---
product_id: 1210867
title: "Learning Chinese Characters: (HSK Levels 1-3) A Revolutionary New Way to Learn the 800 Most Basic Chinese Characters; Includes All Characters for the AP & HSK 1-3 Exams"
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---

# Learning Chinese Characters: (HSK Levels 1-3) A Revolutionary New Way to Learn the 800 Most Basic Chinese Characters; Includes All Characters for the AP & HSK 1-3 Exams

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desertcart.com: Learning Chinese Characters: (HSK Levels 1-3) A Revolutionary New Way to Learn the 800 Most Basic Chinese Characters; Includes All Characters for the AP & HSK 1-3 Exams: 9780804838160: Matthews, Alison, Matthews, Laurence: Books

Review: A Solid Foundation - This book is superbly designed and executed. The story method is brilliant, fun and really works and you can use it for characters beyond HSK Level A. The book provided a foundation for me to "hook into" Chinese characters. Without it, I couldn't imagine how I would have gotten started. Characters no longer seem so intimidating and unintelligible. I finished learning all 800 characters in 5 months. I was on a mission and had a blast with this book. My method was to learn on average 5 to 10 a day. But a few weeks I learned as many as 100. After 5 - 7, I found it was important to review them. Review, review, review is the key. I wrote down the character, pinyin, meaning, tone (giant, fairy, teddy, dwarf), then sound word in a reporter notebook and used this for review. After learning 25 or so characters, I'd go back and review the last several pages of my notebook. After 50 characters, I'd go back and review half of what I'd learned. After 100, I'd go back and review them all and sometimes try to write out all the pinyin. I also did all the periodic character reviews the book provides. Now I carry around a copy of the table of contents and review 4 chapters a day like 40, 30, 20, 10, then 39, 29, 19, 9, etc., either saying the pronunciation or writing down the pinyin. I have moved on to other excellent learning sources: Tuttle Reading and Writing Chinese (simplified edition) for characters in the A, B, and C lists; Schaum's Chinese Grammar; Tuttle Chinese-English Dictionary; Berlitz 1000 Mandarin Words; Behind the Wheel Mandarin 1 audio program; and [...]. I have found that knowing how to write characters is very different than knowing how to read then. This takes much practice. Also, it is critical to hear the correct pronunciation of the pinyin. I still reference this book all the time to look at how they breakdown character parts (and the names they give them) and for guidance on writing characters. I'm using the story method for B, C, and D list characters in Reading and Writing Chinese. The limitations the book may have, such as providing mostly one word or phrase definitions and how the sound words are not exact, are really strengths because the authors keep it simple and encourage learning. Some people seem to think the story method is too difficult. Here's how the story method worked for me. I first tried to learn the exact story, taking a minute to get a mental impression of it. At first I would look at the characters and it would take some time to run through the story and get the meaning and pronunciation. But eventually it goes much faster and I would just say the components, tone and sound word such as for companion (peng2): moon + moon, companion, fairy, puncture and just see a vague mental image of all this. Now I look at this character and immediately just know the meaning and pronunciation. Sometimes the stories became something different in my mind from how they were originally written, but if I could look at the character and know the meaning and pronunciation, that's all I figured that mattered. The story method is only a bridge to learning to see the character and instantly know the pronunciation. Once you know that the character for one (yi1) means one and is pronounced yi1, you don't need the story. But if you forget a character, then it is good to have the story to review. I couldn't imagine just using wrote memorization to learn characters, that would have been way to boring for me. This method was a blast and I learned a lot of characters fast.
Review: Without question the best method of learning Chinese characters for adult foreigners - Like another reviewer, I started out with James Heisig's "Remembering the Kanji". This book in and of itself was revolutionary. It taught characters in an evolving method, focusing on creating a story in your mind to help remember the characters. This approach was great, and I learned about 500 characters in that method. However, I began to realize that I wanted to learn Chinese instead of Japanese (the characters are fundamentally the same), and I also began to realize most of the characters in the first half of Heisig's book were not the most common characters - some were quite obscure - and may not even have the exact meaning of the keyword put forth. I commend James Heisig for pioneering that incredible method, but refinement was needed. Then I found this gem. "Learning Chinese Characters" combines everything you need to know to remember and pronounce the most common Chinese characters. It uses a combination of pictographic representations and plot nmemonics. It does cover pronunciation and tone fully, including them in the story. A basic character that cannot be dissected into any more parts is shown with a pictograph, simply so you can remember how character looks, which usually has something to do with the meaning (for example, the character for "eight" has an octopus drawn over it). More complex characters that are composed of other characters - the majority - are not represented by pictures, but instead by mnemonic stories, contrived using the elements that make up the character as actors (for example, an OCTOPUS ("eight") cutting a pizza with a KNIFE is the story for "division", which is composed of the elements for "eight" and "knife"). Pictures do indeed accompany these characters, but only to help you visualize the *story* (maybe it would show the octopus with a pizza cutter and a chef's hat). Most characters also include a secondary, related story to help you remember the pronunciation. In the end, you will know the pronunciation (including tone), the writing, and the meaning of every character in HSK A. I realize this might be confusing for someone that doesn't understand the Chinese writing system. If that is you, let me just say this: "it's easy!" Every character in HSK A is included, and even some other characters are included in a limited fashion in order to explain compounds including them. Most characters have: * A listing of the equation of elements (ie "eight+knife=division"), complete with cross-references to elements used and the page number on which they are more fully described. * A list of some words using this character. * A story to cement the meaning and pronunciation of the character in your mind. * A stroke-by-stroke guide. * Comments on the usage of the character. * The corresponding Traditional Chinese character (if the given character is Simplified) - the book is optimized for Simplified, but the Traditional character is always there if you'd like to learn them too. If you don't know what Simplified/Traditional is, you probably want to choose to study the Simplified characters (they are more common)... check out Wikipedia. * The radical of the character, which is commonly used for dictionary lookup. In my opinion, this method is best paired with using the Leitner system of flashcards (a quick Googling will find what I mean), so you can be sure you do really remember the characters. Simply, this is bar-none the best way to learn Chinese characters as a foreign adult - as long as you *concentrate on the story!* Don't just read without thinking. Everything you need to know about every character in the book is right there on the page, but you must concentrate. Etymology, the history of each character, might be a good tool to remember characters once you learn a lot of them, but this is by far the easiest, most painless way to learn the characters and *remember* them. One thing, however; it won't teach you grammar. You need to find another course to learn how to assemble characters into meaningful patterns. This book just teaches you how to write and remember those individual characters. On another note, I was in contact with the publisher and saw that they are not planning to publish a Volume 2 of this great book. This is sad news. This is a great format, and if you like it, I'd recommend emailing the publisher to let them know we want to see more like this!

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #108,726 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #63 in Alphabet Reference #78 in Grammar Reference (Books) #105 in Vocabulary Books |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars (423) |
| Dimensions  | 6 x 1 x 9 inches |
| Edition  | 1st |
| ISBN-10  | 080483816X |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0804838160 |
| Item Weight  | 1.3 pounds |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 384 pages |
| Publication date  | August 15, 2007 |
| Publisher  | Tuttle Publishing |

## Images

![Learning Chinese Characters: (HSK Levels 1-3) A Revolutionary New Way to Learn the 800 Most Basic Chinese Characters; Includes All Characters for the AP & HSK 1-3 Exams - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81zZDBQ3SrL.jpg)
![Learning Chinese Characters: (HSK Levels 1-3) A Revolutionary New Way to Learn the 800 Most Basic Chinese Characters; Includes All Characters for the AP & HSK 1-3 Exams - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91nwQ9kSbyL.jpg)
![Learning Chinese Characters: (HSK Levels 1-3) A Revolutionary New Way to Learn the 800 Most Basic Chinese Characters; Includes All Characters for the AP & HSK 1-3 Exams - Image 3](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61nch+rCU+L.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Solid Foundation
*by J***R on September 23, 2010*

This book is superbly designed and executed. The story method is brilliant, fun and really works and you can use it for characters beyond HSK Level A. The book provided a foundation for me to "hook into" Chinese characters. Without it, I couldn't imagine how I would have gotten started. Characters no longer seem so intimidating and unintelligible. I finished learning all 800 characters in 5 months. I was on a mission and had a blast with this book. My method was to learn on average 5 to 10 a day. But a few weeks I learned as many as 100. After 5 - 7, I found it was important to review them. Review, review, review is the key. I wrote down the character, pinyin, meaning, tone (giant, fairy, teddy, dwarf), then sound word in a reporter notebook and used this for review. After learning 25 or so characters, I'd go back and review the last several pages of my notebook. After 50 characters, I'd go back and review half of what I'd learned. After 100, I'd go back and review them all and sometimes try to write out all the pinyin. I also did all the periodic character reviews the book provides. Now I carry around a copy of the table of contents and review 4 chapters a day like 40, 30, 20, 10, then 39, 29, 19, 9, etc., either saying the pronunciation or writing down the pinyin. I have moved on to other excellent learning sources: Tuttle Reading and Writing Chinese (simplified edition) for characters in the A, B, and C lists; Schaum's Chinese Grammar; Tuttle Chinese-English Dictionary; Berlitz 1000 Mandarin Words; Behind the Wheel Mandarin 1 audio program; and [...]. I have found that knowing how to write characters is very different than knowing how to read then. This takes much practice. Also, it is critical to hear the correct pronunciation of the pinyin. I still reference this book all the time to look at how they breakdown character parts (and the names they give them) and for guidance on writing characters. I'm using the story method for B, C, and D list characters in Reading and Writing Chinese. The limitations the book may have, such as providing mostly one word or phrase definitions and how the sound words are not exact, are really strengths because the authors keep it simple and encourage learning. Some people seem to think the story method is too difficult. Here's how the story method worked for me. I first tried to learn the exact story, taking a minute to get a mental impression of it. At first I would look at the characters and it would take some time to run through the story and get the meaning and pronunciation. But eventually it goes much faster and I would just say the components, tone and sound word such as for companion (peng2): moon + moon, companion, fairy, puncture and just see a vague mental image of all this. Now I look at this character and immediately just know the meaning and pronunciation. Sometimes the stories became something different in my mind from how they were originally written, but if I could look at the character and know the meaning and pronunciation, that's all I figured that mattered. The story method is only a bridge to learning to see the character and instantly know the pronunciation. Once you know that the character for one (yi1) means one and is pronounced yi1, you don't need the story. But if you forget a character, then it is good to have the story to review. I couldn't imagine just using wrote memorization to learn characters, that would have been way to boring for me. This method was a blast and I learned a lot of characters fast.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Without question the best method of learning Chinese characters for adult foreigners
*by C***B on July 14, 2009*

Like another reviewer, I started out with James Heisig's "Remembering the Kanji". This book in and of itself was revolutionary. It taught characters in an evolving method, focusing on creating a story in your mind to help remember the characters. This approach was great, and I learned about 500 characters in that method. However, I began to realize that I wanted to learn Chinese instead of Japanese (the characters are fundamentally the same), and I also began to realize most of the characters in the first half of Heisig's book were not the most common characters - some were quite obscure - and may not even have the exact meaning of the keyword put forth. I commend James Heisig for pioneering that incredible method, but refinement was needed. Then I found this gem. "Learning Chinese Characters" combines everything you need to know to remember and pronounce the most common Chinese characters. It uses a combination of pictographic representations and plot nmemonics. It does cover pronunciation and tone fully, including them in the story. A basic character that cannot be dissected into any more parts is shown with a pictograph, simply so you can remember how character looks, which usually has something to do with the meaning (for example, the character for "eight" has an octopus drawn over it). More complex characters that are composed of other characters - the majority - are not represented by pictures, but instead by mnemonic stories, contrived using the elements that make up the character as actors (for example, an OCTOPUS ("eight") cutting a pizza with a KNIFE is the story for "division", which is composed of the elements for "eight" and "knife"). Pictures do indeed accompany these characters, but only to help you visualize the *story* (maybe it would show the octopus with a pizza cutter and a chef's hat). Most characters also include a secondary, related story to help you remember the pronunciation. In the end, you will know the pronunciation (including tone), the writing, and the meaning of every character in HSK A. I realize this might be confusing for someone that doesn't understand the Chinese writing system. If that is you, let me just say this: "it's easy!" Every character in HSK A is included, and even some other characters are included in a limited fashion in order to explain compounds including them. Most characters have: * A listing of the equation of elements (ie "eight+knife=division"), complete with cross-references to elements used and the page number on which they are more fully described. * A list of some words using this character. * A story to cement the meaning and pronunciation of the character in your mind. * A stroke-by-stroke guide. * Comments on the usage of the character. * The corresponding Traditional Chinese character (if the given character is Simplified) - the book is optimized for Simplified, but the Traditional character is always there if you'd like to learn them too. If you don't know what Simplified/Traditional is, you probably want to choose to study the Simplified characters (they are more common)... check out Wikipedia. * The radical of the character, which is commonly used for dictionary lookup. In my opinion, this method is best paired with using the Leitner system of flashcards (a quick Googling will find what I mean), so you can be sure you do really remember the characters. Simply, this is bar-none the best way to learn Chinese characters as a foreign adult - as long as you *concentrate on the story!* Don't just read without thinking. Everything you need to know about every character in the book is right there on the page, but you must concentrate. Etymology, the history of each character, might be a good tool to remember characters once you learn a lot of them, but this is by far the easiest, most painless way to learn the characters and *remember* them. One thing, however; it won't teach you grammar. You need to find another course to learn how to assemble characters into meaningful patterns. This book just teaches you how to write and remember those individual characters. On another note, I was in contact with the publisher and saw that they are not planning to publish a Volume 2 of this great book. This is sad news. This is a great format, and if you like it, I'd recommend emailing the publisher to let them know we want to see more like this!

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review
*by M***8 on March 7, 2017*

For any Chinese learner this is a great book to understand the characters as well as the story behind them. Helps memories with ease. if read in order first few chapters cover all characters from HSK1 to HSK3

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*Last updated: 2026-03-09*