Now this was and still is an unusual view because Chinese—with its 75,000 individual characters rather than an alphabet—had historically been the language considered incompatible with modern ...

A set-the-record-straight essay that breaks down the common misconceptions about Chinese language.

A quiz that helps you review common Chinese characters you will come across in everyday text. By practicing and reviewing, you can learn 2,538 Hanzi, their meanings and pronunciations.

Yet this regulated list of common characters was implemented across society in education and teaching, press and publishing, information processing, computer fonts, Chinese reference books, and more.

But how? There are some 10,000 Chinese characters in common use. Basic literacy, according to the Chinese government, starts at two thousand characters.

Surnames can reveal much about a person’s origins and offer some insight into one’s self.

BBC Languages - Learn Chinese in your own time and have fun with A Guide to Languages. Surprising and revealing facts about the Chinese language, key phrases to get started, details on the Chinese ...