Caren Zuo's Blog

Learn Chinese Characters 156 步

caren_zuo@sina.com (caren zuo) — 2008-04-14 09:48

by Caren Zuo

One feet is followed by another. Then it means step forward. You will find the foot that characterized by toes was later transformed into the character "止"。There are some changes between the above and the below of the the regular script of the character "步".

It is difficult to tell the difference of the charater "走" or "步" if we only talk about the character themselves. It is more easily to understand their usages in phrases and sentences.

Useful Phrases:

Learn Chinese Characters 155 走

caren_zuo@sina.com (caren zuo) — 2008-04-14 09:06

by Caren Zuo

It is easier to learn the 走 after we learn the character “大” and “止”。 It can be divided into two parts. The part above is "大", which is a picture of a human, while the part below is the characer 止，symbol of "toes". The regular script of the character “走”has changed the above into the character "土"，for no reasons. Anyway, it is clear for us to judge its meaning from the part below, that it has something to do with feet or leg. The character “走”means "walk".

Learn Chinese Characters 154 足

caren_zuo@sina.com (caren zuo) — 2008-04-12 18:18

by Caren Zuo

There is something like a "口" on the above. It definitely has nothing to do with a "mouth". Actualy the character "口" represents many thing in ancient times. Here some think that it means one's knees. The part below is the picture of one's toes. The character "足" refer to the parts from one's knees to one's toes. They are "legs".

In modern Chinese, when we refer to "legs", we use "腿". The meaning of "legs" of character "足" is kept in some idioms or classic Chinese. A phrase "足够"meaning "enough" is very enough in modern Chinese. In addition, soccer ball in chinese is "足球"，which means a kind of ball kicked by feet.

Learn Chinese Characters 153 止

caren_zuo@sina.com (caren zuo) — 2008-04-12 17:21

by Caren Zuo

The first is oracle script, picturing toes of a person, hence it means "toes".We have learned the character "出", (see piectures below) which means that one's stepping out of the threshold of a house. The above part of the character "出" （especially its oracle script） is the same as the oracle script of the character "止".

The character "止" is a radical which has something to do with "toes" when it forms new combined characters, such as "出，步，足此"。

Learn Chinese Characters 152 去

caren_zuo@sina.com (caren zuo) — 2008-04-07 11:01

by Caren Zuo

去 ( qù )

The character changed a lot today and we could learn nothing about its orgins if we only consider about its regular script (the last one). I have to warn you not all Chinese shed light on its meanins from its component and structure. Sometimes it even mislead you. The character "去" is a good example. From the regular script the part above is a character "土"， and the part on the below is the same with that of "私" and "公"，which means "bending" or "thinking about on one's interests". On this way of analysis you will go far away from its true meaning.

Learn Chinese Characters 151 出

caren_zuo@sina.com (caren zuo) — 2008-04-07 10:44

by Caren Zuo

出（chū）

Its regular script (the last one) gives us little leads on its original meaning. Actualy it is a up-down construction. Take the oracle script (the first one), The part on the above is something like a toe of a foot, while the part below draws a threshold. The character originally means that one's feet is stepping out of the freshhold, namly one is leaving his house. Now the character has changed into double "山" stand in a column.

Its orignally meaning "to leave". Later it was extended to mean "to produce", "to send", "to appear".

Bargaining at Beijing Silk Street

caren_zuo@sina.com (caren zuo) — 2008-04-07 07:50

I found an interesting story and post here.

Walking into Beijing's famous discount shopping bazaar, Silk Street, the eye is immediately overwhelmed with possibilities.

Designer names and colorful fabrics catch your eye as tourists and Beijing residents alike weave in and out among the maze of aisles and pass chatty shopkeepers in search of one thing: the best bargain.

Silk Street, which is located in the city's Chaoyang District averages crowds of 20,000 patrons on weekdays and up to 50,000 on the weekend. It can be an intimidating environment for those new to bargaining.

Learn Chinese Characters 150 半

caren_zuo@sina.com (caren zuo) — 2008-04-03 17:49

by Caren Zuo

半（bàn）

半= 八（a semantic part meaning separating or getting away from）+
牛（a semantic part meaning a cow）

Cows, the big animals are popular in agriculture society. Then it is also very popular in forming new combined characters. Take the character “牧” for example，the right part is a picture is a “hand”, and the character “牧” means “graze cows with hands”. The character “牢” show us that it is a place (the upper part meaning a house) where a cow lives. Then the character “牢” got its extensive meaning “a jail”, where people are imprisoned and they are not free.

Learn Chinese Characters 149 分

caren_zuo@sina.com (caren zuo) — 2008-04-03 17:46

by Caren Zuo

分（fēn）

分= 八（a semantic part meaning separating or getting away from）+
刀（a semantic part meaning cutting with a knife）

It is easily understood when you learn the meaning of individual two parts. The character “分” originally means “to separate, to split ” which is still kept as its dominate meaning.

In addition, it also is used as one of monetary unit in Chinese language. You man learn that Chinese “yuan”, also know as “kuai” in oral language, is the most popular unit. Ten jiao is equal to one yuan, and ten fen equals to one jiao. Now it is seldom circulated in big city, for few prices of commercial stuffs in markets or stores have the uint of “fen”. “十分” is very popular in Chinese. But it doest means something worth “ten fen”, it means “very, very much”.

Coponent Order of Chinese Characters

caren_zuo@sina.com (caren zuo) — 2008-04-03 16:32

Component Order

Most Chinese characters are combinations of simpler, component characters. Usually the two parts are written at top and bottom

or left and right

so that the main two stroke order rules readily apply. Occasionally these rules also conflict with respect to components. When one component is at the bottom-left, and the other at the top-right, the top-right component is sometimes written first.

When there are several components, top components are written first.

These rules usually imply each component is written in its entirety before another component is written. Exceptions may arise when one component divides another,