One of the best ways to become familiar with Chinese characters is to use texts that combine Pinyin and characters. This is the approach used in the New Read Chinese series, and it is very effective for weaning Mandarin students from Pinyin.
Each chapter of the “New Read Chinese” books begins with a list of characters to be learned. The best way to commit these characters to memory is to write them down several times each.
Once the characters have been memorized (more or less), the reading section can be tackled. The reading section combines Pinyin of previously studied vocabulary along with the newly learned Chinese characters.
The Numbers One to Ten
一 yī (one)
二 èr (two)
三 sān (three)
四 sì (four)
五 wǔ (five)
六 liù (six)
七 qī (seven)
八 bā (eight)
九 jiǔ (nine)
十 shí (ten)
Reading Practice
十 yuè 五 hào shì lǐ bài 一 ma?
Is October 5th a Monday?
Tā de shēngrì shì 九 yuè 八 hào.
His birthday is September 8th.
Wǒ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì 二 三 四 九 八 七 六.
My phone number is 234-9876.
