cocoon
cocoon z\(34a) + eight,rltzol + and the first thing it sees is an octopus,
E(:ooa) = hesitate i which it pursues, thinking the octopus
is its mother but when it gets closer it
- its mum have qalte so
hesitates. (Would
many legs'?) / [No pronunciation needed]

Badical E I I !l $ T! |j t.f t;'

suan 14 strokes
wa sour i'i'.' ii, iit itii
whisky bottte Slro:oy * hesitate f The alcoholic picked up the whisky bottle
1ros,;
: sour ffi but hesitated the last drink had tasted
-
very soar. / The ghostly giant (from Alco-
1ffif {!psr. s::; suannirinii yogzrr,' holics Anonymous) had tompered with his
sour milkl liquor by steeping his sandals in it!

766a
t 9.

The first bag of grain from the harvest was

grain * women 4(rst
ift1r:ouy : carried proudly on her head by the woman
who had been entrusted to present it to
entrust f lheking. / [No pronunciation needed]

"u Radicalri
-13
j 4
.t- tx
ffi:i",, slrokes
-i<

arrow jit+soo) * entrust {1:r,r,a1 : The apprentice Cupid takes the arrows
short ffi he has been entrusted with. For his first
solo mission he is only allowed to bewitch
l&Aon ilizi dwarf; short personl shortpeoplel / Teddy skips about marking
likely targets with iodine to identifu them-

restyourselr: fitora {c+o Eptooot fa]a*,r IHr, frt,ret .Hu,u,

At'o iflr,*r Jffii,orr j5,,oo, lft,or,, i4*on,, E.orr,
 Chapter 39
Only two more chapters to go!

tfl
old book

,,1

K
pierced ruler K,l.,.t

x
high up

a
?
legion
CHAPTER 39 314

'r'^ 'l
,i lr: ril J
W
I

iJf,f",",r
At the zoo, the
mother monkey feels a
a drop . 1:za1 * enclosed !1:,ru1 * drop ofrain so pursues the baby monkey
ursue kisoorl : chimney El round the enclosure but the baby
monkey climbs up the- chimney out of
ln some typefaces "pursue" gets changed to reach. / [No pronunciation neededJ
a leaned-over version of "criminal".

6 chuing
window

hole i((616a) + chimney

Radicar
12
i(
sliokes
,,r; ,.]

Imagine making a hole in the chimney

I
,):..
,1
'li

fi12r,:oy =
above your fireplace and installing a small
window 6
window (so that you can watch the smoke
ff Ft:ost chuanghir window going up it a nice talking point for your
visrtors). - pronunciationl
/ [DIY

'6** 4+. l

"bricks"

dr .-. .i:' ',i'

to block up
house +1sra) * bricks lrtzesal
t rtrzut = block up
The octopus built his house out of bricks
* and blocked up his chimney (to stop the
4 wolf coming down heU read the story!)
/ [No pronunciation- neededJ

+
+
768 Radical ,i' ,..r I
hdn '12 strokes
freezing :L ::
block up E, oubr + ice crystals .'{)ro,, =
+

All the pipes in the house are blocked up

with ice crystals in the freezing weather. ,/
Thefairy pulls lengths of laggingfrom her
handbag tto wrap round the pipesl.
 345 CHAPTER ]9

>
769 & Radical

t! sari
compete
14 strokes
,.11
,1.

: They had to block up a big trench on the

block up 41;osu1 + sea shell [ 1'rrzul
beach with sea shells so that they could
compete ff compete in the sand-yacht races / The
LL#i::s) bishi competition dwarf sounded the siren to stqrt eqch
l#EEro:st siiplo a (running) ruce] race.

1 t:

old book

770b 5}J 1 i ,tj ,:t-)

"1.:

ffi;"o'''on They propped the door open with an old

f book- But it slammed in the wind and
door f, 1zorl old book Fl trro"l = flat Iffi
knockedthe book flzt. / [No pronunciation
neededl

77o \ cf Radical J._. 1

.1 1,1 '.i.
12 strokes
@3i1i",,n.,.. 1,' l :ii
In Holland the roads are all flat -
rcn6 i126,1 + flat ,ffitrrnol =
everywhere, there are no hills at all. / TPa
E dwames sit on a bench bemoaning this
This also means "times" as in "l've been (they can't get a good view anywhere).
there three times."

[]Eor senbiirn three tinesl

Radical +k ..:
771 /f^^
lsstrokes
ffi il:l"ro,o.,
|.::
.t 11 ,i.,
,
.1-ti
:.'

lmagine pounding slivers of green

bamboo rA(:zr,) * flat ,ffitzrotl:
bamboo flat and joining them together to
of oaper ffi
make a primitive piece of ptper. / The two
ginnls each make you something to h'rite
with and the other a
- one makes Pen
a
pencil so you can tY them out.
CHAPTER 39 346

Ff 1
n
trl fhang
prosperous
!_

A couple consult an astrologer who tells

fi101 :
them, "Looking at your two sun signs I
sun B(6)+sun prosperous fl see that you will be prosperous." ,/ lVo
p ro nunc i ati o ft ne e tl e dl

772 Badical E
EI ching 1'l strokes
l -,1 .,i, :}fl
[
EI sing ..*

mouth E (5) + prosperous fl1;uzul = At the mouths of their caves the prosper-
EE ous people can afford to employ servants
to sing an appropriate song when someone
tA[EarA |rrdclrrdng chorus) approaches (instead of having doorbells).
/ [DIY pronunciation]

Test yourselft '|ioest f ttrr BU rq0) ,fircott $1eo ffiosot ,H't,u,r

*uro, Boo, nFrr" Woun, H-r^ut hfruor, frtun,
773a
l i-"
1=I
hood
When flying his biplane in the outer
outer limits ll(l6oa) + two :(2) : limits the pilot is so cold he has to put his
hood t= coat hood up (over his flying helmet). /
[No pronunc i ation neede dJ
When it is part ola composite character, this
is easily mistaken for "sun" ( E , Character
6) unless you look closely.

773
l=I mho
Radical
9 strokes
E f1
I il a1 >1

El risk
The thief is so well-known that even with
hood Er-;:ar + eye [1,o1. = y151 gt his hood pulled down over his eyes he runs
the risk of people recognztnghim. / the
Another major meaning is "emit" or ..give dwarf secuity guard spots him an2,way, as
off" he recognizes the thief's mouth.

l Etssrt glnmho cqtch a cold

 317 CHAP. : -

't
"'F EIFl mio
hat
Radicar
12 strokes
fll

towel fi1azz,y * risk Errzt: hat rlrp (At the boxing match) One trainer threu.
a towel into the dng, as there was a risk
ll?Ttnl mdozi hqt, cap his boxer could get badly injured the
other trainer threw his hat in the - air
triumphantly. / LlnJbrtunately the hat hit
the dwarf re;feree in the mouth (which
started another fght).

775a L t
lE ;l;i'..r*.,
-
,,i\.

The unicorn, standing on the cliff, sees a

cliff f-ruot + one -(tl + skirt round one of the stars. "Itb a planet
a skirt r<roo5a, = heavenlv bodt ,E with rings, or some other heavenly body.,,
/ [No pronunciation needed]

E. Radical E '.-!

/E ch6n
morning
1'l strokes .tL

sun flio; * heavenly body rEtzrs,t : When the sun rises and the other heavenly
bodies dim, it is morning. / [DlY pronun-
,E
ciqtionl
Pftto::t zloch6n (early) morning

776a
L i.l ,l +
pierced

Writing this one often catches people out! It is derived from ,,mother,, (Character 127) and
has the same "sloping" appearance. Contrast the stroke order with, for example, the siroke
order for "field" (156a). The stroke-count for this ftagment is 4, not 5!

776b
FFr L i1

,1 iff:. I n t1 ti
Finding a pierced sea shell on the beach,
pierced ff(776a) + sea shell !]1+12,1 : shethinks, "I couldpierce lots ofshells and
,1
string them together to make necklaces!,,,/
[No pronunc iatio n n ee ded]
CHAPTER 39 348

l-B Radical'f ,l.L

'ji* 'iif 'it:
l,] guin
habitual
'11 strokes
;;i
J

heart 'f 1::euy *

pierce fi1:zery = Cupid flies around the neighborhood
habitual 'ffi piercing the hearts ofthe habitual crimi-
nals (in the hope that this will reform
-'j'lff'-,', xfguin h,tbit: be usetl ro them). / The ghostly dwarf, who protects
the neighborhood, sits on a gantry, clirect-
ing who to shoot at.

777 a .-----"
l_t' chi t' ,(
,/ \ ruler

This time the ruler is not a monarch, but a ruler lor measuring things. A "meter", the unit
of length, is AR (gongchi) although a more colloquial character for meter is X (mi,
Character 334).

"' ]8 iI:
Badical
7 strokes
1_ 'lr: i.t ra

Some small boys are playing with a ruler

road L,:oo, * ruler (r--11 = 131s fl on the road (measuring out a hopscotch
pitch) and theyte going to be late for
EfUo+t chidlro be late (for meeting) school. / The fairy chases them olf, and
wipes the chalk marks off the road with a
chapati.

\ -)..

high up

Keep this distinct in your mind from \ ("pile of earth", 455a) and from { ("dagger',,
32a).

778b -+i., ;., -r-

e
--# vriu
-,/ LJ bni"nrin vro
High up on a pedestal stands a statue of
J[r:orol :
high up itzzsut + pedestal the legendary Chieftain Yao (who was
Chieftain Yao f in lact so legendary rhar he had his own
Chinese characterl) / [No pronunciation
Yao was a legendary emperor who lived a neededl
little over 4000 years ago.
 149 CHAPTF,R ]S

,r, ,IR{::, Radicarf(

)
.:' :i., .1, i;.
10 strokes

The villagers 1it a fire beside Chieftain

Yao's statue, but it got out of hand
fire y'(rrrr) + ChieftainYao frr:st): and stafied to burn the statue and its
burn lH
surroundings../.Lackily the giant had been
6ittrr+or tra shSo run a fetter taking a shower, and directecl the spray at
the fire to put it out.

) )i
to swallow

Compare this with "tooth" (780a below). The distinguishing feature is that "to swallow"
has a hook.

"'o 1
I' i,r t) ilv
,,r,""
Hf, The elderly man stubbornly refused to
* swallow the pills, saying, "Since I've
stubborn Rtzsr"t swallow Eotoul:
never swallowed a pill, I'm not going to
since EE
starl now." / [No pronunciation needed]
One of the strokes of "stubborn" is
missing here (see 28la). This is the form
which "stubborn" takes whenever there is
something else to its right in a composite
character

"' +Ffi:il."o naoical

13 strokes
/f
I

rl
t
/ rn,
,!
:i1
t iri

"The tree has been there since ancient

tree fr1r0"1 + since F.E(770b) =
times, and must be saved," the summary
tw
stated (although there was a huge report
Lt![ta:t digiri probably; more or less with all the details). / The dwarf will be in
charge of attaching guy ropes to support
the tree.

7B0a 1;-f J Z
T',:",o
Compare this with "swallow" (779a above).
CHAPTER 39 350

780 Radicat E .Z

W n, 7 strokes ''J'

The dentist looks into the mouth, sees a

mouth E (5) + tooth TOso"t = oh! [-T colored tooth and cies,"Oh!" / The giant
had tied colored yarn round the tooth
At the end of a phrase, this character can when he was trying to pull it out.
take a neutral tone (see Character 143 for
another example of this happening).

dv chuan
Radicat
9 slrokes
iI ,t
* penetrate
There was a hole in the tooth so the dentist
hole 7(rnro,r * tooth f had to penetrate it with his dill. / The
1rsoal:
ghostly giant had protected his friend's
+ root chtnnel until he got to the dentist.
QYe know you normally say "root canal",
but work with us here!)

Test yourself: ft,:sot q (2so) Elru, 7frr+:or $,euo iftrro,r hrorrr

li,,on',, f! (sr7) @,ou, lh'y B[r, ltuu', EIuo,
782a
H[
_H r1
t1
y' \ different

field El(r:oa) + collectively dlrzs) : Imagine each member ofyour family own-
ing a field, and farming them collectively,
different E even though each person has a different
crop. / [No pronunciation neededJ

l r.I ,\ 11,

(In a self-defense class) "I want everyone

earth L(s+ul * dagger {1:zo1 = to plunge their daggers into the earth
before we start; I don't want anyone
wound l getting wounded like in the last session."./
Another "fused" character "earth" and [No pronunc iatio n ne eded]
"dagger" share a stroke. Compare this
with "I" (Character 32) all the way back in
Chapter 3.
 3sl CHAPTER 39

-{-Ir^ Radical {, .i: 1

dii 17 strokes

-E.I to wear :l ,':.:

:ii'
.d-
;ii.

different @1:szoy * wound atzszrl = In the hospital the patients with different
types of wound have to wear different
wear fi colored gowns (a red gown for arm
[?ffru tlr chuind]ri apparel, &.essl wounds, a green gown for leg wounds,
etc.\ /The hratfgrumbles as he has to dye
all the gowns.

783a "-f - it, ;l' jI a,l' ,ir

1 z
7tQ :#-
The north wind blows through the vast
fir:oal * north JLt:r:i : ride * fields ofgrainyou gaze at this vista as
you ride on the train through the Canadian
An unusual combination, where "north" is praiies. / [No prcntnciation neededJ
fitted around "grain" rather than just being
placed above, below, or to the side ofit.
This is to ride in a vehicle (remember
that in Character 740 we had another sort
of "ride", which involved sitting astride
something, like a horse or a bicycle).

"' *U :*T." Radicat Il

12 strokes
lir
l .
1i{

ride ft(rs:O + knife IIOaO : residue 4ll Imagine riding ona train, using a knife to
make sandwiches for your from lunch
the residue of last night's suppeL / IDIY
pronunciqtionJ

legion

784b r--)--.*
'F:l sua,I l'
El an official
The house to be allocated to each member
house Aisruy * Iegion Etrr+u): of the legion is decided by the town
an official E officirl. / [No pronunciation needed]
CI1APTER ]9 352

'* fE r::':J' 'i. it' i-

flxl1.0,,,0,,, 'l,l'
ffi
food f 1zssol * an official fr1zr+01 : (After an earthquake) Food is handed out
rE by an offcial at the public building. /I/,e
ghostly teddy dressed up as Gandhi is
lEl fi/Etasr. ruo; trish[gu5n /tbrarT sttpposed to guard thefood but larks about
instead.

Test yourself: f*u St,utl f r*t Lfiurt1 [,trt1 f;rro:r .. ,,,0,,

Er*r,r J*rr-r iI.,,o" ffiu,., )jporr ftr,,r,r K,,r,
We have given you sto es all thc way through this book rather than stopping halfivay through and
saying "the rest is up to you". However, for other characters beyond those included in this book,
you will have to make up your own stories. How do you do this? Lett expand on what we said at
the end of Chapter 7.
Suppose you are trying to make a story for "hand" + ,,sigh,, :.,throw,,, for example. As a starting
point, take the parts ofthe chaBcter (in this case, "hand" and "sigh") and see what your mind comes
up with. The best bet is often to use the firct thing that comes into you. head as the basis for the story,
because that is what you will naturally think ofagain, the next time you see ..hand,,plus ,.sigh,,.
Ncxt, link the taryet ("throw") to "hand" and "sigh", with a story in which these three parts
interact they sho\ld notjust be "standing around" in the story.
-
Make a list ofsoundu,ords for the required syllab1e and pick one which gives the most memorable
story (you can easily list all the ones we used in this book by looking up the characters with that
proounciation in the pronunciation index). With some syllablcs you will find there are lots of
soundwords to choose from, but for others you have very little choice, ard you just have to do the
best you can. Again, make the second part ofthe story interact with the fiISt pa ifyou can.
The best stories are those that are vivid
try to b ng in details which catch your interest,
that ate quirky and fun. Make the story urusual, by making it out of the ordinary, or rude: at the
very least, exaggerate things. A good thing to do at times is to bring in your other senses (imagine
sounds or smells). Finally, try to personalize your story: include people, places and things that have
particular significance for you personally. (This is one aspect we couldn't include in our stodes
for obvious reasons the best we could do was sorretimes to suggest that you you$elf are in the
-
story). You don't have to do all ofthese things for every story: these are just ways of,,spicing up,, a
story to make it more memorable. The only rule is, if it works (in that yoLl rcmember the character)
then it s fine!
Creating memorable stories is not easy (although you will improve with practice), but time spent
thinking up a really memorable story will be repaid many times over by all the roteleaming you
don't have to dol
 Chapter 40

This is the last page of character pictures in this book. We hope you've found them useful
(and that you had as much fun with them as we did!) but, as we have said before, ifa
different character picture works better for you, then use that instead. Sometines, if you
look at a basic building block for a few moments, often letting your mind wander a bit, the
shape will suddenly suggest something which is familiar to you in your own life, which
can form the basis for a "personal" character picture.
If you decide to go on and learn more characters, then it would be a good idea to
practice making up character pictures for yourself. Don't worry ifthey aren't "perfect" in
some way the very fact that you have dreamed them up yourselfwill mean that they are
memorable to yor which is all you need.
So this is it
- final chapter!
the
-

EI M
net dancing

t\
)L F]
omen just now

tr
tile tip
^
CHAPTER 40 3s4

EI .4
E]
ix- min
graceful
l, .r*

sun E (6) + net +

E!(785a) (The princess comes to award national
hand !1szy : graceful @ fisherman's prizes to the fishermen in the
village) They drape a net over poles to
shield her from the sun while she shakes
hands with the wimers; they are all
captivated by how graceful she is. / lVo
pronunciation neededl

785 ,].. El Raaicat 'f ,I ,ti'

'l[f mhn '14 slrokes + I

l-E tlo* .i..!; ,ts ':,

lr-

heart 'f t::sut * graceful Qlrrsul: He has set his heart on the graceful
slow ,lE woman but het just too slow to attract
-
her anention. t The dwarf (running a
dating agency) suggests that he leatns to
['P'lQ minmin grar)ually, slowly) play a mandolin to serenade her.

786a fffl --Y]

!tr.
#^ tra
Z-\ stop
You watch the fishermen pick up their nets
4 g. to go fishing but you see one ofthe nets
net r417s5.1 *tlot = stop * -
has snagged on a rock and shout, "Stop!"
/ [No pronunciation needed]

,ru
ffil5
J
ru,
arrange
Badical t
13 strokes I
1.f
) ,j' a -t i,l j.{,

hand f + stop $1zro4

1rs:uy
: The child reaches out her hand to the
arrange E flowers and her mother calls out, "Stop
right there. l've spent hours arranging
[EiiJLtss:,:rl biisher ornaments) thosel" / But just then Teddy comes by on
his bike and crashes into them ant14)ay.
 355 CHAPTER 4I)

"'^ , ,l ,+
l+ opposing
The evening's debate surpassed every-
one's expectations: the highlight was the
evening f 1oeul + surpass .tp lroray =
speech given by the opposing team's cap-
t+
tain. / [No pronunciation neededl

787b
4m .:i..

dancing

,r, Radical J

ffi;ur" 14 sirokes
il
dancing s(787b) + opposing 9*r.tttut: At the dancing competition the opposing
teams compete to produce the best dance.
dance # / Teddy retires wounded in the frst round
(when someone stands on his paw with a
stiletto heel).

78Ba \r L. .l -il ii.

/ l.\ zhiru ) -)',- li-
/ lJ omen

Compare this with "north" (Character 317).

"' ,1)h ,1x, Radical rE

13 strokes
:i)L ,.i.
,i
t :l) ti

foot ,gr'80, - omen JEr to,, = jump You find a bird's foot in the road this
rllE
is an omen and you know that what - you
WL#rzs.l tidowit to dance have to do is jump over it. / Two dwarf
bureaucrats from the town hall arrive to
make stue the omen sightingis documented
in duplicate.

789a I \
1 ;h
ffi
) ':;', l';
i,L,,,o*
Make up a story involving "ten", "moon" and "drop" ifyou wish.
CI.IAPTER 40 356

Baaicat f L r:i i1 :,1:

11 strokes 1

car +183) + just now (Talking to the police after your car has
ffilzsoay = assist ffi
been stolen) "The car was here just now,
olncet but I don't know where it's gone.
I'd like to be able to assist you, really I
would." / But Tbddy has been fooling
around /and has hidden rhe car in your
garqge, but then gives hiruself away by
hitting the horu).

79oa I\- /
H
fJ spread over
't, t; :1. l::

"There's a puddle of green liquid on the

just now * inch kitchen floor and it's an inch bigger
than it was just- now! If we don't do some-
ffi1rseu1 l|tro+,t =
over $
thing it will spread over the whole ffoor."
Note that the bottom part of "just now" is / fiVo pronunciation neecledl
trxncated somewhat here.

790 Badical { |.-, i".

'--F^ 12 strokes i ,..1,

'1Sf:,.n.. ij: '1.:t.

r.l

person'f 1t:oy * spread over $1rsoo) = Harry spread the icing carefully over
teacher iE the cake, to impress his cookery teacher.
/ The dwarf teacher thinks teaching food
JJFiST+:st shifi mqster ttorker clqsses is beneath him (and would much
rather be teaching cqr maintenance).

791a \ /f .
l' l'
l1t I',n,,,
The old bull is trying to open the gate by
horns \/ (esa) * open frissy : actualf ] hooking his horns under it to pull it open;
the (smarlass) young bull comes across
This is easy to mistake for "well" (Character and says, "Actually, all you need to do is
351a). plsh tt." / [No pronunciation needed]
The character has sevcral other mean ings
including "combine" or "side by side".
 357 CHAPTER 40

791b *:-
,\l uii tru I
&-LJ tite
This means a (roof tile or, more generally, earthenware.

7el Badicat E
.J
fE mt
'10 strokes )' 1

(The archaeologist is pontilicating during

iiii,

+(7era) + tile Errqrut :
lffiSst1 pingzi bottlel
liLffitvzt hudping rasel
bottle llii a lecture) "This may look like a roof tile,
but actually it's a fragment from a huge
earthenware bottle ." / In the au(lience, the
fairy whispers to her neighbor, "Actually,
it's a bit ofolrl pot I paintecl pink."

792a
friv )
/ ! "Druid"
(At Stonehenge) At the full moon the
moon f 1:ooul + 1lght hand ntszt : cloaked figures gather, shake hands, and
Druid f< wait lor the Druid to appear and conduct
the ceremony. ,/ 1No prununciation neededJ
Notice the truncation of"right hand".

7e2b l;?V ) .l-..

r''
j:L-

,li .lr
worship

Druid f<1zr:a1 * sign 2.11:01 : (At Stonehenge again) The Druid waits
worship fi\ for a sign (to appear in the sky) before the
worship can begin. / [No pronunciation
neededl

;,_)+
'*3V chf
1-,:

inspect t:,,-
,)

house +1rru1 * worship 1{1;s:rt : Ifyou want to set up your house as a place
x ofworship, you have to get it inspected.,/
[No pronunci at io n n ee d ed]
CHAPTER 358

*,W
4O

Radical f
l ,,
,j 1
:i' i, .):i" )t''.
ca 17 slrokes
wipe ii; ,,7 :1,,i

hand f 1rs:a1 + inspect *(7e2o : The doctor asks lorhelp: "Give me a hand
* we'll have to
to inspect this patient
give him a good wipe down flrst though."
/ He pulls back the curtain to reveal . . the .

giant standing there starkers!

You willperhaps have noticed that there are a lot of gray characten and fragments in this final
chapter, and most ofthese are only used once. That is why they are here: ifthey were useful for many
common characten they would have been introduced earlier in the book. However, that is not to say
that they won't crop up again (beyond HSK Level A) so don't be too dismissive of theml

793a
+.
-L- mir t' ,, .L
/l\ tiP

Here the first stroke is longer than the second; compare this with "not yet" (64a).
The character means an extremity, the tip or end of something.

Radical {
'10 strokes

clothes i (a3ea) + tip *(rs:ul = socks i^

ifrTtrr wirzi sock, stocking

The clothes are hung up to dry on the

branches ofthe tree, and fitted over the tips
ofthe branches are the socks. / The dwarf
has been left tct look after the baby who is
crying "llaaah!" (the baby is cold: it has
o clothes as they are all being washed).

Test yourselr: ifrtr:el ftrr,,r fu.orut 2f1arq frorrl ,fn (r78) iEoo,,
Ffi',-^, fi-t',",' ffi,,,, IE,,,oo, f,,,,, iE Elo,,, (212')

7g4a
hlr
l.\4\ "teeny weeny"
2

The smallest of the smallest is teeny

smallest 2 (roru) * smallest Z(oota) = weenyl / [No pronunciation needed]
 359 CHAPTER 4t)

794b \ ,f -
44 ,,
7-17-1 'let bJack"
,
The burglar has trained his pet beetle to
f€et - (eoa) + teeny yteeny nes4a) : help him the beetle's teeny weeny feet
- the alarms, and his jet black
blzck b, don't set off
color doesn't show up on the securiqz
cameras. / [No pronunciation neededJ

794 -T)JL Radical E

14 slrokes
'1 |* ti"
M3,';^*,", ;r'i' /.\i bi

stone fi(irsa) + jet black h,7sqat = The children had each brought
ajet black
MT
stone from the beach, and they wanted
to make them into fridge m gnets. / The
ffiffir+zsl cidii magnetic (audio) tape fairy topped the stones lrith a stsccato tap
of her wand to render them magnetic.

795 ---t Radical .J n

*t,,, strokes
t:
-r'
* 6

He was about to put his beret on and go

beret - (8ea) + go *tset = mislay * out, but found that he had mislaid it. /
The tt)o giants (who ran the bakety shop)
Notice that the top line slopes gently (it fashioned a temporary beret out ofdough.
is "beret"); but in some typelaces it looks
level, making the character look like "king"
plus "cocoon".

l*++O24) dirtdiito discard, throw away)

+

H
Fadical :l
yin 10 strokes
'(
banquet
The woman has to stay in the house all
house -1etay * sun fl 101 * day, although the sun is shining, as she has
women 1(1is1 : banquet S to prepare for the banquet. / The dwarf
has always had a yen to be a master chef
EAOet yinhui banquet, feast (although he usualll, only gets to cook in
the canteen) so has been allowed to cook
thefoocl.
CHAPTER 40 360

And so we've errived at the iast pagel We'ye left these four rather splendid characters until last. In
each case note the odd stlokes. We haven't even attempted to come up with storics for them. You
might enjoy having a go at writing equations according to how you feel these characters bleak up into
parts, and devising stories to go with them. After that, no other Chinese character should pose any
problems lor you. (Altcrnativcly, you can chicken out, like us, and try remembering them by rote).

,r, Badical
l i) ;, i:'

& rrrr,
8 strokes 1

[&Errsrr yili at night)

[#&rr:rr binyi rnidnight)

"' ,[Fi #.;r,:^ Radical

11 strokes
{
t,i
I :
,) ..i I
',." :,1

EIfEir:e4r fingiih to be on holiday

i6iEir::or qingiii to ashJbr leave
F.:lHrrotr hinjin winter vacdtio

7ee J sh Radical +. l . tl' r, i-

,trl ffiii- 14 strokes
-,i'..
7

l,lQii$olt piqiing to climb a u,all)

800 -r-L^
]- Badical . ) I
ying 17 strokes
Etsfi, win l: .:))

lffiifr]rrr) yingl\ pofit, goinf

The final progress diagram: this compietes HSK Level A. lf 100%

you djdn't think youf ever get to the end ofthe book well,
neither did we when we were rvriting it! we reckon we all
deserve a break to cclcbrate. 774/"

EIII
APPENDIX: Soundwords
Soundwords are the words wl] use in the stories to indicate the pronunciation of a character. The
first syllable of the English soundword has a similar sound to the pronunciation of the Chinese
character. So for the pronunciation ma we could use the soundwords market or marbles because ma
is pronounced somewhat like the "mar" sound at the start ofthese words. The tablcs in this appendix
give you all the pronunciations of Chinese characters you need for HSK Levcl A, along with an
exan'rple of a soundword that could be used for each of them. (For a fuil explanation ofhow we use
soundwords, along with archetypes to represeflt tones, see the User Guide). Again we must stress
that the purpose ofthe sound*ords is to heip you remernber the pronunciations ofcach ofthe 800
characters; it is not to mimic exactly the sounds ofChinese.
Here is a lery brief description ofthe sounds ofChinese as mentioned in the Uscr Guide, you
really need to hear Chinese spoken to appreciate fully the
-
correct sounds.

Consonants
b, p, m, f, d, t, n,l, s, r, g, k, h are pronounced similariy to how they are in English.
(Although b and d are more like "soft" versions ofp and t respectively).
z is pronounced like the "ds" in adds and c like the "ts" in tsunami.
Because English does not use these sounds at the beginning of words, we had to cheat with the
soundwords here (it was that or declare them "DIY" which we have tried to avoid whenever
possible). Ifyou look at Table 1 you'll see that for "2" we simply use sourrdwords beginning with
"2", and for "c" we use soundwolds begirrirg with "st" (not "ts").
zh, ch, sh are pronounced like the 'J" in jar, the "ch" in chart, and the "sh" in shalk respcctivcly.
j, q, x are pronounced like the '1" in jeep, the "ch" in cheat, and the "sh" in sheet respectively.
The difference between zh & j, ch & q and sh & x is that for zh, ch and sh the tongue is curled
back against the roof of the mouth to say the sound, and for j, q and x the tip of the tongue is
pressed against the lower teeth. For soundwords we just use English words beginning with j,
ch and sh regardless. Happily this does not cause any confusion because, as you will see in the
tables, if zh has an entry in a particular vowel column then j does not and vice ve$a. The same
applies to the other two pairs (ch & q and sh & x).

Vowels
a, o, e, u are pronounced as indicated by the soundwords in the relevant columns in TabLe 1-
(But when "e" has neutral tone, it is pronounced closer to the "u" in huh).
i can be pronounced in two ways:
After most consonants it is pronounced like the "i" in Fiji. But after some consonants (2, c, s,
zh, ch, sh, r; see the final column in Table l) it is as if the "i" is hardly therc at all. It seems to
just modify the consonant sound slightly. The closest we couid get to this sourd is to use English
soundwords rvhele the first syllable is unstresse4 so for zhi we use jacuzzi. (For this reason, in al1
other soundwords we have chosen, the stress is on the fiISt syllable).
ii is pronounced like "ii" in German or the "u" in the French tu.
Say "oo", and then, keeping your lips in the same position, try and say "ee". Rather confusingly
the two dots are only written above the u for nii and lii (to distinguish them from nu and lu),
otherwise they are omitted (see the ii column ofTable I). "Pouring raiD" is used in the sto es to
indicate ii pronunciations (see Chamcter 15).
When vowels are on their own (with no consonant in front of them), the pinyin system sometimes
inserts a "y" or a "w" before the vowel. So instead of "i", "u" and "ti" we write yi, wu and yu
respectively (see the linal row ofthe tables).
ln the tables you wilJ see that we have listed the consonants down the lett-hand side and the
vowels along the top. The table entries give the pinyin spelling and an exan]ple soundword for
each combination of consonant and vowel we need. For some combinations there is no reasonable
APPENDIX: Soundwords 762

soundword in English these are the "DIy pronunciations,, and they are indicated in the table by
"DIY". Blanks indicate- combinations not used in HSK Level A.
Remember that it is the soand ofthe soundword that is impoftant, not its English spelling. So the
soundwords herb, shirt and lurk all appear in the ,,e,,column of Table 1 because they all have the
same vowel sornd even through their English spellings use three dilfercnt yowels.
Table 1 shows the simplest Chinese syllables, which arejust a consonant followed by a vowel.

Table 1: simple syllables

aoeuiii-i
ba bo bu bi
pa po pi

ma me mu mi
,nerbaid
fa fu

da de du di
derrish doodle
ta te tu ti
lurkey roupe
na ne nu nu ni
nerd noodles
la le lu lii ti
za ze z\ zi
DIY
ca ci

se su si

zh zhe zhu zhi

ch cha che chu chi
sh she shu shi

re ru ri
ge gu
girder
k ka ke ku
ha he hu

ju Jr

qu qi

xu xi
a ewu yu yi
eh wound
 363 APPENDIX: Soundwords

Table 2 shows how the syllables which have two vowels are spelled and pronounced.
Table 3 shows how the endings "-n" or "-ng" can be added to some ofthe syllables in Tables I
and 2. Note that it is still the first syllable ofthe soundword that irdicates the prcnunciation. Notice
too that the English ending "nk" contains an "ng" sound, so the stories for the Chinese syllable bang
might use either of the English soundwords bang or bank. For this reason, the soundwords we use
for the syllables in Tables 1 and 2 never cortain these "n" or "ng" sounds.

Table 2: two vowels Table 3: -n and -ng endings

al el al tn ang eng ong lng

bai bei bao ban ben bang bing

bike baby bow binso
pai pao peng pirg
pie powdcr puncture pingpong

mai mei mao man men min mang ming

mitre mail mansion nroney mi.t mink
fei fan fen fang feng

dai dei dao dou dan dang deng dong ding

dicedaisy douse dodo dangle dungarces donley dinghy

t^i tao tou tan tang teng tong ting

tie lower loe tank tongue tongs tingie
nat nel nan nin neng nong
nighrie nail nanny ni'rja DIY DIY
lai lei lao lou lan leng ling
light lake lung lin8er
zai zao zou zan zel za\g zeng zong
Zanzibar DIY DIY DIY DIY
cai cao can ceng cong
stmg DIY
sai sou san song
song

zh zhao zhou zhan zhen zhang zheng zhong

jansle junsle jonquil
ch chao chou chan chen chang cheng
DIY chunk

sh shao shou shan shen shang sheng

Shangh.i DIY
rou ran ren rang rong
rank wrong

c gar ger gao gou gan gen gang geng gong

guy gatc gmtry gun gang gunk gong

k kai kei kao kou kan kang kong

kangaroo conga

hai hei hao hou han herl hang hong

hangar honk
jin jing
grn jinslc
qin qing
chink
xin xing
shjngle
al an yin yun ying
yin DIY DIY
 APPENDIX: Soundwords 364

The vowel "i" sometimes gets inserted between the consonant and another vowel. When this
happens the "i" takes on a "y" sound and is called an on-glide. The syllables that arise this way are
shown in Table 4. Unfortunately English has virtually no words that begin with the necessary sounds
for these pronunciations. Instead of making them all "DIy" pronunciations we use soundwords in
the stories that ignorc the i on-glide but we introduce n1'o of the appropriate archeb?e instead of
one (as explained following the entry for Character 38). For example when there are two teddies
in a story with the soundword lava then you know that the character is pronounced lia, not Ia (and
with tone 3).
An oddity is that "ian" is pronounced like "yen", not ..yan,,, and hence bian uses bench as a
soundword (with a double archetype). But "iang" is pronounced ,,yang,,, and so tiang uses language
as a soundword (with a double archetype).
Just to confuse things, if there is no initial consonant, the ,,i,, is written .,y,,. Thus ,,ia,, on its
own is written "ya", a[d so on. For this reason, and because there are English words available
for these sounds, we simply usc soundwords beginning with ,,y,,and there is no need for double
archetypes.

Table 4: ion-glides (double archetype)

la iao ie iou ian iang lorrg

biao bie bian

borv bed bench
p piao pian
powder pen
m mian

d diao diu dian

douse dodo denr
t tiao tian
to\rr tennjs
n niu nian niang
DIY DIY
I lia liao liu lian liang
lala loud locust lcnd tanguige
j ji" jiao ji" jiu jian jiang
)t lousr jelly ioke senerator janglc
q qiao qir qiu qian qiang
cholvder chesr choke. DIy Dly
I \ia xiao \ie riu \ian xiang
shark sho$er slred show Dty Shaishai
ya. yag )e )ou yan )ang yong
\ost )e )ogJ \,{ee

Using a device, such as having two archetypes, underlines the fact that the role of the
soundwords is not to teach pronunciation, but to work as a memory system. Although $.e match
the pronunciations approximately (close enough so that you remember the pinyin spelling for
the character), we also deliberately use additional t cks and coding devices (such as having two
archet]?es, a ghostly archetype, or a pouring rain story). These devices help with the memory
system but it does mean that the soundword on its own, taken in isolation and forgetting the
device. rs nor an exacr guide (o rhe Chinese pronunciarion.
 365 APPENDIX: Sound.i!ords

The "u" on-glide is similar to the "i" on-glide except that the "u" takes on a "w" sound and is
signalled in the stories by a ghostly archetype (as explained in the comment following Character 59).
Ifthere is no initial consonant, the "u" is written "w". Thus "rla" on its own is written "wa", and
so on. In this case we simply use soundwords beginning with "w" (and there is no need for the ar-
chetype to be ghostly).

Table 5: u on-glides (ghostly archetype)

uo uai uei uan uen uang

d duo dui duan dun

dandelion dulcc
t tuo tui tuan

n nuan

I luan lun

zlto zu
DIY
cuo cun

s suo sul suan

zh zhuo zhun zhuang

D1Y jansle

ch chui chuan chun chuang

DIY DIY
sh shuo shui shuang
Shmshai
gua guo gui guan guang
ganc

k kuai kun kuang

h hua huo huai hui huan huang

wa rYo wai wei wan

DIY $.ndertul
wang
sangle

Table 6 shows the syllables where "ii" acts as an on-glide. There are only a few such syllables,
which are mostly treated as "DIY" pronunciations, and in these the two dots on the ii arc oot actualiy
w tten (so that "jiie" is written'lue", etc.). If ther€ is no consonant, the "ii" is written "yu', thus
"tie" is written "yue".
Table 7 shows two syllables which are exceptions and don't fit into the Seneral pattern.

Table 6: ii on-glides Table 7: exceptions

iia iian
er ng
J
jue
D]Y
q que quan
DIY D]Y
x xue
DIY
yue yuan
DIY yuan
PRONUNCIATION INDEX
This index gives the serial numbers of all the 800 HSK Level A characters. Where a character
has more than orle (HSK Level A) pronunciation, it has a separate entry for each of those
pronunciations.

r bing llfi fti .\

IFJ r+: sro chuen4 ltt 4 323 +ro
a lfi t+: b6ffi ::q churin
ffi us H tzz lE :zs
ni E 766 bi,Te churng 6 76? dinn ,F, 18s rqF :ze
ni E 36s * stt chu6ng ft 171 IEn h 13

dnEel 6 sss chur VI 362 diin fu 15e fEng ,81 +os

b5 ,/l 20 *lj :rr chiin $ aoz 16 186 + 704

bn tE :eq cn W, '792 ci iol z:t dido lJ*,1 s+r *f zo!)

bb € 370 cdi /' sts 6fi T)q W tzc rtri4s

ba [E 36s cii *l ttz ci it 361 ding E 406 rri flR 563
bni fr zz ,< /JJ c6ns ,lJ. to: diu * tss lH toz
bni tr 40 can ,\ )ll cir
.
t'f
Ltt
t o+ d0ng t, zrs f[ J:iT 653
E tae cdo j* o: r CUO lF ---
/4J + 68q +ffi 78e

b6n 1)I ttt cdo H o:s de E tsz d6ng 1E 408 ft ia 367

flt oso c6ng E clt dn fJ 1s3 dbng -ai58 fi' stt

fil ott ch{ * tzs d) t 4't d0u &g zaz ffj osz

bin t[ ::: A ses ded ,t 1'l dtr Af 262 'p sso

bin + I3l chir E zoq 4t 456 dri i* zcs E :o:
' tZZ chin f t,, ffi qzs dn E 42s fS ;so
bens frf zos chring K tlz fi ;ez duin fr gai
'tzo )& qst
b.io E azs 'iif' s++ dan 4 zcq duin Ek it5 cdi EI 35e
bdo tE azt chins f ue dhn {E tt1 ffitrc ei,i lM tts
bio ffi o:s lrq $o E 748 dui Xl ls4 gan + t24
iR so: chirng lE 772 dens \ zet din lfr tn cin rtfr ne
b6i tr chdo *i
11 tzt dao n 12 duo 46e E sso
b6i )1, ttt chE + 83 <lio * zll o fft gen + 94
288

bai ffi :rs ch6n R l't s E{ '7s 6r )L 2t gang Fltl e:o

6 s+s ch6ng fr zs9 diro ,\ 74 m l5t ffian
'9fi qqo ifi zao lA 1s ir --2 sao H +at
b6n 4 tz+ chl (7, 415 jE r+s ft E 146 sdo frA +tz
bi LL 22s chi t$ +as d6 1+ 118 fn i* 87 gho * r:s
H qsc E 'ttt ae E! 23 tan 61J r:e sE E 386

ri d, t62 chou ffi rzo Jtb s4 frin 'bfr trs Bt :sr

bian fr 4l chii fl I+ 1S us fdn ly ttt eatle
bii,n 4 ssr +, $s dEi 11 ttz fim ffi zzz 6 sot
'fE 4oo chri lh. 738 d€ng fr 182 h"g i 2s1 gel ,a J) I

iE ;:o chi F tqg ddng ,41 464 fdng fi zez gcn iR ztz
biio * qza 6$ ns ai ,fft 6a+ fdng ljj 2e2 ER ZS:

bi6 fiil ie chir A soo di .H!. s4 firng ii\ 2s4 geng E :9s
 367 PRONT'NCIAIION INDEX

I 11't hui k zst Et oos f6 646 t\h14

A tte trj ss+ f.1 oss jn # o+s Dj tst
gbng ,j{ ozs ifr +ss ft est ;t ! o+o \t 1'77

gou W est @ eze jians iI t,tt ju6 R +o+ fU 132

gtr tfr re: huii !$ qcz :lS :rs 'fr, 4os ill :s+
gir tf lel huen lR 363 Jrang ul J) t ke lt)g 32i li E 157

lfi sat hudn i5 tqs jiro t :so ki + le8 rii lfr zzq
gue t{ +s; huin lA ets *k zas kai fr E5 li6n j€ 84
g"n It :os hu{ng fi 624 H tez kin E zoo 4if :r+
guAn * ztz hui @ zoz jino fi let keng ,ft zsz lidn ,h 600
lrlrj, zrc hui + 5e ffi cts kdo 4 ooq riin |.fr. t tt
guan IH /d4 hu6 ifi 460 frfl sor r.e f.l oos t4. trc
guan tt\ t /tr ffi tzo jiio 0q 354 t+ r88 liins i,B rsi
suing f no hud r8r fi +os k6 V, ,agg ri6ns Fj zzt
sui ft qgz gn
hub ^ sss t\ zes k6 EI l4o liing i,fi rsq
e"6 lq 60 ji 4,fL lo 4i :sz lE ste Ruz
sud F tsz :lq fiB .lre it tl' t kefi:[,4 ffi zzz
gub it 106 4 ztt '|h t to ?i sos li6o f aa
ha IA 3so ji t& s:+ ji6 ji sco 4tl soo ring '4- ssc
hrii tr 199 L)l szs 9f s:s ifl l8e lins 4I sss
lL qss ^a' ssu ji6 lE cq4 kong E an rii Ej 663
hni ,E t2e F sos ffi ssr kdu El 5 iii ots
hin t ros .tr tr
_l / jia t sts ktr R ozs lii zt' 39
hdn lld ssz a ztr -F sso k[ fi 2r8 l6u M 470
hin in 78 ffi oos lao uq kuai 'li +o: ln * 753
hring 11 81 .tr ll ))r jin ) roo lrt 402 i?S sos
hxo kl 18 il ztz fl zqo kuiLng iX, 360 ri trk rss
heo E qzc 21 213 jin -H 6e8 ktrn El szz ti ,*. is4
te [S szs tt coz jin )E zqt ra 1i r'te I$m fL 613

h6 A 347 ifi oro i4 :ss

'"
o{i, 180 rirn tt tsz
irl t42 frut trng li 24+ r6i * 6s me tq 46

iEI l4j !fi src EE :+O l6n ffi 7oo md lft zso

fn 06 2W stt tH :+r .ffi :or 144

hEi ^E o:t ji. X to,t jins fi tzt rin fr, ees ma [q 4s
hEn lfl. zst Xl zzs # tzz 160 li yq tli'' :s I

h6ns 4 zzz Jra .1 lltr jin ^A erc lio Z zt,t mar :)< 24 /

hbu tr lso lEi ;qs jin JL 38 leT66 mdi jE 24E

lR oot jien tE agt \ 36a rai f, eos mnn t/t zzs

htr !4, sza fnl :+s iE to2 lEns It s9: mdn 'lE zss
h'i 16l le3 jinn ffi :+o jin JE :e+ ri E 6s1 m6ng 'lt sos
hn F zr',) 16 sqq i,t z:e I E ts:, mdo € +s:
E. zza jiln fr, ztq jri E 6so lE isr mao
=
tt\
hua li, zgz 'lS :ss lE 047 lL otz fiE ttt
PRONUNCIAIION INDEX

meA14 p6ns ,qE 62 qi, * 86 iF 3e8 t6i 16 +r+

m6i iC l6e pins 6ril :co qoan t ,+te {h 485 tii a 48
m6i E 128 pr tlL zze qua fk ctg sh) Zi 430 A: +zo
mti {^ 64 pi Efl 356 r6n f* 166 fr s;s tan l\ 422

men 1 2t pran frit //t ranq lL 4/a E30 ians

)Jl lz
men 1ll 28 pi6n {P +oo ra i* rss fr rrr tdns A s+:
mi * ::+ pran i J)J ren ,/\ 12 [ +so ffi taq
miin E : t: prao i. 4Jt ren t_/t r.)J itr oo: tdng Eii s+z
min E( 45s g 412 il ssr jirlll 4t5 tdo i.-l :or
ming Z 7o pins * :oc E o
*4 qtz te ++ 466
"t
Wtt tT :rr rons G +xo S :r: r6ng E oso
mn f+ Dj # :to "a,o 6t zzt sh6u r{i :ss nWszs
miEq: ffi ror ri t[ 80 slfou r tiJtFL 41s
nd € :r+s pd 6,{ ++t sai ff tr'o tr r4,r
SF
rE,t a /6

nn l!il1 ee shii -]l 176 ti i4 l7s

ni, nF e8 J$l u:o I san Ht r+s frl acq tisn 1 76
nfl 220 q, t :rs l"a E qn +ni 15j trao i: )40
na ry[ ee 7i 068 | shen tll lll) shri il! oss tilo Eih rss
nii fi :st 46 7ro I shrns ffi o+o shi W 469 tins lfi 242
ndn E rse qi € :76 lshins I ,D shir 161 ting iF :+:
trE so: qi i 4r lshio m 778 fr
^ +e+ E! ess
lf.j 307 i! +rz I ston \' ttt * 46s rins t1t aao
ne UZ :ot g* 630 I shio L-4 sge flf rss tons lE so,l
nii fi zr,) qirn + 8e I she lt +:: l.[ 7]2
shuang t6ns lE 160

ndns frE 206 ffi ut it ss: shui jfl sot tbns ffi sos
ns ll8. szr qian Ei o0 + 6.+l shui z,( sz: r6u * z+o
nl l'l' )l ii oro .le, q toj shui H4 +os tu 4 ets
nirin + 168 qiin ii ot t ifr ets shuo i{ 61 tn l5 6er
nran ,1,, qidns lE rq9 .i,6n lt 35
ltl / sr ,H. 165 tuiin E srs
nidns trR :re qiio ff ssr ?tlt o:: \i Yr )d5 tur lE soz
nin !t: 4e3 qiE fL ++: rt'e',g 4 t:: .i824 rui ,hE r:,)
Dtu T qii Jx4 tll 2lo F r88 song ]5 r /r tui E :zs
n6ns R 4s qln * tso I sh;nr 'A ttg sbu ll*f 1e6 tuo ,8{, rso
nu ,- tbz q,ne f] u+s I steng ,Ut r:+ si li' o+t wd ?* ;s:
nu 5( l) H :rs | {l rx: :rfi ite war af ll
nuin W 366 i6 337 I shi ,rli 428 suEn llL /b5 \ydn Iji xq
pri IE :;t qing EE 338 | shi + 4 suirn H i :os
tzt
pi t|] r,:r 16 ::v I j!. zst sul lE \Yin W en
o rv

p.i tll ozs qing iff ::e I Ei ros sui D lln rco
116

p,ii flF ::o q,u f.t "o: I fA ,oo sui fi z'to vin h zsa
pei W eeq qid ,]t s:r | * :so n It1 wnns 1l :oo
13

piing * 295 tt sxl fr :sz ffi16 H soq

pdo rffl e:q qi $t 88 | shi t 397 'E zzt tE sto
 PRONUNCIATION INDEX

f6, sat., xi€ 4 :t+ yr H ++s I vu.,n lfr :oe

h tzz xi6 S* rt t yi D) tzo ffi s:z I znong F ::
ffine xiE 5 czz B zzl yua B or W 2i8
wEi lfi tot xit iEf 108 [; zz.o ,ha"g ffi 21s
wii h t2z xln ,L' trt yi 1 a6: I yrin i 5o zhbng rf +0,
l'i- r78 + rgs fZ rr: I lirn t5 ztou E
sz I s40
lP oeo *fi zqz f u+ |,,i P su lzhr f& t,,t
xin I=i y a $ s:s l,:,i E ss l,r'l I ,n,
JEI zqo xrng .ts rJo E 2r7 lzhit f] :or
lhl 28e xing 'fr 8l ifl +sn zan [H qs LL 2q9

&32 xrng n 04) fi :sr ,ang flF sr.l d, qzq

.uE 471 t)k l3s yrn fi zst ,ao F e:: EJI 445
wii )4 473 * :os ift o:u ,tuang fi +so
fi- 36 xru Ifr 'tzt f[ ,,,- lzt ,;,1 sts zhtn if, ,0,
+ t2s x[ ffi s9o yin fH I
:ts zcn .i sr: ,r',0 t -:. 1

* tst lfr sst yrng { +or | ,e,g }f, r,-z | ,i E q4

ft s47 xi if sss zhen E oos
E 188 | +s2
ttrJ szt xn * ssz )inc IL ot: I urr;rn & rrr | ,i f t-
ii ::t xu6 +. 82 Fu soo ,A 18+ | zone .H. srr
E roo xu6 E stz Jins F) srt ,n^,e K t-l z6u i 275
.8, aaz ya lI 180 ydns ,k r,,ss ] E o:q ,, H 4oo
fr ssg ya ln ilo ;r,k o8o I zrrang I tr: zrt E :so
xt nns yan E J/5 Jbns ffi trol ts srs I t-k ^8r
xt E- 539 ff ooo rdr, Jt 218 | zhdo 6 :os | ,r iH qtt
iit l3e EJ sas HIi o:r I znao +t tsl ,fr 448
4. oot yin ER zs+ if o8r I zhbo u'1 5u- | zut 16 q2o

fr ztq & oz: ydu fi' o: | ,r,t ff :or zui 11 a2t

I
T43 yin 4 Da t s: ,t't B 2o I zuo EE zor
H esc h ooz ti,, !. s: ,t'" 6 205 zuo t- 20,r

JL tl7 yans 1r1 )J2 fi zt: ,tren E 45) zub G ,0,

xtan lh oor [E !n s6 E :+s lzttng $ +,,s 'i& 2ro
xiin IL zts + rr 'ffi rse I ztang 1E 29 S zrt
xrang 6 tot ying ++ 112 ri tf, s7r I rj'l qo | E .zr.:
tH 163 ydo E lol r* 08 | zhr Z tzt
lH, ro+ yio 4 ror rir 6 or| tr +o:
filij 3eo /E tzo iE oss F, zs+
+E 163 y6€8 Ifl b42 ,Jt. )5s
fo-l :ss ve iL :ss yudn ,i l0l I iE qso
14' aA fr. qt E 302 | zhi E- +sr
ji5 eoi tl t';t ; a7o I ari F, )54
/]t 50 vr-i El 480 leo :st
fra l8l K 417 ,H s:e 4lt oa:
* ssz E 4sr iE :o: ,t'i t +sz
MEANING INDEX
This index gives the serial numbers ofall the characters and fragments used in this book.
As in the main text, we use the following two conventions. A meaning in "quotes" is simply our
name for a fragment which might not have a true meaning ofits own. A meaning in [brackets] means
that you are only ever likely to see this character in a compound which has this meaning.

able ro frE z.oa -archery conresi * 667b El suo bow fl tlza

above L qz armnge E i86 fr rzou ts 51a
abundant * nq arrive g) 74 bcd R ttr bowl ffi. t ao

accept tlt :ss fr qgou lbeerl [4 :se bov )L zt

accommodation,E 473 art ?, 1t1 beg Z qtsu brain ]ii 6s4b
accurate iE so+ as for W zes "beggar" B stsu branch f *z
ache ,5 6eo as well ,l; sstu beginning J71 +ze "bricks" + 768a
ffi ses !L:seu T43 bri<lge tf s83
achrcremeni ,I4 )10 ask lEl 28e bek Ti 42c brief fr tzo
acquire [t ss ask lor if zor bend ffi zzzu "brigade" R oe+u
act as h tzz 4 ror bcnefit fiiJ B2 brighr W ll
\ zet aspire f|] 682b bring relief ii e:o
actually * lgtu assemble * )u) beside * ze: broad l" t:o
add in :zs ffi rss best wishes ffi, qzq build € es:
advantageous 'iF 400 at ft, 55 1, oqzu buildirg tfi 210
affair 4 trz altend 10 lpfr sat big Xct bump into trlt 3e6
again ,[ :z atlitude * qze bird EJ 678a bundle fr. qgq
Hzn tfi tsz "bird's wing" 1, +tou burn ffi. tts
ah [q 143a auspicious H s:su bifth ii etst busy 'ft sos
ahead Ji tzt
F1 all
&k os: bitter #:rs but lE r,t
air avoid fr, anu black ozt buy t& 241
^E
alive ifi +oo lR eet "blade" 1 ztr^ by iE aao
ar *F 262 fi 240 blessing ffi toz calculate iI ssz
alrow jL q6 "hacon rashers" +i 62sa block up 4 rest "calf" A. l37a
alrcady J zlq bad fi cqz blow fiiJ 451 call 0il 354
also t!, 8 badge P 6J4 blue H zoo calm ffi tzz
alter ltr :ss ball J* s:s blue-green tr JJ) canoe EU 90b
alrhough H els * 32la board ffi. ttz - 24'7a
al$ays ,U. 514 [banana] H ro: boat f osou capital H Z:qt
ancestor iE 447 banner if eeh body H rot car 4 s:
and yct lE tst banquet E ts6 'it tzs card * tss
answer E isz "barb" L tzou bolt ofcloth E z+su carry ffi qls
appearance tf t t: barely E{ ozo book S rzo carry on L* ssz
fH re: ,, 663b -E- ++: carry our El oos
"appendage" /a Y basket ffi" tor lE Aq ''catamaran Erl /56a
lapplel f :ro bathe i* o:z bother j@ zls catch E 205
appropriate H ++s E-::oo boltle ffi:sr celebrarion E s:s
approx \lzou dB rs:u boundary 4 sso center +,aotu
 371 MEANING INDF,X

certain 6A qrg command A ss:u dance ff ru ]ara*ing E ozo

chair ffi 7al on i*:tt
comment dancing . a+ 787b I 'dress' ,l\ 436a
change 11, zgr companion flE ez danger ,E soo I a'.int tE sts
channel 4 zlt compared with lL 228 dare E{ rzo I 'a.int- E s;st
chaotic fiL er: comparison ?i zzz date g aza ldrive('ehicle) 4 326
check up 6 sss compete *'ta,) dawn E t t7a I drive out ,F ;rso
chicken x€ ore complete 766 daybreak + 72la I droop # +oqu
l< ttz complexion BI sss decide * +o+ | a'op tE nq
Chieftain Yao # ltst L 568a decide on E +oo \ 22a
child + t'7 $ zo:a deep 1{i rto | 'on,ia" ,< 792a

[chimney] 6 totn "conference" fi sssn degrees E +:s I a.y t tzc

Chinese character+ 92 El vq deliver E ::: I ar" H 236
chirp * o:ru consult 4 stz department -nl:lrt laumpring fl:sr
"choke" 5 qzqu container l_ qs ta lE s:u I r,,y E 515
circle lEl ,+so contend Ann despite ,l s6 ra I each 6 sot
city I ooa lVi stt dexterity i :tza I ear 4 e8"
clan ffi. est ?d sse diagram E oot I eaay F o::
clap tE e:s convenient iE +oo die iE sss | "earring' fr na,
classification f4 eos L eta die young n ss.2a I earrh L s+n
"claw markJ' * rqo Br 696b diflerent E zsz, I cast 6 tts
,[1 :osa ii :sr diIIicult ift so: | ."'y D szz
,365b corpsc F zaso difficulty El s:: l"ut E cts
clean 1? tzt xt rs+ ft 4ts | .ee &Ma
H tcs cough W qes direclion , 2er I ch! IPJ r,r:
clifI f,+s tffi. qge director € qos" {H, szr
climb ,|]E :;r ffi. qeg dirty ffist: I eigtrr ./! 20

fr 2iB El oo discipline 2E :z: | .t..n'clry ts tss

iE zct couple 18 zzz discuss It r52 | erephant *- otuo
cloth 6 sss l! essu dish lllt 700a I embrace ffi r:s
clothes E- czt couftyard B
n
ess disperse ffi z,rs lemrnent E nqu
] +:oa B2a display P oos I empty I ett
cloud z-- 56 S :s+ distant iE :o: I enctosea I z+n
"clouds" F 124b craft fr qor distant from 4 os+ | "n"o,,pn"* ffi
+:sa
4: 601 "criminal" + t3oa division f 73 |
"n"ornt",
lJ! o))
criticize +lL 22e do '{ft zto l engagea;n iE' +t:
lcofTeel .ttrfi tzt i:L roe lF zot l."iov E egau
rlF :2,) Fa 629a "dog food" et:oeb lcrroucn W tst
cold /A ss: cuhure \2t dog t .z:sa | "enrangte" Ll :s+a
collectively )t: 625 cup f1' II J :o:, I "nr.' ,\ ztgn
@. qtt ctit tn Bo don't! tlJ zo I entirc # qgs

colorful -M tzz "cul' S stt u h szeu I * rcau

"nvu"t
llrl l5l a dad 6. t'to F 269 | especiatly )L zzs
combinc -^ 59a dagger F 209 I estabtrsh lt ))J
*os damage ffi ++r dmg f t50, ".t.". fr scz^
MEANINC INDEX

E s42a filialpicty gift lL r,tz hands 82b

E :q!) HE::s "gimlct" 4 stou reaching down rr 82b

evening ffi. an finish 'i:os give back jI rss halg ++ 708
D at)u [ire lk rsr glowing happy '[rii;se
'r$ rzs ,,,, l85a go through %. zqq hardship g 566a
everywhere iE zzo "firewood" \ tna go 286 hal rfE rr+
evil F *qn firm rli 697b 'tt :oo Y 388a

lk aoz fish &- sqg gods jF ezz Hoz

cxample firl set five tr:r going ro .14 :te )R ssr
cxceptionally tl! aao flal ffi noa gold I ztau nav 4 587a
exchangc lfu ats flood .r rL 6l5a good fortune * :os he It r:
excited ){ e4s flow ir'rl ots good healih ift:sz head * :+o
dl tso lL zsz good man E szsu H r+,r
ffi o:r fly ( 4r0 good ,l 18 heal W ael
* taz lood A zs: E ztro hear lql zso
E oos f zsso goods rff o:t" heart ,L' tot
exit foot ,E zto governmenl {t rso t ::su
fr qgz E zso li{ rs: hcarrh f etou
fr tsz ,1Il sr,r gown & 665b
_,( lb
"explosion" ffi so,ro footstep i st" graccful E rssu heavenly body ,ts 775a

fih 620 h rzz grade L.!!. sts heavy fu aoj

extremity t/l s:,{ ga :sr grain * tzou "hcld hthe hanG" + 692a
eyc Ee: z]< rss "grain sralks" .)l s79a help fr aa5

flR us+ lorge ll-i. trc gram ii tq+ fil zos

face E :r: ibrget E so,) grasp tE qtq hemp Itt zso
nQ eoo forgivc i;i ;se grass
+ts 2 rR" hcro 4 +or
facing lA tzt fiI rer great lfi tot heron ffi tzou
factory T 14s forlune leller l' +zu green Ll. tsq heshatc I toso
fallshort + 2r1 fi s4on greel fl es: hey! [P aoo
familiar i{! oco I z:r ground Lfr. sq hidden |,fi st
larln '& $8 four |4zq group Fl srq ligh H +sr
father I zet lragrani 6xt ilrt ee,r high up \ ttso
favor ,-tr' szto freezing '/-_r: 768 guest * so') hlstory il :sz
trt ezt friend n )J guide 4 ttt hit tI rs:
II ;:oa lriendship i'f d5o habitual 'Ifr tto hokl on to 1.h, oes"
leel 'i'li +os from 1.,\. ro: hairs -u:tlu hole 7\ rr ra
lil 5)6 fruit F rsr half * r:r hood

' 90a full iffi z:s hall A s+: "hook" L etzu

fcstival ii soo furs n ssu halt Evt horns ,/ 65a
f'ew
')- ttt garden E :o: llan Chirese in rr -\ qc
trj :t+ ll zt hand down .a 365c hot fl oss
field E l56a laze 4 s;o hand *:r "' 9ta
fifth It zsso "gazebo" E l42a t tszu E zgz
fighl -il- 6o5a get $ rrs, handle tE :oq 7- tos
 313 MEANING INDF,X

horv? ts s tz just ! +rr I rong K rtz. mound ll ee,

however * zee just now ffi rss, I tong t,,". .\zeq mouliain LII I l0
hundred F +o kick fl s:o toot at E 2oo mouth tr 5
''g 100 chcck" lH oct^ kin + l06 look tor lt rsz sH czo
hundred million {Z 413 kine I 6oa lord a 291 move S/.j sg
hunsry ffi 288 E 671a lose ffi tst }ffi est
husband )- cg "knec" I looa I love E tos
multiple i* : rs
I 4l:z knife n 72 llow mumfft es+ ,4 46
ice / :eou ll r+a I rump ji +oz
music I; zzo
ice crystals r 246a fi +oo | --ry s+ j&
must 1+ lr8
idea ,E- 258 knowledge iq 256 | '"*h,* t/t ro mutual fE to:
ir l[ so "labcl" / l24a I magnct MDq nail T srb
illness iH sro lacking i 16la mail fiF e:t nane E lo
imperial decree *i 496a ladle 'il :.tt rnaintarn ti 46s nation *[ :osu
E tsz lake ifr r,: .,rte r,o*n lh stz near ro [i1 osz
11. eqz lamp tl ta: mate E tso ffi sso
in front of fllj 90 Ianguage tI o8 I-manwrthstick f 667c E 785a
inch -| ro+u late i8 ttr | 'nunug. ))' t23 # 243
incrcase lE en laugh IS :su I many 4es ncwborn baby * 614a
indicator *. qze law E 8l I 'narkcr fr czt nishr & 'tst
industry iL :es "lay out" S s, | '"u.r.'
rr t)fr 428 nine Jt :i
inevitably Mrcz lead rE /4 / m3y irJ 140 nrnrn t ))ta
infcrior fl:soa |jr sos ',.ut fv tsz noisy llul lao
inflammatlon li qZ2.u leather fi znoa mcat lX! zzt noon A ns
inform 'E- B8 + /llr medrcrne ,l 720 nofth lL :r
-mc E- 205 lcft t 20q meditate I zsza not yet * acu
insect ( ezeu left hand / )Ja I meetrng z5e notTg
insidc fi1 zrs l"g fliE ;zs I memt.' fr- qts l{ tos
inspect ti ssq legion Ei 784a I metropolis lft 262 note down il ztz
fi tszc leisure 'f 727 I middle F:: now 4 too
imtilule lh :or lcsson i+ l8a | -midnight le,"t- 6 745a number ofcats ffi 223
rntcntion f; +sz letter fi :uo | .,rr lJl szz number of items f 19
/tl st,t level F luq iltay nr * tes number of things 'f+ 385
inveft lA) ts lid ' 25b mistakc number oftrces ffi 188
investigate f; oro lie down hdt scz iR tsr number W 169
is E:o life H L:: l,"'* fB rzo '4 zzz
ir E 227 lightweight ft :+s ln,i,,ea /8, 26sb
F 7lsa likeness ft or+ 1..*y tt oro nurture 6 Or+
j"d" tr eou line up {tl st+u I mon*ey H oss, obey ,98 so:
jade block * :osu line i1 sr | '"oon Ear observe ln 2rc
"jct black" L2 rsc1, flF ::o t 266a obtain 1* r rr
join logether Iinked up i4 8+ .o'"ou., "H- ++: obvious W sglu
joyfU It:o: Iiquor l[$ Lo: morning R. t't s occupy fi rs:
ju,,p flk ;sr listen ffi :+z I motlcr E tzt or E! z:
MEANING INDEX

Z tzr "pcdestal" Itr :ot u produce t tst residue fr.| 783

ofend rF :Ola pellet *1. oqsu promirent ft ors rcsolute ,E asl
oflice ,E OsO pen E qs+ prospcrous
=
//24 respeci E ooe,
official t :SSo
*p1'zs+t
i,sr "prostratc" lfr 699a retrcar E :Zg
people fil zs E ztg return w zoz
often H s4+ perform iE oz: public /* tr,) rice * ::+
ohl 14 180 pcrish E s68b public buildins rH 784 ride tl tco
oK 1J sr permlt i.1: 58e pLrff W zoz ft rr:a
old book FI 770a )\ 12 pull frno rirlge E olon
old man 7 zeu \ tza pupil ffr :+o righr fr ztt
old fi ttt a pick *. ttzo rishl away ili z:s
Z zoq pick up ffi :+s pursue 4 so6a right haod .L s:
older brother E :tO piece Pi trs push lE soz risc up fu 276
fi, a't o piece ofpaper ffi, ttt quarter (hour) ?"1 sOo risk B lll
older sisrer trE qqq fr nea question mark [$ 4s risky [6 oor
omen JK zgsu pierced fr 716a quick 'R +o: river inj t4t
-l pig 1& 263 rain ffi szt il- 118
one ofa pair F, :s+ 4 tosa fri +s,i road L zou
only F, zsq ,, aqa 4 o+s i? ossu
onlyjust ;f sls pigeon E soto room lhl ias
open If ss "pilc ofearth" \ +ssu & stq^ E qtz
"open door" 6 663a "piled up" E l5ob read ii z+e roor tR zsz
oppose ,E :rr pit Ll 626a * zso "rude" E %cu
opposing 14 mu place l!1 I78 Fo rso ruler F. lllu
or g{ 5i) A soo IE rss E sez"
organize ,f! 448 plan tl ss+ & zoz rump 14 os+"
orisinal Jil s:e plant + r33a reciprocal E zza EE ezs
other f tgu platlorm 6 +s:u H, tzt salty Ei ssou
ousht ,ja qst play Ii nq recoglize il zs: same lE i6o
outdated lB :s,a please i€ ::o record * ;s: sash IF 429b
outer limiis [l tOOu plenty fl lOza LT 83 sav iil 61
ourside tl 11 plinth it r rs reference book !( 232 scales fr zzsu
overt [H sr point at tR zst regard as \ zat scholar t +stu
pagc E 41i "polite" 8 623a ii\ zsc school & :S:
pair l\ ttz "porthole" Fl 64oa remain scorcned P_._ lbla
palm (ofhand) € 545
^E
45 rb lh z:s sea 't6 tz,t
paper ?ft os: pour E zss fE +4e sea shell R qnu
parcel ts e:e )1 14 repeat 'p sso seatup *l tos
tluough E so+
pass practice 4Bs replete lF. att seal ll soou
path EE sos premises II st:n rcport 1R soz TJ sooo
pavilion F :+:u prepare 6 s+s request * sz,r - 560a
pav L 38o pretend E ,+ss research lfi eoo seat f4 ztz
.irl 6s2a Pretty i4 q:z H ootu second / +tla
peaceful i cr proceed /l .l58 reside 'fI zqs section *[ :to
 375 MEANING INDEX

see n 214 single + 144 'splrntcr" \ 695a substitute tt +sr

selcci fi, ttzu si1 4:tt 'poon . L zoeo suck fi! +usa
self H q4 site fi s:u spreritout fil otq sudden k, ste
d ztr situation rn :oo ]spreaao.er $ r,roa suddenly 'F 2o7a
sell jt 2as six zr' :9 I spring fi s:ou sugar ffi to+
senrl fr tqz skiil il +e: I springtime 6 tez suggestion FH :os
scnd out h. ve skin jl ,t40r lsq'reeze If ooq suitable E +se
sentencc EJ ecs "skirf' f< 6o5a I slab ffi 616b sumnlary M, tts
separate i +o:u "skylight" loj :tqu I .tut. \ +so, H r.sc
sequence fr lzzu Q toz, | "tun.t \t 117 E sgou
session ilfr ilj sleep ffi +oo | "tuna.ia.
Uy sidc ili lq6b Eo
"setllc down" ft OS+u 'ffi qos I .to' E 136 sul1ny Vl stoa
-1, J/ !fl .::l I srcn lh +rs supcrvise H rooo
severar IL t slice ,Ei :s: | .,ut. rF ozzo sLirely ffil rsr
shadow F.t slq / ofaffaio 'fE ::s
34b I state i4 r:s
shallolv ili orr slip ofpaper ft :+o | "tation ,),fi ta+ IE os:u
she t& ro 'l$ rss lstayovernrght lEi 641 S- toso
shcars X zsu small ,l' su | ii +r: surplus A r:8u
't",,"
shed 6 643 , 50 I steel 'ffi en El :oo
shccp * rrr smallcst 2 eon | 't"p
)j tts swallow Ix llgu
* zoqo smelt ffi ;t3 | step toruarct i sr" ii. e se
shcct (ofpaper) 9K t:: smilc + 582 I "tick I t9u switch of * ztz
shelter f 170 E 275a srill 16 rss 6 56a
shine l( sc: ] 267a ttone E |sa table 4 tzs
shining 'ft, Yz $ s:z | lI
"top
zsn talent I J5a
ship frt tqe society il q:: rL 30a talk i]l :s;
shoe S :u it :q: .8, eez ifr. qzz
shoot !,J rota song ffi :r: E:sru "tall" 6 239a
"shopping baskef' E 492a sort flt t 8tt ttor" ,E rse tall 4 ss:u
short I+ 766 ii zst +,7r7a Tang E tsct"
should D :as soup itr s:t story t* +:o tangerine tf, eqt
shourder fi s0 fi! los .t,uigtt "H. +sr irt r'co
shout .tfil ss t f tz+ 't'ange
ft't+ou tap { rsoa
lshourl EIlj 220 south fr 3or stra* H o:s targel 1 661a
shout oxt ;( /J la 1# rlq .t,eet th tto 4: tts
sickness f s r or, spear T 6a6a siride 1 osta '1\ zes
side E+r special f-j +oo srrite )i t agu tcacher iS reo
sigh -/1 s::u specialist ff .zoL ] 'r,o"g &t oss !{ rr:
sign Z- 430 ff zro ] stuutorn P zera "tcen) weeny re 79,+a

i +::, speck ,fi. rss | .t,ay 'ir tu tell ifi lg

silver fR :ss speech ifr as8 ,li, lh / temple f +o+a
simple lgl la6 spicy $ Los I sruray Ji +aeu l' +
Ek nga spit fr lr5a | .i)re i( 6o3a ten thousand Jj 296
sing 0A ii2 splendid )[€ :+t I subordinate * zsuu "tent" ,\ tSt
MEANING ]NDEX

terrible Ill t 5+a I rowet tF +zt^ utensil ?P o:o win ffi soo
f oo+ tn*n yfr 260 ulmost & tzt wind E1 +os
thank i41 ros ffi' 6ao 'IFi zss winding li, taot
'',a.
that {11 os ,'-"'n !*, tu valley A 486a window 6 rct
lhe old days H /4Ja translorm 4:rlr vanish ii5 oot "windowpane" @ 67lb
the people R 455 nansrtion Tee vegetable * tzz winter 4 OSS

the present Ill zts I translate 'ff tst vefy 7R:tt wrpc Itr te2
thing ffi sz: I transparent i6 ::t 'fr, ogs wish fr ssg
think .[. tos I trrnsport ii st F'sr+u with ER zs:
think about IL tr,q I trlel ik :ss village tt ro+ ffii ne
third fr srou | "trea.r,e' E 45la L ezza \ tzza
thirsty lff sro I treat 1or*ease) ifr asl visit ijj zgz woman f ts
thirty + 429a I tree i{ rss voice F +ss wonderful fu alsu
this or that 4 z:s ...N rou wait for 4 ,aaq wood ttt z+sn
this il 2o I trruuta* E< r'r'qb B :esu wool +, a53
tlL : L+r I triunrprr ,!t t:+ walk ft zts word id z:t
thou T 5rb I rroubre * coso wall ffi tgg {OTOS a J It
thousand f so truty E +sz t/E 570a i ol"
thread 4 ooru I try
L
ifr oo: 4 ror ar
work ?t sql
^-- i.l'"1 s+r W zee work I t1j
ihree
' 3 tum in onet sleep ,E 760a wash 7,4. l.lq tnq
"thumb tack"
- 40a turn into fr zsg
'i1X,
+:s world fi szs
tickct H +:t rurn over fiI ;:o 4 tttu worsnrp i: /e2b
tidy fi ot'8 twenty f +:sa /( 523 wound |{ ztzo
tie up 4# s:s I r*. :2 I zrlu wrap \ tzo
tier ,l* +;t I two hands )l- tsu way jE r+s wrire E 421
tiger fi oz:t i rwopeopre ffi zzq 1S rrr '$.rite with bnrsh" + 657a
tight f; Oor I r"o"trctr' rl 6q7a EH e5 year + 168
tile ft, r,rr | *- lE :zs wealthy R 703 years old I ta
time EJ tOs I una.rg'ouna river z. 244a fi ;sz yellow 6- ozc
ffi 7t4b I undershnd [E au8 4 )ss yesterday {F ZOt
times f( :ot I uno,e*s ,Ei, oso Ifl sco you 16 sr
tiny * 609a I unrie fi4 sse * ozs you (polite) 4,ff. CgZ
tip tr1 793a lunrit 4ur well fr-zstu young tady lH 286
toil f :z+ l-,*.,r- ;a 82c E roo younger brother + 123
tolerate g +rr, | .,pr,irr- ld;oat r 100 younger sister lft 64
tongue fr 457a I uprieht tzs what 14 vaz youngstcr & 4g8
too much ;k +s E 30b whar? ,ft :s yours truly E eS"
f tSoa r,rgent .'1. sv 'ff sst yuan ;r ror
topic ff +zs ,". ffi r:o which? lnll sq zero * ssq
topplc El ts
' lE lo8 whisky bottle @ tozu
fi? n88 used to be H enu white frzz
1i1 :xe i Lr.ing 4 :+s who? iii sor
il :oo N) tzo + 1t6
FAST FINDER INDEX
Use this index when you see a chancter and want to find it in'this book, but you don't know its
pronunciatioo or meaning. This index uses the appearance ofthe character directly, and how the character
splits up into parts. This is the same method as used io the book "Chinese Character Fast Findea'(see
the inside back cover), which enables you to find any ofthe 3,000 chamcte$ in all four HSK Levels A
D rapidly, without knowing their meanings, prcnunciations, radicals or shoke-counts.
-
Most characters split left-right or top-bottom into pa(s:

tR. r llR *E + -H,

Take the simpler component (or the one you recognize) and look up the character in the apprcp ate
section, depending on whether this part is the left, ght, top or bottom paft ofthe character:

lE. + ii{ -) Look for 1 in the f section

H - i*l -, Lookfor,u. in the E section

You will find all such characteru (for example, all the chamcters which have as the left-hand {
side) listed together, and by scanning along the characteru listed you should be able to quickly find
the one you want.
For some characters, instead ofa left- ght or top-bottom split, one paft ofthe character encloses
another on two or more sides. For such cases, use the enclosing part to look up the character:

E -) :8, t Look in the E section

lE -) ld -) Look in the E ,""tion

Finally, many simple characters are "indivisib le" they do not break down into parts:
-
4-) iAi -+ Look in the I ."",inn

So this index is similar to a radical index, except that you don't need to count strokes. You also
don't need to decide which part is the "proper" radical. For example:

frfl "pp"u.,
und"r fr intne f section, and also under E inrhe f section.

If the character is printed in gray, you were not really looking for it in the ght place: never mind,
at least you have found it! Taking a close look at these gray characters will help you to distinguish
between similar and easily-confused characters and fragments.
The numbers given refer to serial numbers in the book.
FAST FINDER ]NDEX 378

I bacerrzl

50
il'^18t h
zl.,L'l'
161 162 123 122
I tEn,mu
394 27 428 120

++++.r.
r3l
384 125 168 164
I tl|t t\tt l+ lfi (F
4t3 391 456 35 385 707 207

) ,r\ lL !r li tr t+ tr.{e,fE,IE ,18

20 2t I0l 351 127 115 5t t3 398 400 224

t ,R,It tEjE,H,E1ff IE .{n.E is H {e is fs

403 s68 627 339 776 785 756 408 178 298 315 376 343 790 744

,r *r ,ffi'ffi'H lE t+ ttr t*
t82 7t8 7t3 718 lt7 551 684 674

{ )l+ lt
318 l l7
ll1 fftl lW ffi.lfiJ lR I,I b!
28 584 2I0 198 75 667 t42 65A

7 i/i its i.+ ij.rt i+ i* '4 'ft E'61F.1*

2s3 272 552 476 589 3ll 357 81 300 710 281 1t8

u 72 18, rH rH
292 497 159 450 336 219
1{ tF, 1^
67 A2
+ tI +\+rr Wffi
ls3 152 532 369 620

1tiF.lk ii iE rR i+ ifi
68
+F&&f+#ffi&+HfE..ffi
252 256 553 731 189 737 458 628 t7S 4b3 465 08 6oa 203 '24 4a2 192

iE irf 1Fffi.+h&EffiHi6
501 i08 2st 349 484 6',75 47s 63t 786 734

iF ii iil
719 201 603 231
i-,1jFl
54r
tfifiF+nffi
502 330 229 681

I ri*fr,rH66@>l*
361 404 360 758 593 721 5U 735 246
+E'Ercffi
562 474 660 538

i iIin,&izE + Vr ++
148 78 611 5]l 102 527 466

&8ffi,&tHtfi,ttrt#ffi
299 87 139 686 661 670 615 623 337 22s
+ htnffiffiffi '189
245 382 223 757

i6iSiqi^ffieEwH
483 412 129 619
460 t69 576 632
1. iL il iF iH ifi, t[ ?E
432 612 433 622 447 434 435 702

# 1, Tt &W.
l9l 439 793 440

iTJ fr? iTK IJ wiR fF.

141 688 664 294 641 755
 3'79 FAST FINDER INDEX

(page 2 /2)

T l^ tR t t j& jrt j,"M 1r4* llj rll 4 14 [E rq

.142 402 510 54 )611 612 1t)9 214 154 362 780 368 45

T Ttc lli 14- 11. 1)I WVLBfrEfiq'ilfll]E[E[PEE

104 525 158 2r5 r r:l 350 415 95 190 499 356 172 575 666 521

t t[.fr f{ # tH t& r.ljl] IqF 4i q[ r[4 ffi

10 I l0:l 112
I 163 514 327 129 1U0 9g l4t 496

&+fir0,rfffifa&ffi rh ryz !1fr E[] ffi H

183 647 599 58t 188 741 470 646 212 264 151 220 457 124

fit Iw tfr. E E,F E,q EF Efr tr EI.[iJ

155 779 :li 208 77 lt8 673 366 105 23

fi flt Ft r,( fi tr ffl H ER FE HB I1lI

132 605 691 t26 219 446

t t6 iltl
341 764
+ 4t 4n
88 l?:l

* *ETEtr
490 730 166
fl ,Et ,!E
13,1 62
rTE ,Ee fX, ,E*l ,Eli ftB
561 600 656 561 5ll 129
;]lj
98

x ln ,t xf
712 l6l l5:l
ifl,
216 678
iq iE
501
f flr ffa

t ff
80
{E
:r,14
trC E
46 18 5ll
!$ y+ltu
6.1 135 16
i 6lI i,H dt Efrrhnfi6*,
406 5 441 4t9 160 196 191
't1
{fi th lE E
192 :185 286 609 283 508 529 639 788

I [Effih[0[ffh
96 97 306 601 652 738
H fiL
6]]
f;U
457

4 co c6 other U tY, tl ,l ,t t)Y. r{ Dt /d l:[

120 228 230 71 125 :55 159 190 l0l 2

L 4
2ll
F, eH rfr
271 448 23:1 535 71,1 681 577
r+. a\ tw lE tU nI W Wt
t2E 554 642 7r7 ?15 498 173 263
d[t 1# frE

'y 174

,i ,-A ?;4 h ,* ri ,* .*,NWilflT'M

538 255 2,r,1 596 15l 754 516 592 2,16 591 621 4,15 98 765

,fr ffi w.rfuffi. fi\ -d frrt fr{\ n*t W

t 3Et 784 332 637 288
nh ,A
184 500 191 58 23 791 5,12 lll

+ t+tr *,fl\y;ffiffi FrtWNI]ftIq'EEE4

278 285 6i0 677 147 743 7t6 210 651 676 506 311 651 216 118

fi+,E'Effi6U
5E6 206 722 716
 FAST FINDER INDF,X 380

U htl tr\
55,1 132 500
,\ frU ,U SU lal Frl Wl *tl
457 ',19 ',14 75 584 676 78',l
I fimfifiur
80 325 490 126 321

-l t
ll {ll i-,1ffi lrJ B IE [E
21 28 231 736 230 439 394 96

l +I IT
i53 ',1
182 140
i,,1
t4t
f"l
142 141
IIX,J
fl lE ffl iE rfl
444 446 441 448
,iu
163

t it xf E{ +'1 ff lrf ,ffi fljr

201 154 105 709 155 108 104 23
A EEEEBHBEiifr
77 97 62 236 723 193

r, )r,yY,+ft tt
3t7 228 229 391
F Ht3 iE #[
621 98 262
il:lt6 rytr
99

h $J-,!Ln
445 58 230
fi tfi Ft +fi ti
242 270 243 119

R 'ktkWV, rL
v lsiAfiffi
361 363 362 381 169 553 715 680

\_ \y.tt w. {ffi iI 6t *\. w ffi. w

355 359 190 2t0 294 191 265 469 745
fr II.i, tn il,
726 2t5 2t6 435

xtr in rn
78 712 88
ry ffi.ffi.
332
n tfr lfi 4fr lEfr Pi ttu
331
^'ffi
591 718 717 6:12 595 567 588 478

l. l 1l lfJ & rEiEx&ffi

^lx
71 506 8r 710 50,1 50t 503 502

t+ )t,t+
35 552
trffi
2-18 279
R 1R iE CR nR
281 282 284 283 285
fE 1'It
286

Li ilfrLtL612 613 413

&0i
179 r80
t +tfirIffi4ffi{t
\s2 32 259 260 555 782 456

AE TAtr1t 442
[E 1E JIg x tkw, &
168 369 :t7l 6ll 609 610

1q i )j\U 120
253 103
rg
45
q other DLl 1E lN, it it
354 328 391 476 433 456 605 606
.it t+ ffi gr
46 ll3

I' 'IL,I2ll
l4E
-x, tr)
732 574
+n
230
il.+t tkwfrwffi
l0 18 693 64 793 374 677

E& rtfiiE ifr, fr. ffi. tEf4r9fr\A@,

212 273 276 ll 54 t6 163 561 678 23 649 636

ffi€rffiEeffi6E#
239 644 t9t 216 651 586 206 722
 381 FAST FINDER INDF-X

JtFzlc+2.^EAld -=-nAE,):',1 ,Y"t:l

46l,
467 269 685 297 121 146 555 556 2 3 56 301 430 626 217 423 585 386

f + ,r :]i ,1.1, ll
170 176 238 524 161 t62 27 t22
t +:
505
T6++Xfl,rEEffi
43 9 76 29 121 309 85 296 tOO ))7

f,rEH,H,C
389 22 94 662 107
MEFEtr
40
151 313 477 694

+++,H.itEBf+x
llt 5t4 t41 90 ltl ll4
323 144 312
+4**.6*4
89 607 761 365 407 795 3,1

\t/ g€ ft* g:1',;'ltr',t + -=," + tr'E lE t+

261 543 544 545 l3l ll:1 l8l 125 4ll 168 128 550 512 787

fi +,.ru + tr ftfufuRF.il"tt
417 5t7 566 549 418 587 616 649

Ltt?tr,,)-E
73
119 367 310 317 379
4' 4*+&&24
70
689 546 547 507 548 69

++++ft+aa€a
19 579 416 166 161 59 347 641 :l4il 287
+l. L f1 'F {L Zu :':
,fl4 560 310 392 120 625

X,.'intZtH&tr.1
25 39 291 t?7 380 ,{37 175 791 668 297
*+HAf#4Hffi
739 733 763 621 321 2t8 40t 635 700

+frEAHEHHffi
668 427 569 581 614 3,{2 481 654 800
,ii:;
429

*;*BF.e."P*6'
195 196 257 634 258 197 295 640
XHHE+ffiHffi"ffi
l2r 70r
582 454 122 352 461 146 ?7r

E
221
*+x*;EH'i6
91 92
ti
109 250 406 449 641 438
,< LIr tA9H
18 |6 426 tt4

:i.EE66+48
305 ,172 509 712 703 164 769 796
ll Etr .E,€,tsfiEge?s
254 424 280 479 679 629 630

El E&.D+,tr8r.1
616 617 618 781 186 167 116 421 528 633 715 30 113

F +5.F.+ E E,EH+,8.+
l9E 183 185 725 156 165 a U 580 t57 187

-J. aHHEH*
162 194 45)
+:r
:152 307 248 539 137
it ffiEE E@+aE-+'
<zi=lm-?_
101 431 572 590 594

,:t + -*t+frFE other /afl,*5X+rt6+E

86 275 308 487 488 539 31 214 625 423 217 378 753 559 277 186

,1 F] ft
515:ll5 416
ii+HER4frEA
5ll
137 526 748 505 571 492 598 713
#
11\7
 -FAST FINDER ]NDF,X 382

,k++
.+8
6li9 76lt
frE&tr4#
l8l l.l8 507 70 l:17 64l
,/\,I ir....v .F. + q,H E H EEE +;:tr8 t1).il
39 6:15 254 625 232 624 452 235 2r8 152 509 486 175 519 213 140 649

EI Etr866
^f!fr.frftF
171 511 419 515 .192 769 22 40 257 761 692

_)t *+*tl
668 579 5E0 85
FI H
94
€'E
379
E 61'r
114 173 204 49

)L 51 EI EIE F
l0l 137 194 305 l.+2 21.1 405 699 548 663 701

a'
A\ Z\ 1' -i- t, n7
=-6
H7
4. ai tr EHE-'i]
.110 .131 607 698 608 ll5 614 63 418

ti E +.i. +.A, yi E nt1 lm

185 671 695 696 266 761 iq7 t00 70t

I. E..;
487 509 512 526 587 426 165 109 617

.-H.
662
,H. /f; ltF, A
.=.* lB
5l:l 4r3 16,1 l61 258 55f, 5i7
E A Z***rit
56 86 59 r9 r 65,1

--fu_6nJ )J q*+*1t.ii
2 :l 549 598 lt:t t56 547 321 762 13 616

157 2l I 691 5.11 2.17 55 :172 416 570

h n)-E*
296 29r 291 295

F
++++F+F+ri'
tl9
124 l9i 125 631 635 6]4 l.1:l 6.18
=.? \E++
92
267 572 8)

.1\ +*++**R+rl:
5ll
187 196 5:16 719 733 725 505'rl4
rF rm fr6ffi'e*f6ffiffi
l5l
427 558 ,129 54:l 705 590

t+H+^,Irr:ij
76 :l0l
172 629 582 618 250 2:18
,KE &R7.+,R
437 438 436 489 775

x dLx. .167 367 25

,r.bE +. tf E )r lli
,{
^E
E
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Tirttle
Learner's
Chinese-
5!fJli"l,m

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 'A great place to start your Mandarin studies.,, _ Goodreads
'A great memorization tool for Chinese characters .,, _Virginialynn.hubpages.com
"This book is everything r could have wished for when learning basic
chinese.,,
Hanban,com
-
This book helps you learn the meanings and pronunciations
of the gOO most common
Mandarin chinese characters-those required for the Advanced pracement
and HsK Levet
1-3 exams. Authors Alison and Laurence Matthews have developed
a revolutionary new
method of learning the basic Mandarin Chinese characters quickly
and easily based on
the modern science of learning and memory. Key principles of this
method include (a)
the use of visual imagery to depict each character and commit it
to memory atong with a
story containing the meaning and pronunciation of the character,
and (b) the systematic
construction of complicated characters from their constituent
buitding btocks.

Learning Chinese Characters has been used successfully

by tens of thousands of
people and is suitable for anyone with an interest in
Learning the basic chinese
characters, with or without prior knowtedge of the Mandarin-
Chinese language. lt
may be used in conjunction with any standard textbook, or on its
own.
KEY FEATURES OF THIS BOOK:
Speciatty designed pictures and stories make each character
memorabte,
allowing you to quickty commit the meaning and pronunciation
of the
character to long-term memory without the need for tedious
and time_
consuming rote memorization

Tips are provided on how to use the learning method

and how to avoid
common probtems encountered by students when learning the
characters
Mandarin Chinese characters are introduced in logicat sequence, giving
priority
to the most common ones
Standard simptified Mandarin Chinese characters are presented
with
pronunciations given in the standard Hanyu pinyin romanization
system
Key information is provided for each character_including
radical, stroke-
count, traditional forms, compounds and guidance on writing
the character

This is a practicat guide with a ctear and concise presentation.

Alt characters are
indexed for easy [ook-up.

lsBN 978 0-8048-3816-0

www.tutttepubtish ing.com
Printed in Singapore
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