Lesson 6

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語伴/语伴找到星期以前見面/见面性格合得來機會/机会多少緊張/紧张英語/英语然後/然后幫助/帮助這種人/这种人語言/语言願意/愿意互相幫助/互相帮助漢語/汉语興趣/兴趣麻煩/麻烦來信/来信長得帥/长得帅來晚了/来晚了水平很高該上課了/该上课了總算/总算其實/其实要求過來/过来時間/时间

yǔ: language

radical: 言 (yán; language)

bàn: partner

radical: 亻(rén; person)

Simplified character:

zhǎo: look for; find

radical: 扌(shǒu; hand)

dào: arrive; reach; leave for; up until

radical: 至、刂

Chinese Studies Classroom: In ancient script, the character “到” features a shape on the left resembling an arrow striking the ground, while the right side depicts a person. Together, they signify someone arriving swiftly, with a speed comparable to that of an arrow. Therefore, the original meaning of “到” is “to arrive.”

Both traditional and simplified characters are written as:

xīng: star

radical: 日

Chinese Studies Classroom: In ancient script, the character “星 (xīng)” is a phono-semantic compound. The lower part, “生 (shēng),” serves as the phonetic component, indicating that “生” and “星” had similar pronunciations in ancient times. The upper part represents the shining objects in the night sky, symbolizing stars.

qī: a period of time

radical: 月 (yuè; moon)

Both traditional and simplified characters are written as:

yǐ: at (a certain time); on (a fixed date); with; by; according to

radical: 人 (rén, person)

qián: front; ago; before; go forward

radical: 丷、刂

Chinese Studies Classroom: In oracle bone script, the character “前” depicts a foot at the top and a small boat at the bottom, symbolizing a person standing at the bow of a boat moving forward. Thus, the original meaning of “前” is “to advance.” Over time, it extended to mean “in front,” “previously,” “former,” and related concepts.

Both traditional and simplified characters are written as:

jiàn: to meet

radical: 見

Chinese Studies Classroom: In oracle bone script, the lower part of the character “見” resembles a person kneeling, while the upper part depicts an unusually large eye, representing the meaning of “seeing.”

miàn: face; surface; side; aspect; noodle

radical: 一

Chinese Studies Classroom: In Oracle Bone Script, the character “面” (miàn) is depicted as the character “目” (eye) enclosed within a frame, representing the area of the face. Therefore, the original meaning of “面” is “face.” Over time, it extended to meanings such as “in person” and “surface.”

Simplified character:

xìng: nature; character; sex; gender

radical: 忄(xīn; heart)

gé: shape; form; style

radical: 木 (mù; wood)

Both traditional and simplified characters are written as:

hé: suit; be equal to; proper

radical: 人 (rén; person)

de: (used between a verb and a complement to indicate possibility)

radical: 彳 (chì; the appearance of walking slowly)

lái: come

radical: 木 (mù; wood)

Simplified character:

jī: chance; opportunity

radical: 木 (mù; wood)

huì: get together; assemble; meet; see; understand; can; be good at; be likely to

radical: 人 (rén, person)

Traditional character:

Simplified character:

duō: many; much; a lot

radical: 夕 (xī; evening)

Chinese Studies Classroom: “多” is formed with “夕” (evening), indicating something that accumulates or grows in quantity.

shǎo: few; little; less; lack; seldom

radical: 小 (xiǎo; small)

Both traditional and simplified characters are written as:

jǐn: tight; firm; close; urgent; short of money

radical: 糸 (sī; a bundle of silk)

zhāng: fix (a bowstring); string (a musical instrument); open; spread; stretch; extend; nervous; a surname

radical: 弓 (gōng; bow)

Simplified character:

yīng: flower; hero; outstanding person; Britain; English

radical: 艹 (cǎo; grass or the general term for herbaceous plants)

Chinese Studies Classroom: “英” is a phono-semantic character. The top component, “艹,” serves as the semantic indicator, suggesting a connection to plants or herbs, while the bottom component, “央 (yāng),” acts as the phonetic indicator, reflecting the similar pronunciation of “英 (yīng)” and “央 (yāng)” in ancient times. The original meaning of “英” referred to flowers, and it later extended to signify outstanding talent or exceptional individuals.

yǔ: language

radical: 言 (yán; language; tongue)

Chinese Studies Classroom: “語 (yǔ)” is a phono-semantic character. The left component, “言 (yán),” serves as the semantic indicator, signifying its connection to language or speech. The right component, “吾 (wú),” functions as the phonetic indicator, reflecting the similar pronunciation of “吾 (wú)” and “語 (yǔ)” in ancient times. The radical “言 (yán)” resembles a horizontal line added to “tongue”, symbolizing words articulated through the tongue, thus representing “language.” Characters with the “言 (yán)” radical often relate to speech or language, such as 說 (shuō – speak), 話 (huà – word), 語 (yǔ – language), and 談 (tán – discuss).

Simplified character:

rán: so; like that

radical: 灬 (huǒ; fire)

hòu: behind; back; after; later

radical: 彳 (chì; the appearance of walking slowly)

Traditional character:

Simplified character:

bāng: help

radical: 巾

zhù: help

radical: 力 (lì; strength)

Simplified character:

zhèi/zhè: this

radical: 辶 (chuò, walking)

zhǒng: kind; class; description; type; variety

radical: 禾 (hé; seedlings of cereal crops; grain seedling)

rén: person; people; human

radical: 人 (rén; person)

Simplified character:

yǔ: language

radical: 言 (yán; language; tongue)

Chinese Studies Classroom: “語 (yǔ)” is a phono-semantic character. The left component, “言 (yán),” serves as the semantic indicator, signifying its connection to language or speech. The right component, “吾 (wú),” functions as the phonetic indicator, reflecting the similar pronunciation of “吾 (wú)” and “語 (yǔ)” in ancient times. The radical “言 (yán)” resembles a horizontal line added to “tongue”, symbolizing words articulated through the tongue, thus representing “language.” Characters with the “言 (yán)” radical often relate to speech or language, such as 說 (shuō – speak), 話 (huà – word), 語 (yǔ – language), and 談 (tán – discuss).

yán: language

radical: 言

Chinese Studies Classroom: One interpretation of the character “言” is that, in ancient scripts, it looks like a horizontal line added to “舌” (tongue), representing words spoken through the tongue, which means “language.” Characters that include the “言” radical are often related to speech or language, such as 說 (shuō-speak), 話 (huà-word), 語 (yǔ-language), 談 (tán-discuss), etc.

Simplified character:

yuàn: hope; wish; desire; vow; be willing; be ready

radical: 頁 (yè; a person’s head)

yì: meaning; idea; intention

radical: 心 (xīn; heart)

Simplified character:

hù: each other; mutual

radical: 一 (yī)

xiāng: each other; one another; mutually

radical: 木 (mù; wood)

bāng: help

radical: 巾

zhù: help

radical: 力 (lì; strength)

Simplified character:

hàn: the Han nationality; Chinese (language)

radical: 氵(shuǐ; water)

yǔ: language

radical: 言 (yán; language; tongue)

Chinese Studies Classroom: “語 (yǔ)” is a phono-semantic character. The left component, “言 (yán),” serves as the semantic indicator, signifying its connection to language or speech. The right component, “吾 (wú),” functions as the phonetic indicator, reflecting the similar pronunciation of “吾 (wú)” and “語 (yǔ)” in ancient times. The radical “言 (yán)” resembles a horizontal line added to “tongue”, symbolizing words articulated through the tongue, thus representing “language.” Characters with the “言 (yán)” radical often relate to speech or language, such as 說 (shuō – speak), 話 (huà – word), 語 (yǔ – language), and 談 (tán – discuss).

Simplified character:

xìng: mood or desire to do sth.; interest; excitement

radical: 八

Chinese Studies Classroom: In Oracle Bone Script, the character “興” features a stretcher-like object in the center, with four hands at the corners, symbolizing the collective effort of lifting an object. Therefore, the original meaning of “興” is “to rise” or “to get up.” When used in an abstract sense, it signifies “to emerge” or “to arise.” Over time, it further extended to mean being in high spirits or feeling happy. When it specifically conveys the sense of “happiness,” the character is pronounced as “xìng.”

qù: interest; delight; bent; purport; interesting

radical: 走 (zǒu; run; walk)

Chinese Studies Classroom: In ancient script, the character “趣” consists of several symbolic elements. The upper left depicts a person running with outstretched arms, while the lower left shows a foot with visible toes, symbolizing the act of running. At the center is an enemy’s ear, and to its right is a hand, illustrating the act of swiftly pursuing enemies and cutting off their ears as trophies for rewards. Over time, this original meaning evolved to signify things that strongly attract or captivate, eventually extending to refer to intentions, hobbies, and interests.

Simplified character:

má: a general term for hemp, flax, jute, etc. rough; coarse; pitted; potted; numb; tingle

radical: 麻

Chinese Studies Classroom: The original meaning of “麻” refers to a general term for hemp plants. To process the fibers of these plants into materials for weaving, the fibers must be separated strand by strand, which gave rise to the extended meanings of “disorder” and “trouble.” When used as a verb, it means “numb” or “tingle.”

fán: trouble; bother; be tired of; be annoyed; superfluous and confusing

radical: 火 (huǒ; fire)

Chinese Studies Classroom: In ancient script, the character “煩” (fán) consists of the radical for fire on the left and a human head on the right. Its original meaning referred to a fever accompanied by a headache. Over time, it evolved to convey extended meanings such as worry, distress, and annoyance.

Simplified character:

lái: come

radical: 木 (mù; wood)

xìn: letter

radical: 亻(rén; person)

Traditional character:

Simplified character:

zhǎng: to grow; elder

cháng: long

radical: 長

Chinese Studies Classroom: One interpretation of the character “長” (cháng/zhǎng) is that in oracle bone script, it resembles an elderly person with long hair leaning on a walking stick. Therefore, the character carries meanings such as “older in age,” “grow,” and “long” (in terms of distance or time). When meaning “to grow” or “older in age”, it is pronounced zhǎng. When used as an adjective (meaning “long” in distance or time), it is pronounced cháng.

de: (used between a verb and a complement to indicate possibility)

radical: 彳 (chì, the appearance of taking small steps, walking slowly, or walking with pauses)

shuài: handsome

radical: 巾 (jīn: an ornamental scarf or ribbon worn around the body in ancient times)

Simplified character:

lái: come

radical: 木 (mù; wood)

wǎn: late; night;

radical: 日 (rì; sun)

le: 1. Used after a verb or adjective to indicate that an action or change has been completed. 2. Used at the end of a sentence or at a pause within a sentence to indicate a change or the emergence of a new situation.

radical: 乛

Traditional character:

Simplified character:

shuǐ: water

radical: 水

Chinese Studies Classroom: In oracle bone script, the character “水” resembles the shape of a river. Its original meaning is “river,” and later it extended to mean “water.” Additionally, from the concept of “water being still and level,” it evolved to represent “standard” or “level” in a broader sense.

píng: flat; level; even; equal; fair; calm; peaceful; average

radical: 干

hěn: very

radical: 彳 (chì, the appearance of taking small steps, walking slowly, or walking with pauses)

gāo: high

radical: 亠

Chinese Studies Classroom: The ancient form of the character “高” resembled a house on a high ground, symbolizing “height.” Later, this concept became more abstract, extending to mean high in terms of level or standard, and eventually evolved to represent nobility or virtue, signifying something or someone elevated above the ordinary.

Both traditional and simplified characters are written as:

gāi: should; be sb.’s turn to do sth; deserve; most likely

radical: 言 (yán; language)

shàng: go up

radical:  一 (yī)

Chinese Studies Classroom: In Oracle Bone Script, the character “上” consists of a long horizontal line representing a baseline and a short horizontal line above it, indicating a position above the baseline. Thus, the original meaning of “上” is “high” or “above.” By extension, it refers to higher ranks or superior quality. It can also function as a verb, meaning to ascend, move upward, or advance.

kè: class

radical: 言 (yán, language)

Chinese Studies Classroom: The character “課/课” has “言/讠” on the left as the semantic component, indicating its relation to speech or language. The right component, “果,” serves as the phonetic component, suggesting that in ancient times, the pronunciation of “課/课” was similar to that of “果.”

le: 1. Used after a verb or adjective to indicate that an action or change has been completed. 2. Used at the end of a sentence or at a pause within a sentence to indicate a change or the emergence of a new situation.

radical: 乛

Simplified character:

zǒng: put together; sum up; general; overall; all; general; chief

radical: 糸 (sī; a bundle of silk)

suàn: calculate

radical: 竹 (zhú; bamboo)

Traditional character:

Simplified character:

qí: his; her; its; their; oneself

radical: 八

shí: solid; true; real; honest; reality; fact; fruit; seed

radical: 宀 (mián; roof)

Traditional character:

Simplified character:

yāo: ask; demand; require

radical: 女 (nǚ, female)

qiú: ask; beg; request; seek

radical: 一

Both traditional and simplified characters are written as:

guò: cross; pass

radical: 辶 (chuò, walking)

lái: come

radical: 木 (mù; wood)

Traditional character:

Simplified character:

shí: time

radical: 日 (rì; sun)

Chinese Studies Classroom: In Oracle Bone Script, the character “時” (shí) is composed of “日” (rì, sun) at the bottom and “之” (zhī) at the top. “日” represents the sun, while “之” conveys the idea of movement and also serves as a phonetic component. Together, the two elements symbolize the movement of the sun. Ancient Chinese people measured time based on the sun’s position in the sky or its shadow on the ground. This character stands as a testament to how ancient Chinese civilization recorded time by observing the sun’s motion.

jiān: between; among; room

radical: 門 (mén; door)

Chinese Studies Classroom: “間” is a compound character. In ancient script, it resembled the idea of moonlight shining through a door, symbolizing a gap or space. Therefore, the original meaning of “間” refers to a crack or gap. Later, it extended to meanings such as interval, middle, and space.

Traditional character:

Simplified character: