Dear Reader: In order to view all colored text and non-English text accurately, please ensure that the PUBLISHER DEFAULTS SETTING on your reading device is switched to ON. This will allow you to view all non-English characters and colored text in this book. —Tuttle Publishing
LI Dong 李冬
TUTTLE PUBLISHING
Tokyo • Rutland,Vermont • Singapore
Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd., with editorial offices at 364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon, VT 05759 U.S.A. and at 61 Tai Seng Avenue #02-12, Singapore 534167.
© 2009 by Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2008938337
ISBN 978-0-8048-3991-4
ISBN 978-1-4629-1079-3 (ebook)
North America, Latin America and Europe
Tuttle Publishing
364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon,
VT 05759-9436 USA.
Tel: 1(802) 773-8930
Fax: 1(802) 773-6993
[email protected] www.tuttlepublishing.com
Asia Pacific
Berkeley Books Pte. Ltd.
61 Tai Seng Avenue #02-12, Singapore 534167
Tel: (65) 6280-1330
Fax: (65) 6280-6290
[email protected] www.periplus.com
12 11 10 09
6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in Singapore
TUTTLE PUBLISHING® is a registered trademark of Tuttle Publishing, a division of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.
Contents
Introducing Chinese
1 Pronunciation
1.1 Vowels
1.2 Consonants
1.3 Basic tones
1.4 Syllables: Distinct units
1.5 Pinyin: the romanization scheme to show pronunciation
2 Writing Chinese: 汉字 Hànzi
2.1 Chinese characters as syllables
2.2 The composition of Chinese characters: Meaningful components
2.3 The writing of Chinese characters
3 Vocabulary: Word-formation
4 Grammar
4.1 Main features of Chinese grammar
4.2 Word classes
4.3 Other grammar terms
List 1: Meaningful Character Components
List 2: Measure Words
Using the Dictionary
List of Radicals
Radical Index
Stroke Index
Chinese-English Dictionary
A
Appendices
1 Common Chinese Family Names
2 Common English Names with Chinese Transcriptions
100 Common Surnames
100 Common Male Given Names
100 Common Female Given Names
3 Chinese Place Names
Provinces
Autonomous Regions
Municipalities under direct jurisdiction
Special administrative regions
Introducing Chinese
1 PRONUNCIATION
1.1 Vowels
SINGLE VOWELS
There are seven basic single vowels: