When teaching children how to read Chinese, it is inevitable we run into the concept of heteronyms (破音字), aka多音字.
They are similar to heteronyms in English, when a character is pronounced differently in different situations. Examples in English are:
In Chinese, a character changes its pronunciation for 2 main reasons :
While some of the heteronyms 破音字 have gradually been dropped in everyday use and only appear in classical literature, a lot of them are still being used in modern Chinese. Some common examples are:
漢字的其中一個特色是 破音字 :同一個漢字由於用法和意思的變化,讀音也產生變化。
破音字和一般的語音變化有所不同。
在日常應用中,同一個漢字的發音會因為隨後的那個字的發音而需要作出改變,例如:普通話的第三音,當隨後的那個字也是第三音時,前面的字就轉為第二音:水 / shuǐ/ – 水桶 /shuí tǒng/
一些其他的例子有:不對 /bú duì/, 不行 /bù xíng/
也有些字在應用時轉為輕聲:說得好 /shuō de hǎo/, 一個個 /yí gè ge/
有些破音字已不常用,只出現在成語或古典文學中。但現在常用的破音字為數仍不少,例如以下這些:
漢字 | 發音(1) | 發音(2) |
---|---|---|
好 | 好孩子 (/hǎo háizi/ good) | 喜好 (/xǐ hào/ to like) |
長 | 長短 (cháng duǎn/ length) | 長大 (/zhǎng dà/ to grow) |
樂 | 快樂 (/kuài lè/ happy) | 音樂 (/yīn yuè/ music) |
還 | 還好 (/hái hǎo/ [still] okay) | 歸還 (/guī huán/ to return) |
重 | 重要 (/zhòng yào/ important) | 重複 (/chóng fù/ to repeat) |
種 | 菜種 (/cài zhǒng/ type of, seed) | 種菜 (/zhòng cài/ to plant) |
There are 30 commonly used 破音字 in the Basic Chinese 500 course. We have created a study sheet, in case you are interested to learn them all. You can also use the study sheet as a source of reference for the games below.
A good understanding of heteronyms 破音字 is important when your child starts to write in Chinese. It helps them to avoid falling into the trap of using a homophone which has a different meaning. For example: mistakes in writing (經長) instead of 經常 in Putonghua, or (從複) instead of 重複 in Cantonese.
在基礎漢字500課程中有30個常用的破音字。我們製作了相關的練習紙供免費下載,可作綜合練習,也可作為以下遊戲活動的參考。
孩子對破音字的掌握可以減低寫白字的錯誤,尤其是將同音字混淆的情況。例如:普通話的「經常」誤寫成「經長」/ 廣東話的「重複」誤寫成「從複」等。
You might also be interested in our video: How would you read 長, which explains in more detail about this particular character – its history and various pronunciations.
歡迎觀看我們製作的短片:「長字怎麼唸」介紹「長」字的演變歷史、多種讀法、和文字遊戲。
Below are some activities to help your children to grasp the concept of heteronyms 破音字.
以下活動以遊戲方式,引導孩子認識破音字的概念。
Most of these activities are geared towards teaching your kids some common 破音字 so they have them in their vocabulary and can recognize when to use them in the correct context.
以下的遊戲主要是讓孩子認識甚麼是破音字,同時開始識別一些常用破音字在不同場合的意思和讀音。
Depending on the age of your child, you can increase or decrease the difficulty level of the activity by:
Depending on the age of your child, you can increase or decrease the difficulty level of the activity by:
Depending on the age of your child, you can increase or decrease the difficulty level of the activity by:
We would love to hear your comments and see pictures of your kids doing the activities. Make sure you join our Sagebooks HK Parent Support Facebook Group and share with us!
Don’t reinvent the wheel.
Sometimes, we’re so worried about repeating activities that we forget children love to repeat things. Do your kids love matching games? Great! They can match cards, shapes, colors, pictures, whatever you can think of! They all teach your children vocabulary and character recognition (if you tape the card to the shapes, etc.).
Do your kids love to find things? Hide character cards in easter eggs, under bowls, in boxes, or whatever you want! These are all similar concepts to our activities – but they can be endlessly recycled and adapted.
If it works, use it until your kids beg for something different. We have provided many iterations to our activities so you have plenty to choose from!
我們會經常為大家探討漢字和語文的課題。
要是你有特別的相關課題希望我們探討,歡迎您告訴我們。
We discuss Chinese language and culture related topics on a regular basis.
If you would like us to discuss certain topics about Chinese, please let us know.
很多家長都已是我們 Facebook 群組【講媽 · 講爸園地】 的成員。歡迎你也加入我們,一起互相鼓勵和支持,共同為孩子的學習而努力。
Many parents are already part of our Facebook Group. If you’d like to take advantage of the collective wisdom of your fellow parents, please join us.
We’d love to hear from you.
Sagebooks Hongkong promotes independent reading and life-long learning by nurturing the child’s confidence, autonomy and self-teaching abilities. Since 2006. Find out more About Us.
© 2020 Sagebooks Hongkong. All rights reserved.
Sagebooks Hongkong promotes independent reading and life-long learning by nurturing the child’s confidence, autonomy and self-teaching abilities. Since 2006. Find out more About Us.
© 2020 Sagebooks Hongkong. All rights reserved.
Sagebooks Hongkong promotes independent reading and life-long learning by nurturing the child’s confidence, autonomy and self-teaching abilities. Since 2006. Find out more About Us.
© 2020 Sagebooks Hongkong. All rights reserved.
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