How many characters do YOU know?
Home New Posts
Login: Pass: Log in or register for standard view and full access.
Page 2 of 2 < 1 2
smithsgj -
Trooper's right. You have to learn the characters, and you have to know the ways they combine to
form words... also you have to figure out where the boundaries between the words are -- no mean
feat!
Pleco Software Learn Chinese with our Dictionaries for Palm and Pocket PC.
Learn Chinese in China Learn to speak Chinese 1MonthChinese.com -Mandarin School in China.
Chinese Textbooks Wide range, cheap, varied languages. Also Chinese cartoons, toys, gifts.
Study Chinese in Beijing Affordable Mandarin language courses at BLCU with ChinaUnipath.com.
HNHSoft Dictionary Learn Chinese on Smartphone and PDA with real person's voice.
XueXueXue IQChinese Get beyond the plateau.Take your Mandarin to a new level.
Chinese in Lijiang Short term Chinese study in a beautiful town with a focus on daily life.
MandarinTube Chinese Access to current everyday Chinese language and culture, 24/7.
Learn Chinese Homestay Chinese course, cultural activities & volunteer events in China.
Learn Chinese Online 1-on-1 instant tutoring, diverse courses, native teachers. FREE trial now!
Nihao Chinese Progam Free one-on-one Chinese lesson. Win 5-years of free lessons now!
About Ads (and how to hide them) -- Your message here
bathrobe -
How important is this?
And what does it mean to 'know' a character?
I don't know how many characters I know. Maybe 2,000. Maybe 3,000.
On the other hand, I can read Chinese newspaper articles without too much effort. That is, I can
get the meaning without a lot of trouble. But don't ask me to read out loud -- there'll be a lot
of 'I think this is how it's pronounced, but I'm not sure'. And certainly don't bother asking me
to write. Now that I use a computer, I've almost forgotten how to write half my characters!
So I wonder whether this 'number of characters' thing is an important or even a realistic question.
roddy -
I agree very much with what bathrobe says about reading newspapers. I can get through huge chucks
of text with very little trouble, but discuss it afterwords? No chance.
I'd guess I'm also in the 2-3,000 range (newspaper reading and then some) but again, it's vocab,
not characters, that you need.
I think there's another topic on this from some time ago, back when the board was young - if you
have a look round the last couple of pages you might find it . . .
Roddy
Jamie -
Trooper, you bring up an excellent point.
Bathrobe, by 'know' I mean 'comprehend'. I brought this up:
1) out of a simple curiosity to see what levels different people are at
2) (and more importantly) to see if there is a correlation between how many characters (or
compound characters) one knows and how much one understands written text. What it comes down to is
that an extensive knowledge of characters doesn't necessarily represent comprehension of written
text.
So that said, do those who have strong speaking skills feel that they have an easier understanding
of written text??
(This is the link to the previous topic: http://www. From Beijing Chinese School/viewtopic.php?t=8. Sorry
Roddy, I hadn't read all the way back to the first page!)
smithsgj -
But there are characters that I comprehend from the context, but can't write and can't pronounce.
Can write and can't pronounce. Can pronounce but can't write. Could make a guess at pronunciation.
Sort of comprehend, can pronounce and write easily. Get the meaning of what seems to be a word,
without having a clue about one of the characters. And whatever other permutations are left.
It's easy if you've been studying Chinese for 3 weeks and have mastered the reading writing and
pronunciation of twelve characters. But if you've been exposed to Chinese from a variety of
sources for several years, which may or may not include a period of formal textbook learning,
there is no meaningful way to quantify the characters you know (or comprehend, even).
> So that said, do those who have strong speaking skills feel that they have an easier
understanding of written text??
Mandarin is different from other languages. The writing system (and the difference in written and
spoken styles, which is itself a product of the writing system) is a very indirect representation
of the spoken language. This means that it is much harder to reinforce reading skills, say,
through speaking practice, as you would do with French or Spanish: you can't just pick up
something from a conversation and add it to your reading repertoire.
So Jamie there is a weaker correlation between strong speaking skills and reading comprehension
than there is in languages written alphabetically.
thepokergod -
I can write about 400 and read about twice that. But as roddy says vocab is much more important. I
could certainly read a fair chunk of newspaper out load but not have a clue what it means.
skylee -
Quote:
Originally Posted by smithsgj
But there are characters that I comprehend from the context, but can't write and can't pronounce.
Can write and can't pronounce. Can pronounce but can't write. Could make a guess at pronunciation.
Sort of comprehend, can pronounce and write easily. Get the meaning of what seems to be a word,
without having a clue about one of the characters. And whatever other permutations are left.
Ha, same here.
All times are GMT +8. The time now is 06:02 PM.
chinese language lessons, learn chinese language, learn to speak chinese, mandarin learn, study chinese, study chinese in china, studying chinese, china chinese in learning, chinese language class, chinese language exchange, chinese language in china, chinese language lesson, chinese language study, chinese language tutor, learn chinese beijing, learn chinese in beijing, learn chinese pinyin, learn to speak mandarin chinese, learning chinese online, learning the chinese language, mandarin learn online, study chinese china, studying chinese online
