Learning Chinese: 100 Basic Characters

Nowadays, more and more people are starting to take an interest in the Chinese language, but many are intimidated by Chinese hieroglyphic writing, as it is very different from the alphabetic system we are used to: there are about 5,000 characters used in modern Chinese.

How to remember them?

Characters are divided into simple and complex; there are only about 300 simple characters, while the multitude of complex characters consists of combinations of simple elements, which trace back to pictographic representations of the objects they denote.

This collection includes 100 basic simple characters, divided into thematic groups. In addition to the writing practice, you will find a detailed etymology of each character, a list of the most frequently used characters of which they are components, as well as a list of words and phrases with them, providing insight into the logic of Chinese writing. May these characters be your starting point in learning the Chinese language!