How do children learn Chinese characters?

In primary school, Chinese kids use special notebooks with “tianzige” (田字格), where each character is written within a square frame. Whilst helping children learn the correct structure of characters, tianzige also helps children follow the correct stroke order when writing characters.

Should my child learn traditional or simplified Chinese?

As I’ve mentioned earlier, Simplified Chinese characters have fewer strokes. For children, less is more. When it comes to choosing writing Chinese characters, it’s better to get children started with simpler ones so that they don’t get discouraged with too many strokes.

How many characters should a Chinese child learn?

In elementary school, Chinese pupils are expected to learn about 2,500 characters which are the most used. Then they assimilate about 1,000 more specific ones during middle school and high school. In the end, Chinese students that have finished high school know about 4,500 characters.

Should I use simplified or traditional Chinese?

Simplified Chinese is typically used when translating for mainland China, Singapore, Malaysia, and international organizations such as the United Nations and the World Bank. However, when translating for audiences in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau and international immigrant communities, Traditional Chinese is the norm.

Should my child learn Chinese?

Learning Chinese can help students do better in school. Children who begin learning Chinese at a young age tend to do better in their coursework overall. Chinese can be a challenging language to master. It’s not uncommon for students who have been studying Chinese to get into honors and advanced-level classes.

Does Cantonese use traditional or simplified Chinese?

In Hong Kong, Cantonese is the predominant dialect while people write in Traditional Chinese. The exception is Taiwan where people speak Mandarin and write in Traditional Chinese….

Target Market	Written	Spoken
Hong Kong	Traditional	Cantonese
Taiwan	Traditional	Mandarin
Singapore	Simplified	Mandarin