Study Chinese

Study Chinese - I Don't Want To Discourage You, But Are You Sure About Wanting To Study Chinese? First, Please, Read The Following WARNING!

WARNING: Don't even try to learn and memorize every Chinese characters you find. Simply said, they are just too many!

Chinese language doesn't have an alphabet, but a lot of (more than 50,000!) different characters.

I strongly suggest to start from the most common ones.

For example, consider the following Chinese text (the characters belonging to the list of 1,000 most commonly used Chinese characters are highlighted in yellow - for the list click here):

生命──弥足珍贵还是无足轻重？“既然人是按照上帝的形像创造的，杀人害命就是毁掉世上最珍贵、最神圣的东西。”──《通俗伦理学》，威廉•巴克利著。巴克利认为生命是“世上最珍贵的东西”，你也怀有一样的看法吗？从人们的行事方式来看，很多人显然并不这样看待生命。由于喜爱暴力的人只求满足一己私利，毫不顾及他人的利益，成千上万的人被残酷无情地夺去了生命。（传道书8:9）轻视生命，肆意践踏。第一次世界大战是个典型的例子，表明人们多么轻视生命。在这场可怕的战争中，在一场又一场的战役里，情况就如历史家泰勒所说，“士兵的牺牲是毫无意义的”。军事领袖们一心建功立业、扬名天下，把士兵的生命视作等闲，对他们的牺牲毫不在意。在法国的凡尔登战役中，伤亡人数超过五十万。泰勒写道：“这场战役本身并没有什么战略价值。他们让士兵战死沙场，以求换得胜利的光彩。”（《第一次世界大战》）今天，轻视生命的态度依然十分普遍。学者凯文•巴尔斯指出，近年来，“由于世界人口急剧增加，大量贫困无助的人涌入劳动力市场”。在现有的商业体系下，这些人的生命价值被贬低。他们受尽剥削，一生都要竭力劳作，挣扎求存。巴尔斯说，那些剥削他们的人，把他们当作奴隶一样使唤，“完全把他们看作赚钱的工具，没有利用价值以后就加以抛弃”。（《一群用完即弃的人》）

The text above is composed by a total of 467 characters. 418 of them (90%), highlighted in yellow, belong to the list of 1,000 most commonly used Chinese characters - for the list click here.

English translation:

Life—Precious or Cheap? "Since man is made in the image of God, then the taking of a man’s life is the destruction of the most precious and the most holy thing in the world."—The Plain Man’s Guide to Ethics, by William Barclay. ‘THE most precious thing in the world.’ Do you share that view of life? From the way people behave, it is obvious that many do not agree with that writer. Millions of lives have been callously snuffed out by violent people who pursued selfish goals without any regard for the well-being of their fellowman.—Ecclesiastes 8:9. Expendable and Disposable. World War I is a classic example. Time and again during that terrible conflict, "the bodies of men were sacrificed to no purpose," says historian A.J.P. Taylor. In pursuit of prestige and glory, military leaders used soldiers as if they were worthless and totally expendable. In the battle for Verdun in France, there were over half a million casualties. "There was no prize [of any strategic value] to be gained or lost," writes Taylor, "only men to be killed and glory to be won."—The First World War. Such contempt for the value of life is still widespread. Scholar Kevin Bales points out that in recent times, a "population explosion [has] flooded the world’s labor markets with millions of poor and vulnerable people." They face a lifelong struggle simply to survive in an oppressive commercial system in which "life becomes cheap." Those who exploit them, says Bales, treat them as little more than slaves—"completely disposable tools for making money."—Disposable People.

List of different Chinese characters contained in the text above:

生命弥足珍贵还是无轻重既然人按照上帝的形像创造杀害就毁掉世最神圣东西通俗伦理学威廉巴克利著认为你也怀有一样看法吗从们行事方式来很多显并不这待由于喜爱暴力只求满己私毫顾及他益成千万被残酷情地夺去了传道书视肆意践踏第次界大战个典型例子表明么在场可怕争中又役里况如历史家泰勒所说士兵牺牲义军领袖心建功立业扬名天下把作等闲对国凡尔登伤亡数超过五十写本身没什略价值让死沙以换得胜光彩今态度依分普遍者凯文斯指出近年口急剧增加量贫困助涌入劳动市现商体系些贬低受尽剥削都要竭挣扎存那当奴隶使唤完全赚钱工具用后抛弃群即

So you still want to study Chinese? I didn't want to discourage you, I just wanted to suggest that is wise to start studying Chinese language from the most commonly used Chinese characters that you find here.