What are keys in Chinese

Previously, we have already analyzed what tones and graphemes are. Now let's talk about keys — another element of this beautiful language.

Chinese keys are...?

Clues in Chinese are characters that are part of the characters. They are quite simple and you probably know many of them: for example, 人 ("person"), 一 ("one"), 口 ("mouth"). There are exactly 214 such keys in total, but in reality you need to know about 60 of the most used ones.

Why are they needed?

Keys are needed so that any character can be easily found in the dictionary. After all, the key conveys the meaning of the hieroglyph. And although we do not use dictionaries now, you need to know the basic keys in order to easily memorize Chinese words.

See for yourself the example of the key 人 ("person"):

人类 — humanity

人员 — personnel, employees, employees

人生 — human life

人为 — artificial, man-made

As you can see, all these words begin with a key denoting a person. And they are directly related to it. Therefore, having learned the keys, you make it easier for yourself to read and understand even yet unfamiliar hieroglyphs.