I just ordered two books on Chinese with pictures. I had hunted all over Singapore for this sort of thing but could not find it.
Usborne
Chineasy
Usborne
Chineasy
Flag of Singapore
Flag of China
Chineasy
As an English speaker I find Chineasy the easiest, because it helps me see the pictures on which the original symbols were based.
For a while I was confused between king and mountain. King is three horizontal lines. Mountain is three vertical lines. The number three in Chinese is like the Roman three turned on its side, three horizontal lines. So I remember the Xmas hymn I hear at school in England as a child, 'We three kings of Orient are ..." Three lines for the king, number three in Chinese is horizontal. Think of the king's crown, which is horizontal.
For a while I was confused between king and mountain. King is three horizontal lines. Mountain is three vertical lines. The number three in Chinese is like the Roman three turned on its side, three horizontal lines. So I remember the Xmas hymn I hear at school in England as a child, 'We three kings of Orient are ..." Three lines for the king, number three in Chinese is horizontal. Think of the king's crown, which is horizontal.
The sign for mountain is more like a tree. A tree grows on a mountain.
It is my dream to start a polygot club, and invite different language speakers each time. I might just do that at my own club. Have a joing meeting with a Mandarin club.
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.
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