{"id":175,"date":"2011-08-07T00:00:18","date_gmt":"2011-08-07T00:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hackingchinese.com\/?p=175"},"modified":"2026-02-17T21:50:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T20:50:24","slug":"memory-aids-and-mnemonics-to-enhance-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hackingchinese.com\/memory-aids-and-mnemonics-to-enhance-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"How to make Chinese easier by using mnemonics and memory techniques"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Mnemonics are clever memory techniques that can be used to memorise everything from decks of cards to speeches, but how do you use them to learn Chinese?<\/p>\n

This is a follow-up to my article Remembering is a skill you can learn: Mnemonics for Chinese learners<\/a>. If you haven’t read it already, I suggest that you do before reading this one.<\/p>\n

In this article, we’re going to look at how we can apply everything we learnt about mnemonics in the previous article to learning Chinese in particular.<\/p>\n

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  1. Chinese is easier to learn if you know its building blocks and how they fit together<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Learning characters and words is largely about combining building blocks<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. Understanding the Chinese writing system<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. What aspect of Chinese vocabulary should you memorise?<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. Don\u2019t use mnemonics for everything<\/a><\/li>\n
  6. How to create long-lasting associations<\/a><\/li>\n
  7. Make associations uniquely tied to the components<\/a><\/li>\n
  8. Five common Chinese character components and how to use them in your mnemonics<\/a><\/li>\n
  9. Becoming a master of mnemonics: Trial and error<\/a><\/li>\n
  10. Mnemonics can\u2019t be mastered by learning from others<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    <\/a><\/p>\n

    Chinese is easier to learn if you know its building blocks and how they fit together<\/h3>\n

    Mnemonics are great for learning Chinese, more so than for learning most other languages. The reason is the modular nature of the Chinese writing system.<\/p>\n

    Words in Chinese usually consist of two or more characters. In turn, the characters often contain two or more components. Sometimes, even the components have components. Building blocks all the way down.<\/a><\/p>\n

    The point is that almost everything in Chinese means something. If you break a word into characters, the characters mean something. If you break characters down into components, they also mean something.
    \n    <\/a><\/p>\n

    Learning characters and words is largely about combining building blocks<\/h3>\n

    Assuming that you know a bit about the structure of the writing system, becoming literate in Chinese is not about learning thousands of unique characters, but about learning how to combine a few hundred components into compounds.<\/p>\n

    If you don’t already know about the building blocks of Chinese, I suggest that you read or listen to this series<\/a> after you finish this article!<\/p>\n

    The building blocks of Chinese, part 1: Chinese characters and words in a nutshell<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n