Mandarin Class II

一
(one)

• yi

• e

• da

人

• run

• ren

• da

Answer explanation

“人(rén)”  is probably one of the first Chinese characters we recognize.

In ancient times, the Chinese character “人” was an upright animal who knew how to bow and was humble.

Now“人”looks like a person walking with both legs spread apart and face to the front.

大
(big)

• yi

• ta

• da

二
(two)

• er

• are

• ren

天
Day

• thien

• ren

• tian

Answer explanation

Common Chinese Words Using 天


jin tian : jin = close , tian = day
Therefore, jin tian is TODAY

yi tian : yi = one , tian = day
Therefore, yi tian is one day

ji tian : ji = a few / several / some / how many, tian = day
Therefore, ji tian is several days

日
(day / sun)

• ri

• re

• ming

Answer explanation

You might remember the reading of the character 日 with this useful mnemonic:

After learning an interesting fact about the sun from school, you're excited to tell your sister about it. "Did you know that light takes about eight minutes to get to earth?" you said excitedly. "I already know that," your sister said. "Grrr (rì)…little know-it-all," you thought to yourself.

Using mnemonics to remember how to understand Chinese characters like has a huge impact on how long to learn Mandarin it takes

月
(moon / month)

• ri

• yue

• ming

明

• ri

• yue

• ming

Answer explanation

明 míng (bright in Chinese) is a Chinese character whose meaning is apparent when noting that its component parts are “sun” (日) on the left and “moon” (月) on the right.

These are the two things that make the world “bright” and “clear.”

(okay, in reality, it is the Sun & its reflection on the moon, but people in Ancient China didn’t know that yet！ :P )

The meaning of “bright” is a bit less common than its primary definition “clear” or “clarity.”

However, if a secondary meaning helps you remember a character, use it!

The word for “Tomorrow” 明天 (tiān) and “Next Year” 明年 (nián) both start with “bright.” This is quite an optimistic view of the future.

小

• xiao

• qiao

• jian

Answer explanation

Repeat with the video and now you have memorised it!

妈

• ma

• me

• mei

Answer explanation

Meaning - mother, mom

Pronunciation - mā

Explanation :

Left: woman 女, right: horse 马

Mnemonic : My mamma used to say that women (女) are as strong as horses (马).