Going to buy books soon, what do you think?

[shady]

Hi,

I decided to buy some books about characters soon.

The first is:

Chinese Characters: A Genealogy and Dictionary by Rick Harbaugh

The second is:

Reading & Writing Chinese by William McNaughton

Basically, it's meant to aid my comprehension of chinese

characters, the listening and speaking part is still being

practiced using my Pimsleur Series.

What do you think about these 2 books?

Or is it better to start with only one book, not to be

overthrown by it?

Regards,

shady

[Craig]

I've heard very good things about William McNaughton's book and plan to pick it up myself, I found out though that a new versino is comming out in July that was revised with simplified characters in mind http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0804835098/qid=1109792809/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/002-5710162-1606402?v=glance&s=books

Not sure what your goals are, but if you are planning on learning simplified characters it may be advantageous to wait.

[Lu]

The first one is a dictionary, it's the paper version of the dictionary at http://www.zhongwen.com. I bought it some months ago, I love it because it has so many different ways to find the character you're looking for.

[gato]

I like the Cheng & Tsui Character Dictionary book. It's similar to the William McNaughton book but is pocket-sized and more portable. It's easier to carry around you at all times and study while you're waiting for the bathroom at Starbucks or something. It teaches stroke orders and has a radical list in the back that give you the meaning and name for each.

It looks like there's a 2-week wait to order it on Amazon. I'd look around and see if it's available elsewhere either online or in a local college bookstore. I bought my copy in a college bookstore. I also have the McNaughton book and found that there's a large overlap between the two.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0887273149/qid=1109873192/sr=1-53/ref=sr_1_53/103-3234942-5966210?v=glance&s=books

Cheng & Tsui Chinese Character Dictionary: A Guide to the 2,000 Most Frequently-Used Characters

by Wang Huidi

Price: $16.96

This pocket-sized guide to the core 2,000 characters provides the easiest road to success in written Chinese. The many rules and characters of Chinese present learners with what can seem like an overwhelming amount of complicated information, and tasks such as writing characters correctly are often a major stumbling block. In this dictionary aimed specifically at learners, characters are organized alphabetically by pinyin and are printed in large, clear fonts (both Kai and Song script) in two colors, making it easy to discern their appearance and structure, and to distinguish between similar-looking characters. Basic meanings and examples of use are given in English and pinyin, and each entry also includes information on radicals, number of strokes, stroke order, structural classification and the diagrammatic form of each character. Simplified characters.

[shady]

@Craig

I'm actually going to learn simlified... but since I've read some interesting thoughts in another thread on this board about traditional vs simplified script, I would also like to learn a little traditional script.

But a question about this book from McNaughton:

- Is this edition only about traditional Characters then? I've found no info on that topic... I mean if a special simplified version is about to be released, maybe this edition is only focused on traditional script. Or is both included?

@gato

That's the same problem for me, long waiting times for delivery, and I'm not able to have a look at the book before, because none of the bookstores have any good books on mandarin in stock.

[Craig]

the McNaughton book does show a simplified character if it is different, and from there it is usally pretty simple to figure out how to draw it as it explains the traditional pretty well.

I am guessing the new book will just do the opposite, show the traditional and explain the simplified.

[shady]

Thanks, from that point it's not bad. So you've got a good overview over both versions anyway.

i just ordered the book today, getting it tomorrow. Let's see ;)

[shady]

The McNaughton book is pretty good, I have it now.

I'm not sure whether I need the revised version in summer though... It seems it's pretty ok with the simplified being shown if it differs from the other.

Thanks for the suggestions about this!

[JanMichiel]

I've no Mandarin knowledge either and am looking for a good instruction book which will assist me in learning written simplified chinese from zero. The book must be easy to follow, dry material will not be very useful. Waiting for the revised edition of McNaughton could be the way to go as my main focus is on learning simplified Chinese. Some historical background to assist learning would be helpful and interesting though. I'm not sure as to if the revised edition will still contain this historical reference.

Would the McNaughton book be the best choice?

[TCcookie]

Just so everyone knows, the simplified character edition is already out and has been for a while.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0804835098/qid=1114140579/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-0372882-3124654?v=glance&s=books

I have the traditional version, and I love it. In all honesty, it's not so good for the practical use of characters (for me, at least, I learn them much better when I pick them up as I learn vocabulary), but as far as developing a base of knowledge of the radicals and basic characters, this book is invaluable. And when I get frustrated with the "pick-up-as-I-go" approach I can always resort to working through this book and knowing I am making progress.

Also, even if you are learning simplified characters, I recommend getting the traditional version just because, for me at least, it seems like it gives a more comprehensive foundation that will help you later even though simplified characters don't necessarily use the same elements. Either edition will be great, and maybe if it is your primary sourcebook for character-learning it would be better to get the version of the script your focusing on in any case.

[JanMichiel]

Just so everyone knows' date=' the simplified character edition is already out and has been for a while.

[url']http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0804835098/qid=1114140579/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-0372882-3124654?v=glance&s=books[/url]

I have the traditional version, and I love it. In all honesty, it's not so good for the practical use of characters (for me, at least, I learn them much better when I pick them up as I learn vocabulary), but as far as developing a base of knowledge of the radicals and basic characters, this book is invaluable. And when I get frustrated with the "pick-up-as-I-go" approach I can always resort to working through this book and knowing I am making progress.

Also, even if you are learning simplified characters, I recommend getting the traditional version just because, for me at least, it seems like it gives a more comprehensive foundation that will help you later even though simplified characters don't necessarily use the same elements. Either edition will be great, and maybe if it is your primary sourcebook for character-learning it would be better to get the version of the script your focusing on in any case.

How do you know the third edition has already been released? The amazon page states the book has not been released yet (see the note) and also indicates the publishing date as July 15, 2005.

Availability: This item has not yet been released. You may order it now and we will ship it to you when it arrives from Amazon.com

[TCcookie]

Whoops, sorry for my carelesness. I saw the book a while ago in my university bookstore here, though (Brigham Young University), so some version is definitely out. I just assumed it was more widely available.

[onebir]

I have the traditional version' date=' and I love it. In all honesty, it's not so good for the practical use of characters [b'](for me, at least, I learn them much better when I pick them up as I learn vocabulary)[/b] , but as far as developing a base of knowledge of the radicals and basic characters, this book is invaluable. And when I get frustrated with the "pick-up-as-I-go" approach I can always resort to working through this book and knowing I am making progress.

Also, even if you are learning simplified characters, I recommend getting the traditional version just because, for me at least, it seems like it gives a more comprehensive foundation that will help you later even though simplified characters don't necessarily use the same elements. Either edition will be great, and maybe if it is your primary sourcebook for character-learning it would be better to get the version of the script your focusing on in any case.

I think TCcookie's last point is right. I also found it easier to learn the chars for particular vocab, so I tried to combine TCcookie's learn as you go approach with working through the book. (ie making flashcards for any chars I came across that included in the book, and ticking them off in the book.) But it's sometimes a nightmare to find simplied chars in the trad version!

And the character order in the McNaughton book is designed to build up more complex chars from commonly occurring simpler elements. Because the simplification process changed the characters, some of them should really be in different positions in the simplified version. Does anyone know if that's the case?