250 Essential Chinese Characters for Everyday Use (Tuttle Language Library)

Rating:
Summary: I will buy Volume 2 for sure
Review: 2 months ago I had no knowledge of Chinese at all, and now I can recognize more than 150 characters easily. The only material I studied so far was this book, and it has been an excellent start for someone who wants to learn how to read Chinese by himself.

I decided that the first step I would take to study Chinese would be to recognize characters and its meanings, and only later to study grammar in detail. To recognize characters is not enough, since most of the Chinese words are formed by 2 characters, but if you know their meanings well, it will be a lot easier to learn the words later.

Another plus is that this book is based on the simplified characters, which are used in mainland China. Take care when you select a book, because a lot of them are based on the full form characters, which are used only in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Rating:
Summary: Great Intro to written Chinese
Review: I used this book to supplement a college class. It is excellent as far as the set of characters it contains (most common), and in teaching proper stroke order. It is far better than the $100+ of textbooks I had to buy for the class.

Note that you have to learn proper pronuniciation through some other method. No book can explain what a sound is like, although all the chinese books try! This is the first review I have written, and I hope it helps those who follow. I have purchased many Chinese language books, and this is the best. Use it along with a Pimsleur audio course, and you will be on your way.

Wayne

Rating:
Summary: Great Intro to written Chinese
Review: I used this book to supplement a college class. It is excellent as far as the set of characters it contains (most common), and in teaching proper stroke order. It is far better than the $100+ of textbooks I had to buy for the class.

Note that you have to learn proper pronuniciation through some other method. No book can explain what a sound is like, although all the chinese books try! This is the first review I have written, and I hope it helps those who follow. I have purchased many Chinese language books, and this is the best. Use it along with a Pimsleur audio course, and you will be on your way.

Wayne