Chinese Characters

When you learn English or modern Vietnamese (Quốc Ngữ), you're essentially learning "sounds". For example, when you see the word "C-A-T", your brain reads the sound first, then associates it with a cat.

But Chinese characters are different. These are "ideographic writing". This means the character itself directly represents "meaning". When you see the character 山 (Shān), it's not just a pronunciation—the shape is a miniature image of three mountain peaks.

In simple terms: Phonetic writing (like English, Vietnamese) is like a "voice recorder" capturing speech; while Chinese characters are like a "camera" capturing the shape of objects.

How Are Chinese Characters "Assembled"? (LEGO Principle)

Many beginners feel afraid because Chinese has tens of thousands of characters—how can you memorize them all? In reality, this is a misconception.

Chinese characters are like LEGO building blocks. All complex characters are constructed from basic "components" (called Radicals).

• Characters with the radical 氵 (Three dots water) are mostly related to water: 海 (Hǎi - Sea), 河 (Hé - River), 渴 (Kě - Thirsty)
• Characters with the radical 女 (Woman) are often related to women or emotions: 妈 (Mā - Mom), 好 (Hǎo - Good: Ancient people believed a house with "Woman" and "Child" was the most auspicious)

The difference: Other languages combine letters, while Chinese characters require logical thinking. Once you master about 200 basic radicals, you can guess the approximate meaning of thousands of different characters.

Why Are Chinese Characters Extremely "Close" to Vietnamese?

Although modern Vietnamese uses the Latin alphabet, there's an interesting fact: 70% of Vietnamese vocabulary (Sino-Vietnamese words) originates from Chinese characters.

When you learn the character 注意力 (Zhù yì lì), you'll be surprised to find its pronunciation almost exactly matches the Vietnamese word "Chú ý lực" (attention span).

• Chinese: 成功 (Chéng gōng) → Vietnamese: Thành công (Success)
• Chinese: 幸福 (Xìng fú) → Vietnamese: Hạnh phúc (Happiness)

Learning tip: Consider Chinese characters as "blueprints" for the ancient soul of Vietnamese. When learning a new character, try associating it with the Sino-Vietnamese reading—you'll realize you already "know" half its meaning!

Summary: Why Should You Learn Chinese Characters?

In other languages, vocabulary is just symbols of sounds. But in Chinese characters, each character tells a story.

• Learning phonetic writing trains your ears
• Learning Chinese characters develops your brain's associative abilities

When you master Chinese characters, you not only open the door to the modern Chinese-speaking world but also hold the key to understanding the wisdom of our ancestors from thousands of years ago.