Introducing Oneself to the Family: Character Memorization Fun
rich
July 27, 2007, 07:51 PM posted in General DiscussionOkay, moving these character radical quizzes to their own discussion as I should have done in the first place. This one deals with characters from the vocabulary of the Intermediate lesson Introducing Oneself to the Family .
Would be great to see some of you guesses of what the radicals are (I give the pinyin) and full character/English meaning. Show your work! (yes, this is math class) as that will help us wrap our brains around these picturesque characters we westerners have a hard time remembering, yet deal with them in Chinese learning all the time, whether we want to read characters or not.
It's a Hard-Knock Life for this Family of Characters
1) ?: For him to talk so big(dà) about himself makes the rest of the team feel treated unfairly(kuī).
2) ?: I feel in my heart(xīn) it's impossible for the grass(cǎo) to be this heavy(zhòng), I just don't...
3) ?: Taking a metal(jīn) tool and beat(shū) roots to pulled them out of the ground(pulled up roots: pull 而ér out of the ground and put it on its side) takes a lot of this.
4) ?: When the letter(jiǎn) is put in the fire(huǒ) it does this.
5) ?: Rice(mǐ) that is green(qǐng) is _______ for making spirits and alcohol. (I don' t know if this statement is true, just pretend it is... or just say "In China, rice is ...")
rich
July 27, 2007, 09:14 PMGood job. You get a gold star. I see that radical book you're reading is really paying off. Okay, when the lesson is advanced, I'll write the riddles all in characters to make it harder. :) Please, feel free to post if you still have questions, or even want to correct my way of thinking... some of them were hard to think up, such as 炼 and 精. 1) 夸: For him to talk so big(大dà) about himself makes the rest of the team feel treated unfairly(亏kuī). = kuā BRAG 2) 懂: I feel in my heart(忄xīn) it's impossible for the grass(艹cǎo) to be this heavy(重zhòng), I just don't... = dǒng UNDERSTAND 3) 锻: Taking a metal(钅jīn) tool and beat(殳shū) roots to pulled them out of the ground(pulled up roots: take 而ér and put it on its side) takes a lot of this. = duàn EXERCISE (literally: TO FORGE) 4) 炼: When the letter(柬jiǎn) is put in the fire(火huǒ) it does this. = liàn SMELT, REFINE 5) 精: Rice(米mǐ) that is green(青qīng) is _______ for making spirits and alcohol. (I don' t know if this statement is true, just pretend it is... or just say "In China, rice is ...") = jīng PERFECT (精神 SPIRIT, 酒精 ALCOHOL)
rich
July 27, 2007, 09:16 PMOr maybe first i won't have any pinyin, then give pinyin if necessary...
bazza
July 27, 2007, 09:51 PMI did come up with 柬 first for 炼 but didn't think the radical match, but I see it now, it's kind of like a side view. :)
bazza
July 27, 2007, 10:06 PMJust noticed the traditional form is 煉
rich
July 27, 2007, 11:53 PMyes, 柬 is the traditional form. While Wenlin shows the simplified form which looks like 东 (but it isn't!!!), it is not included in unicode char set, so I just used to traditional form. Very creative of you to use 扌 shǒu (hand) for the radical, but yeah, 柬 means: card, note, letter. To invite by sending a letter or card is: 柬请. (so 柬 is actually both traditional and simplified, but as a radical, it got changed). Here is what I found about why it is drawn the way it is: to 八 divide a 束 bundle: choose so then someone "choosing from a bundle" got equated with sending letters.
rich
July 27, 2007, 11:54 PMerr... someone => somehow
bazza
July 27, 2007, 08:34 PM***SPOILER*** ****************** ****************** 1）大+亏=夸 2）忄+艹+重=懂 3）钅+而+殳=锻 4）火+（拣-扌）=炼 5）米+青=精