the following similar-looking characters, pronouncing each one out loud and thinking of its meaning.
一、川 川 川 三 三 三
二、三 三 三 川 川 川
三、川 川 川 州 州 州
四、州 州 州 川 川 川
五、三 川 州 州 川 三
Reading Exercises (Traditional Characters)
A. PERSONAL NAMES
Read out loud each of the following personal names.
B. PLACE NAMES
Read out loud each of the following place names.
C. PEOPLE AND THEIR PLACES OF ORIGIN
Read out loud each of the following expressions, thinking of the meaning as you say it.
D. NAMES OF STREETS AND ROADS
Read out loud the names of each of these Chinese streets or roads.
E. CHARACTER DIFFERENTIATION DRILLS
Distinguish carefully the following similar-looking characters, pronouncing each one out loud and thinking of its meaning.
一、川 川 川 三 三 三
二、三 三 三 川 川 川
三、川 川 川 州 州 州
四、州 州 州 川 川 川
五、三 川 州 州 川 三
Notes
D2. 中山 here refers to Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the Republic of China.
PART 4
More Personal and Place Names, People and Their Places of Origin, and Names of Streets and Roads
New Characters and Words
Study the six characters below and the common words written with them, paying careful attention to each character’s pronunciation, meaning, and structure, as well as similar-looking characters. After you’ve studied a character, turn to the Practice Book volume and practice writing it on the practice sheet, making sure to follow the correct stroke order and direction as you pronounce it out loud and think of its meaning.
| 43 | 河 | hé | river |
| Radical is 水 shuĭ “water.” Notice that this radical is written 氵 and is referred to colloquially as 三点水 (三點水) sāndiăn shuĭ “three drops of water” when it occurs at the left-hand side of a character. Phonetic is 可 kĕ “may” [BF]. Contrast 河 with 何 Hé (19). | |||
| 河南 | Hé’nán | Henan (province) [PW] (lit. “south of the [Yellow] River”) | |
| 河北 | Hébĕi | Hebei (province) [PW] (lit. “north of the [Yellow] River”) | |
| 44 | 湖 | hú | lake [N] |
| Radical is 水 shuĭ “water.” Again, this radical is written 氵 and is referred to colloquially as 三点水 (三點水) sāndiăn shuĭ “three drops of water” when it occurs at the left-hand side of a character. Phonetic is 胡 Hú [SN]. | |||
| 湖南 | Hú’nán | Hunan (province) [PW] (lit. “south of the [Dòngtíng] Lake”) | |
| 湖北 | Húbĕi | Hubei (province) [PW] (lit. “north of the [Dòngtíng] Lake”) | |
| 五大湖 | Wŭ Dà Hú | Great Lakes (lit. “five great lakes”) [PW] | |
| 45 | 湾(灣) | wān | bay |
| Radical is 水 shuĭ “water.” Notice that this radical is written 氵 and is referred to colloquially as 三点水 (三點水) sāndiăn shuĭ “three drops of water” when it occurs at the left-hand side of a character. Phonetic is 弯 (彎) wān “bend.” Land “bends” around “water,” creating a “bay.” | |||
| 台湾 (台灣) | Táiwān | Taiwan [PW] | |
| 46 | 金 | jīn | gold, metal |
| 金 is itself a common radical. Incidentally, 金 is the character that represents the syllable “kum” in the word “kumquat” (this word was borrowed into English from Cantonese, in which language jīn is pronounced “kum” or, more accurately, gām). | |||
| 金 | Jīn | Jin, Chin (also Kim, the most common Korean surname) [SN] | |
| 金山 | Jīnshān | large district in Shanghai; town in northern Taiwan famous for its hot springs [PW] | |
| 47 | 市 | shì | market, city |
| Radical is 巾 jīn “cloth” [BF]. 市 serves as a phonetic in 柿 shì as in 柿子 shìzi “persimmon.” | |||
| 市 | shì | city, municipality [BF] | |
| 北京市 | Bĕijīng Shì | Beijing City [PH] | |
| 广州市 ( 廣州市 ) | Guăngzhōu Shì | Guangzhou City [PH] | |
| 台北市 | Táibĕi Shì | Taipei City [PH] | |
| 48 | 省 | shĕng | province |
| Radical is 目 mù “eye” [BF], which is a pictograph representing two eyes set upright. The other component is 少 shăo “few.” 省 is often added to the names of the various Chinese provinces. Contrast 省 with 香 xiāng (39). | |||
| 省 | shĕng | province [N] | |
| 河南省 | Hé’nán Shĕng | Henan Province [PH] ) | |
| 河北省 | Hébĕi Shĕng | Hebei Province [PH] | |
| 湖南省 | Hú’nán Shĕng | Hunan Province [PH] | |
| 湖北省 | Húbĕi Shĕng | Hubei Province [PH] | |
| 山西省 | Shānxī Shĕng | Shanxi Province [PH] | |
| 四川省 | Sìchuān Shĕng | Sichuan Province [PH] |
Reading Exercises (Simplified Characters)
Now practice reading the new characters