Strategies for learning simplified

[anthony_barker]

I've been learning mandarin on and off for 10 years. I studied for a year in Taiwan after university before returning to north america.

I recently visited Taiwan and rekindled my desire to learn reading and writing..

Anyway I find most content on the web is in simplified and I figure I should bite the bullet and learn all the simplified characters.

Any recommendations besides plowing through a list of the 3000 most frequent characters and issolating the ones that are different?

Cheers,

Anthony

[xuechengfeng]

I went from traditional to simplified. I just took DeFrancis Beginning Chinese One, and wrote out all the simplieds until I mastered them. I guess, subconsciously maybe, certain aspects of the character that are simplified seep into your brain, so you can figure it out with other characters. If that makes any sense. . .

[Long Zhiren]

DeFrancis was my textbook many years ago (except when I studied in Taiwan).

The Advanced Practical Reader [as of 1990!] had lessons to relearn everything in the first four volumes as simplified script. DeFrancis actually made the task supremely easy. If you've learned everything in traditional script, the simplified will look extremely familiar and the simplification systems will mostly make sense.

The trouble is that whether I'm reading simplified or traditional, it's all transparent to me but it really throws mainland Chinese off especially because my default is still writing in traditional script. It's just a habit I suppose... However, I am noticing more and more simplified script being used in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

[gato]

The Chinese government published a simplification table in 1986 showing how the characters are simplified. If you already know the traditional characters, you just need learn the simplified radical and about 400 characters or so that are simplified beyond just the radicals.

Here is the table:

http://www.stlcls.org/s-words/Simplified_word.htm

Simplified radicals:

简化偏旁

讠[訁]

饣[飠]

纟[糹]

[臤]

只[戠]

钅[釒]

[睪]

貝贝　賓宾　産产　長长　車车　齒齿　芻刍　單单

當当　東东　發发　風风　岡冈　會会　幾几　戔戋

監监　見见　龍龙　婁娄　侖仑　羅罗　馬马　賣卖

門门　鳥鸟　農农　齊齐　僉佥　喬乔　區区　師师

壽寿　肅肃　韋韦　堯尧　頁页　義义　魚鱼　專专

[rose~]

There is a useful resource available from the University of Berkeley you could try here.

It includes excercises and explanations.

[anthony_barker]

All the suggestions are quite useful - especially the berkeley site.