Introduction to Chinese Characters

Pre-requisites for enrolment

This course is for beginners with basic knowledge of Mandarin Chinese.

Content of Course

• The structure of Chinese characters
• Character components and radicals
• Rules of stroke order
• Phonetic and semantic components of Chinese characters
• How to use a Chinese dictionary
• How to input Chinese characters by computer

Teaching method(s)

The course is tutorial based with a combination of joint class activities and group work. Supplementary material is prepared by the teacher. In order to fully benefit from the course and to achieve the learning outcomes, students are expected to spend 1-2 hours per class on revision and homework.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students should be able to understand:

• how Chinese characters have been evolved through the history
• the structure of Chinese characters
• principles of formation
• radicals and rules of stroke order
• at least 150 Chinese characters.

Sources

Core Readings

Course materials will be provided by the teacher at the classes.

Web Sources

www.chinesecio.com

Queries

If you have questions regarding the course or enrolment, please contact COL Reception at Paterson's Land by email COL@ed.ac.uk or by phone 0131 650 4400.

Student support

If you have a disability, learning difficulty or health condition which may affect your studies, please let us know by ticking the 'specific support needs' box on your course application form. This will allow us to make appropriate adjustments in advance and in accordance with your rights under the Equality Act 2010. For more information please visit the Student Support section of our website.