🀄 Day 15 — Character Intro: Radicals 1–5
Phase: Phase 1 | Milestone: Foundation — Sound & Script
⏱️ Today’s Session (1 Hour)
| Block | Time | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| Review | 0:00–0:15 | Anki / Pleco SRS flashcards |
| New Content | 0:15–0:45 | Today’s lesson + exercises |
| Listening | 0:45–0:55 | Audio immersion / shadowing |
| Output | 0:55–1:00 | Speak or write original Chinese |
📖 Review (15 min)
- Anki: “SpoonFed Chinese” — 20 cards. “Chinese Radicals” — 5 cards.
- Numbers 0–10 forward and backward 3×.
🆕 New Content (30 min)
🎥 Watch First
Yoyo Chinese — Chinese Characters: Radicals 📖 Reference: Reading & Writing Chinese (Tuttle) — Radical section
What is a Radical?
Every Chinese character contains a radical (部首 bùshǒu) — a building block that hints at meaning. There are 214 traditional radicals.
Today’s 5 Radicals
| # | Radical | Name | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 人 / 亻 | rén | person | 你, 他, 们 |
| 2 | 女 | nǚ | woman | 好, 她, 妈 |
| 3 | 口 | kǒu | mouth | 吗, 叫, 吃 |
| 4 | 日 | rì | sun/day | 明, 时, 昨 |
| 5 | 水 / 氵 | shuǐ | water | 河, 海, 酒 |
✏️ Exercises
- Stroke Order (10 min): Open Pleco → search each radical → “Stroke” tab → watch animation. Write each radical 20× with correct stroke order. Say name aloud.
- Spot the Radical (10 min): In these characters, find the radical: 你=亻, 好=女, 吗=口, 明=日, 河=氵.
- Memory Palace (10 min): 亻=stick figure person. 女=dancing woman. 口=open square mouth. 日=sun with dot. 氵=three water drops.
🎧 Listening (10 min)
🎧 YouTube: “Learn Chinese Radicals” or HelloChinese character module.
🗣️ Output (5 min)
✍️ Write all 5 radicals from memory on blank paper. No cheating.
Day 15 Checklist0/5