要学好汉语，必须要学好汉字

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要学好汉语，必须要学好汉字

To Learn Chinese, 

First Learn Chinese Characters

（本文转载自《孔子学院》中英文对照版2022年第1期/总第71期）

“中文”，如同“英文”“法文”“日文”，是包含着语言与文字在一起的，“中文”包含着的是汉语和汉字。要学习中文，自然是要学习汉字。但如果对汉字与中文的关系只认识到这一步，那是不够的，还是肤浅的认识。

Chinese, similar to any other language including English, French or Japanese, consists of spoken and written components. Without doubt, learning Chinese characters is necessary to the learning of Chinese language. However, our conception of their relationship should not stop here at a shallow level without further examination.

为什么说这还只是肤浅认识呢，因为如果只是把汉字与中文的关系简单等同于一般意义上的“文字”与“语言”的关系，这并没有把握住汉字与汉语之间所独有的特殊关系。因为在普通语言学中，向来是很讲究把语言与文字区分得清清楚楚的，这种理论认为语言就是语言，文字就是文字，文字与语言是没有关系的，故有“语言是观念的符号，文字是语言的符号，所以文字是符号的符号”的说法，所以对文字是不太重视的。但对汉语和汉字来说，它们的关系就不是那么简单，汉字并不能只是简单地当作是汉语“符号的符号”来看待了。

Why is this a shallow conception? Because if we merely conclude the relationship between Chinese characters and spoken Chinese as one between “written words” and “spoken language” in a very common sense, we will fail to understand its uniqueness. In the theory of general linguistics, there is a clear division between language and words. The theory states that spoken language and written words are two separate concepts without connection, and thus holding the view that “language is the sign of ideas, and words are the sign of language, so written words are only a secondary sign of sign”. However, the relation between spoken Chinese and Chinese characters is not so simplistic, and Chinese characters cannot be regarded as “the secondary sign” of spoken Chinese.

那么，怎么来看待汉字与汉语之间的关系呢？人们通常可以说出很多理由，如汉字存在了数千年，与中国历史、文化、社会紧密相连，是维系社会交往最重要的交际工具。又如汉字记录着中华民族的观念世界和知识体系，没有汉字，没有汉籍的传承，只靠口耳相传，汉民族文化的积累远远不可能达到今天这样的全面而厚重。还如汉字的造形会意反映了汉民族的审美习惯，汉字与汉民族的认知习惯互为表里。

How do we understand their relation then? Usually, people can give diverse interpretations. One is that Chinese characters have existed for thousands of years, and are closely connected to Chinese history, culture and society, serving as the most important instrument for maintaining social interactions. Another interpretation is Chinese characters are a record of the thoughts and ideas as well as the knowledge system of the Chinese people. Without them and all Chinese literature, the accumulated culture of the Chinese nation would not have been so comprehensive nor profound. A third explanation is that the configuration and connotation of Chinese characters reflect the aesthetic customs of the Chinese people. Chinese characters and the thinking habits of the Chinese people are intertwined with each other.

以上三条理由都有道理，也很重要，但只认识到这些是不够的，因为汉字与汉语还有着更为深入牢固的联系，汉字与汉语相互适应，互为表里，共同组成了中华民族的认知、表达、交流的最佳工具，了解它们之间这种内在而密不可分的联系，对中文学习者来说尤为重要，因为这会让学习者更自觉地投入汉字学习中，更好地寻找到汉字所具有的内在规律性。汉字与汉语之间的相互适应、互为表里的关系主要表现在以下这些方面：

The above three interpretations all make logical sense, but is far from an adequate explanation, as there is a deeper and firmer connection between Chinese characters and spoken language: they adapt to and supplement each other and together constitute the best instrument of learning, expressing and communicating for the Chinese people. Therefore, it is especially important for Chinese language learners to understand this inherent and inseparable connection. With such understanding they can be more actively involved in the learning of Chinese characters and better find the inherent regularity of Chinese characters. The complementary relationship can be observed in the following aspects:

1

汉字的方块字形与汉语中单个音节相对应。

汉字的基本存在形式就是方形， 一个一个字独立存在，互不关连，“汉字是方块字”是给人最初的第一印象。汉字是“ 形音义” 的综合体， 汉字方块形的读音单位就是“音节”。“一字一音”，指的就是一个方块字形对应着一个“ 音节”。如“ 方块字形” 四个字， 读音上就表现为“fāng”“kuài”“z씓xíng”四个音节。在方块字形与音节二者的对应中，字形的作用会显得特别强势。若一个汉字对应两个音节，这两个音节会被压缩成一个音节。如“诸”原来是两个字两个音，即“之于”和“zhīyú”。如“甭”原来也是两个字两个音，即“不用”和“bùyòng”。两个音节的压缩就是取前一个字的声母，与后一个字的韵母，合起来成一个音节，如“zhīyú”成了“zhū”，“bùyòng”成了“béng”。

1

Each square glyph of Chinese characters corresponds to a single syllable in spoken Chinese.

The basic form of Chinese characters is square glyph, and each character exists independently. It is the first impression to people that “Chinese characters

are in the shape of square”. Chinese characters are a combination of “shape, sound and meaning”, and the pronunciation unit of these square-shaped Chinese characters is a “syllable”. “One character, one syllable” means that one square-shaped character corresponds to a “syllable”. For example, the four characters of “方块字形” (meaning “square-shaped glyph”) are pronounced as four syllables “fāng” “kuài” “zì” and “xíng”. The dominance of glyph can be seen in this strict correspondence between the four characters and four syllables. If one Chinese character corresponds to two syllables, the two syllables will be compressed into one. For example, the character “诸”(pronounced as “zhū”, meaning “as to”) was originally two characters with two syllables, namely “之于” and “zhīyú”; the character “甭” (pronounced as “béng”, meaning “do not”) was originally two characters with two syllables, namely “不用” and “bùyòng”. The compression of syllables is to take the initial consonant of the first character, and the final consonant of the second character to form into a new syllable, such as “zhīyú” becomes “zhū”, “bùyòng” becomes “béng”.

2

汉字数量多与汉语中音节数量少相对应。

汉字的数量多，古代第一部字典《说文解字》收了9,353字，后来的字典发展到几万个汉字，现代通用的汉字也有8,000 多个。单就数量上看，这么多的汉字似乎是一个缺点，但关联到汉字所发挥的作用来看，数量这么多的汉字却是有着特别功能的。因为汉语语音的音节数量少，加上声调的不同也只有1,000 多个。汉语中的单音节词多，而音节少，势必造成一个音节表多个词，造成单音同音词多。单音同音词多了就会带来表意的不清晰，如“zhāng”这个音，表达的意义就有“张”“章”“漳”“樟”等。

2

A large number of Chinese characters are represented by a small number of syllables in spoken Chinese.

There is a large number of Chinese characters. The first dictionary in Chinese ancient times, 说文解字Shuowen Jiezi, contains 9,353 character entries, and later dictionaries increased the number to tens of thousands. There are more than 8,000 Chinese characters commonly used in modern times. In terms of quantity alone, so many Chinese characters seem to be a disadvantage. However, such a large number of Chinese characters have certain functions. The number of syllables in Chinese is relatively

small: altogether over 1,000 with differentiated tones included. At the same time, there are a large number of monosyllabic characters in Chinese, which will inevitably result in one syllable representing multiple characters, namely homophones. These homophones will further lead to unclear meanings, such as the sound of“zhāng” may refer to homophones including “张”“章”“漳”“樟”, etc.

3

汉字的字形能够直接显示义。

汉字最基本的单位是笔画，但笔画只是构成字形的基本单位，并不是使用中的基本单位。汉字才是使用中的基本单位，一个个方块字形是能够以它的字形来直接表示意义的。如：

日		像太阳
月		像月亮
木		像立着的树木
竹		像竹叶
鼠		像老鼠头、爪、尾的形状
鸟		像侧面看去鸟的头、翅膀、爪、尾之形

所以汉字的字形具有了直接表意的作用。

3

The glyph of Chinese characters can directly reflect the meaning.

The smallest part of Chinese characters is the stroke, but the stroke is only the basic unit that constitutes the glyph. In fact, Chinese characters are the basic unit in use, and each square-shaped character directly express its meaning with its glyph. Such as ：

rì 日		representing  the sun
yuè月		representing  the moon
mù 木		representing a standing tree
zhú竹		representing bamboo leaves
shŭ鼠		representing the shape of a mouse’s head, claws and tail
niăo鸟		representing the shape of the head, wings, claws and tail of a bird when viewed from the side

Therefore, the glyph of Chinese characters have semantic functions.

4

汉字的偏旁含义与汉语单音词的意义类属相对应。

上面第3点讲的是象形字，汉字中真正的象形字并不多，但它却是汉字的字根，它的象形性、表意性在汉字后来的发展中产生了极大作用，即在后来繁衍出来的会意字、形声字中，汉字的表意功能由偏旁来承担，这时原来所表示的具体义（指称具体的人和物等）就变为类义了。如含有“竹”字头的汉字，表示的意义也都与“竹”义有关。如“竿”指竹杆，“简”指古代用来写字的竹板，“策”指编好的竹简，“笤”指用竹制成的扫除尘土的用具，“笞”指用竹做的鞭杖或竹板，“筛”指用竹编制成的有孔的器具。掌握了具有表意功能的偏旁，可以快速掌握汉字表示的基本意义。

4

The radical (the component of Chinese characters) indicates the meaning category of a Chinese character.

The third aspect mentioned above is about pictograms. In fact, there are not many real pictograms in Chinese characters, but these few real ones are the foundation of Chinese characters. In compound ideographs and phono-semantic compound characters that have been reproduced later, the semantic function of Chinese characters is assumed by the radicals. The specific meaning (referring to specific people, things, etc.) originally expressed has become a generic meaning referring to a meaning category of a series of Chinese characters. For example, characters containing the radical “⺮” (meaning “bamboo”) indicates meanings related to bamboo. For example, “竿gān” refers to poles made of bamboo, “简jiăn” refers to a writing board made of bamboo in ancient times, “策cè” refers to compiled slips made of bamboo, “笤tiáo” refers to the tool made of bamboo for sweeping and dusting the dust, “笞chī” refers to the whip stick or board made of bamboo, and “筛shāi” refers to the utensils with holes made of bamboo. To clarify, after mastering the radicals with semantic functions, you can quickly grasp the basic meaning of Chinese characters.

5

汉字由字形而能直接表示的本义，影响或决定着单音词后来一串引申词义的发展轨迹。

如“穿”字由“穴”“牙”两部分构成，《说文解字》解释它的本义是“通也”，这一本义的本质特点后来引申出了一连串的“打通”义、“穿过”义、“透过”义。这些义后来还发展出了一连串的复音词，如“打穿”“穿越”“穿透”“拆穿”“戳穿”“穿梭”“穿堂风”“点穿”“洞穿”“水滴石穿”“百步穿杨”等。

5

The meaning indicated by a character affects or determines the evolution of a series of extended meanings from this monosyllabic word.

For example, the monosyllabic word “穿” is composed of two parts, “穴xué”(meaning “hole”) and “牙yá” (meaning“teeth”). The dictionary 说文解字Shuowen Jiezi explains that its original meaning is “through”, which later extends to relevant meanings including“to break through”, “to go through” and “through”. Then, these meanings further lead to the creation of a series of disyllabic words including“打穿dăchuān” (meaning “breaking though”),“穿越chuānyuè” (meaning“going through”), “穿透chuāntòu” (meaning “splitting through” )“, 拆穿chāichuān” ,“ 戳穿chuōchuān” (both meaning “exposing sth. intentionally covered by sb. ”), “穿梭chuānsuō” (meaning “moving through”),“穿堂风chuāntángfēng” (meaning “a draught”), “点穿 diănchuān” (meaning“ pointing out sth. clearly”),“ 洞穿dòngchuān” (meaning “knowing sth. very clearly”), “水滴石穿shuĭdī shíchuān” (an idiom, meaning “constant drops of water can wear the stone”) and “百步穿杨băibùchuānyáng” (an idiom, meaning “an excellent archer can pierce a willow leaf with an arrow from the distance of a hundred paces”).

以上还只是汉字与汉语联系的几个主要方面，主要表现在汉字与汉语词汇的联系上，如果扩大到汉语的语音部分、语义部分，甚至语法部分，里面还有更多的内容值得学习和挖掘。但以上五个方面的举例已经可以体现汉字与汉语之间密不可分、表里相合、融合互渗的关系。汉字与汉语已经不只是简单的适应、吻合，而是相互深入渗透，产生了积极、多方面的补充与完善作用。如此还能说汉字与汉语无关，汉字学习对中文学习是可有可无的事吗？

The above are merely several main aspects of the connection between Chinese characters and Chinese spoken language. They are mainly discussed from the perspective of the connection between Chinese characters and Chinese words. If it is expanded to the phonetic perspective, semantic perspective, and even the grammar perspective, there will be far more to study and explore. Moreover, from the above five aspects, we can already see the close relationship between Chinese characters and Chinese language, which is inseparable, coherent, integrated and interactive. The relation between the two is not a simple one-to- one adaptation or correspondence, but a complementary interaction in multiple aspects. So, can we still say that Chinese characters have nothing to do with Chinese and regard the learning of Chinese characters as optional for the study of Chinese language?

对于汉字，人们曾从不同方面指称过它，如上面说到过的“方块字”“象形字”“表意字”，还有的称它为“语素字”“表词文字”，甚至有的称它为“表音文字”“记号字”，其实，这些指称都是从一定角度、一定侧面揭示了汉字的独有属性与功能。汉字是中文极其重要的一个部分，汉字学习应该成为中文学习不可或缺的一块内容。

Regarding the name of Chinese characters, people have adopted different ones from different aspects, such as the “square-shaped characters” and “pictograms” mentioned above; “morphine characters” and “logographic writing”; even “phonetic writing” and “mark words”. In fact, all present certain features and functions of Chinese characters. Chinese characters are a vital component of Chinese language. Therefore, the learning of Chinese characters is a must for the learning of Chinese language.

作者简介

苏新春，厦门大学嘉庚学院人文与传播学院院长，厦门大学中文系教授、博士生导师，国家语言资源监测与研究中心教育教材分中心主任，中国辞书学会学术委员会副主任。

Su Xinchu is the Dean of the School of Humanities and Communication in Xiamen University Tan Kah Kee College, a professor and doctoral supervisor of the Department of Chinese Language and Literature in Xiamen University, the Director of Education and Textbook Divison of the National Language Resources Monitoring and Research Center, and the Deputy Director of the Academic Committee of the Lexicographical Society of China.

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作者：苏新春 Su Xinchun

翻译：庄驰原 Zhuang Chiyuan

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