All Chinese characters are composed of different basic strokes or 笔画。 Let us try to learn and understand what are these basic strokes.
笔画 or basic stokes are unique and different from each other. There are one step and some are combinations of different strokes.
One step basic strokes
These are the most common and frequently used basic strokes. Some strokes are a combination of two or more of these basic strokes.
横 (héng) 《一》This stroke starts from left to right.
竖 (shù) 《丨》This stroke starts from top going down.
撇 (pié) 《丿》This stroke starts from the top sliding towards the left.
捺 (nà) 《 \ 》This stoke starts from the top sliding toward the right.
点 (diǎn) 《 丶》This stroke is a straight line from the top going towards the lower right, and it can be short and long one.
提 (tí) 《 / 》This stroke is a straight line from down going to the upper right, and it can be a short and long one.
Watch the video below to learn more of these basic strokes.
WHY do we need to know all these basic stroke?
When I was younger, there were no electronic gadgets nor internet which makes learning easier and accessible. If you wish to use the Chinese dictionary in learning, you need to know what are is the radical and correct number of strokes for any word that you wish to search. SO, proper knowledge on how to write each Chinese character is one of the essential key point in learning a Chinese concept.
But now that everything is digital, these basic strokes are becoming less and less important. We seldom use pen to write words nowadays because we can simply type and use the keyboard and select the words we are looking for. I won't deny that I also tend to forget how to write some Chinese characters without the using the keyboard, and this tend to weaken the writing skills for any learners of Mandarin, unless of course you are native ones.
I still believe that we should not forget these traditional way of learning each Chinese character. I am not a Chinese, but I have been learning Mandarin since I stared schooling since my dad is Chinese. SO I can truly relate on how hard it is to learn the language.
Good luck on your learning journey, and take care!
Anni laoshi :)
Kommentare