How to remember Chinese characters

Tie each character's shape to its meaning with a short story you know is invented. Attach the pinyin separately. Then test yourself by recalling the character inside real words instead of rereading it.

Worked example 1: 木, 林, 森

木 mù means tree or wood. Its shape is often taught as a trunk with branches above and roots below, and that picture is a good place to start.

Memory aid (invented, not history): One tree stands alone: 木. A second tree grows beside it, and now you have a small grove: 林 lín. A third tree climbs on top, and the trees close in to form a thick forest: 森 sēn. Count the trees to know how big the woods are.

Look at how the 木 shapes squeeze to fit. In 林, the final stroke of the left tree shrinks to a short dot. Learning to spot a component in its squashed form is part of the skill.

Worked example 2: 火 and its 灬 form

火 huǒ means fire. Memory aid: picture a campfire with a central flame rising and a spark flying off on each side.

At the bottom of a character, fire often appears as four dots, 灬. Memory aid: four embers glowing under a cooking pot. You can see it in 热 rè (hot) and 照 zhào (to shine). But 灬 also appears in 点 diǎn (dot, point), where any link to fire is hard to see. Treat the component as a hint to check, not a rule.

Worked example 3: 水 and its 氵 form

水 shuǐ means water. Memory aid: a stream running down the middle with splashes on both sides.

On the left side of a character, water usually becomes three drops, 氵. You can see it in 河 hé (river), 湖 hú (lake) and 洗 xǐ (wash). The 氵 points toward meaning. It does not tell you how the whole character sounds. The other part sometimes hints at sound, as 可 kě loosely does in 河 hé, but such hints are often weak. Learn each pronunciation directly.

Meaning, sound and words

A story links meaning to shape. Sound needs its own hook. Say the pinyin and tone aloud every time you recall a character, for example huǒ with the third tone; its spoken shape changes with context. Then learn the character inside real words, so you learn how the character works in vocabulary:

• 森林 sēnlín forest
• 火山 huǒshān volcano
• 火车 huǒchē train
• 山水 shānshuǐ landscape
• 木头 mùtou wood, timber

火车 is a useful warning: a train is not made of fire. Characters give clues to a word's meaning, not definitions.

A five-minute recall routine

1. Look at the character, its pinyin and its meaning, and tell yourself the memory story once.
2. Cover everything. Write or trace the character from memory, and say its pinyin and meaning.
3. Uncover it and check. Fix any wrong stroke or tone.
4. Read it inside one word and one short sentence.
5. Repeat the cover test the next day, then again a few days later.

Check yourself

Practice with stories and games

Chinese Radical Realms for iPhone uses story dialogue to introduce radicals such as 火, 水, 木, 土 and 山, along with their meanings, pinyin and tracing. It covers 11 radicals, not every character you will meet, so keep learning words alongside it. For quick paper practice, try the games in Chinese character games, or build a weekly mix from Chinese learning games.