Comments on: Chinese Handwriting http://www.chineselearnonline.com/learning-insights/2007/10/12/chinese-handwriting/ Tips, tricks and cultural insights on learning Mandarin Chinese Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:18:52 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.1 By: Lok http://www.chineselearnonline.com/learning-insights/2007/10/12/chinese-handwriting/#comment-29841 Lok Fri, 02 Sep 2011 13:39:07 +0000 http://www.chineselearnonline.com/learning-insights/2007/10/12/chinese-handwriting/#comment-29841 I don't think the writing in the photo is hand writing. I think it's just a font that happens to look like hand writing. In fact it doesn't look that different from the "standard" characters. If you can write in the correct order, you gradually develop your own style and you know how to properly write cursive. You just need to write really quick. I don’t think the writing in the photo is hand writing. I think it’s just a font that happens to look like hand writing. In fact it doesn’t look that different from the “standard” characters.
If you can write in the correct order, you gradually develop your own style and you know how to properly write cursive. You just need to write really quick.

]]> By: Petra http://www.chineselearnonline.com/learning-insights/2007/10/12/chinese-handwriting/#comment-1440 Petra Mon, 30 Mar 2009 21:50:30 +0000 http://www.chineselearnonline.com/learning-insights/2007/10/12/chinese-handwriting/#comment-1440 i relly love the siqns. it inspires me. im bearly in 8th qrade but ima take chinese in high school. i relly love the siqns. it inspires me. im bearly in 8th qrade but ima take chinese in high school.

]]> By: Rick http://www.chineselearnonline.com/learning-insights/2007/10/12/chinese-handwriting/#comment-932 Rick Fri, 20 Feb 2009 21:29:02 +0000 http://www.chineselearnonline.com/learning-insights/2007/10/12/chinese-handwriting/#comment-932 I think that learning handwritting is actually one of the more important aspects of remmebering the characters. It cements in your mind how to produce the characters. You are nolonger trying to memorise a complicated shape, you are remembering components and stroke-patterns. I found that when I was first exposed to a class room situation that I could not understand the hand writing of anyone at all. Given a few months though and I had see all the short cuts that are used and understood the patterens. Given another few months and I could write hand writing almost like a native (I say almost because I am still slower, but that may be because I have to think about what I want to write before I write it). Learning cursive is not something that you need to study; you just need to be exposed to it and have the time to look at the characters stroke by stroke and perhaps try to reproduce that in your own writing, bit by bit. Learning Cursive is not too hard, and it is valuable. Hanzi really come alive when you are able to write them properly. For some reason they stick better. I think that learning handwritting is actually one of the more important aspects of remmebering the characters. It cements in your mind how to produce the characters. You are nolonger trying to memorise a complicated shape, you are remembering components and stroke-patterns.
I found that when I was first exposed to a class room situation that I could not understand the hand writing of anyone at all. Given a few months though and I had see all the short cuts that are used and understood the patterens. Given another few months and I could write hand writing almost like a native (I say almost because I am still slower, but that may be because I have to think about what I want to write before I write it). Learning cursive is not something that you need to study; you just need to be exposed to it and have the time to look at the characters stroke by stroke and perhaps try to reproduce that in your own writing, bit by bit.
Learning Cursive is not too hard, and it is valuable. Hanzi really come alive when you are able to write them properly. For some reason they stick better.

]]> By: Jeremy http://www.chineselearnonline.com/learning-insights/2007/10/12/chinese-handwriting/#comment-463 Jeremy Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:59:34 +0000 http://www.chineselearnonline.com/learning-insights/2007/10/12/chinese-handwriting/#comment-463 I am absolutely perplexed by Chinese handwriting. As a relative beginner (finishing up 1 year of Mandarin study), I feel very confident reading the 200 or 300 characters I know provided they're in the exact font my textbook uses. Minor deviations in printing style trip me up, to say nothing of attempting to decrypt a Chinese person's handwriting. They might as well be two entirely different sets of characters. I agree with Chris that handwriting recognition is something worth putting off until I've mastered the language. As I start to see how radicals work together to create meaning, and become more familiar with the ones used in common characters, I'm sure I'll start to pick up the shorthand by knowing how the radicals are abbreviated. In the mean time, I'm sticking to print. I am absolutely perplexed by Chinese handwriting. As a relative beginner (finishing up 1 year of Mandarin study), I feel very confident reading the 200 or 300 characters I know provided they’re in the exact font my textbook uses. Minor deviations in printing style trip me up, to say nothing of attempting to decrypt a Chinese person’s handwriting. They might as well be two entirely different sets of characters.

I agree with Chris that handwriting recognition is something worth putting off until I’ve mastered the language. As I start to see how radicals work together to create meaning, and become more familiar with the ones used in common characters, I’m sure I’ll start to pick up the shorthand by knowing how the radicals are abbreviated. In the mean time, I’m sticking to print.

]]> By: Frank http://www.chineselearnonline.com/learning-insights/2007/10/12/chinese-handwriting/#comment-128 Frank Mon, 03 Dec 2007 00:23:22 +0000 http://www.chineselearnonline.com/learning-insights/2007/10/12/chinese-handwriting/#comment-128 At least for the German poeple around here I can recommend http://www.chdw.de There you can find lessons on writing characters (among other useful stuff). At least for the German poeple around here I can recommend http://www.chdw.de
There you can find lessons on writing characters (among other useful stuff).

]]> By: chris(mandarin_student) http://www.chineselearnonline.com/learning-insights/2007/10/12/chinese-handwriting/#comment-91 chris(mandarin_student) Thu, 01 Nov 2007 23:56:30 +0000 http://www.chineselearnonline.com/learning-insights/2007/10/12/chinese-handwriting/#comment-91 I think it is just that handwriting is far down the list of priorities, I rate reading far higher, it seems that once you can read a bunch of characters confidently, then learning to write them kindergarden style is realtivly easy. I am happy to save cursive until I have mastered the language. As for the conciseness of the written language, in a way Chinese is a mind-hack. For example the popular microblogging site twitter allows 140 characters per post. You can write a lot more in Chinese in 140 characters than English. Ok techies may point out that for Chinese on a computer you need 16bits per character rather than 8bits for western text, but most web apps play nicely via unicode or UTF8 so that is irrelevant, you can still say more for less. http://twitter.com/chris_mandarin I have just decided to use Twitter as an extra learing aid. I can try little snippets of written Chinese on a regular basis and can review what I have written at any time. I think it is just that handwriting is far down the list of priorities, I rate reading far higher, it seems that once you can read a bunch of characters confidently, then learning to write them kindergarden style is realtivly easy. I am happy to save cursive until I have mastered the language.

As for the conciseness of the written language, in a way Chinese is a mind-hack. For example the popular microblogging site twitter allows 140 characters per post. You can write a lot more in Chinese in 140 characters than English. Ok techies may point out that for Chinese on a computer you need 16bits per character rather than 8bits for western text, but most web apps play nicely via unicode or UTF8 so that is irrelevant, you can still say more for less.

http://twitter.com/chris_mandarin
I have just decided to use Twitter as an extra learing aid. I can try little snippets of written Chinese on a regular basis and can review what I have written at any time.

]]> By: parrot http://www.chineselearnonline.com/learning-insights/2007/10/12/chinese-handwriting/#comment-89 parrot Wed, 31 Oct 2007 07:14:29 +0000 http://www.chineselearnonline.com/learning-insights/2007/10/12/chinese-handwriting/#comment-89 Interesting that nobody has commented on this one yet. Is handwriting not popular among students? So how do you get from laboriously copying printed words stroke by stroke, to something that's really handwriting? I don't think you can, unless you have frequent encounters with other people's handwriting, to gradually absorb the kinds of modifications that are acceptable without changing the character. Or is it something that is taught to kids in school, like how we learned printing first and then cursive writing? Interesting that nobody has commented on this one yet. Is handwriting not popular among students?

So how do you get from laboriously copying printed words stroke by stroke, to something that’s really handwriting? I don’t think you can, unless you have frequent encounters with other people’s handwriting, to gradually absorb the kinds of modifications that are acceptable without changing the character. Or is it something that is taught to kids in school, like how we learned printing first and then cursive writing?

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