Translation of hieroglyphs into Russian online. Character recognition program

By hieroglyphic keys, we mean those graphic elements and simple hieroglyphs that make up complex hieroglyphs. The question of which graphic elements and simple hieroglyphs to consider as keys has been decided repeatedly, so the number and composition of the keys presented in different time and in different editions, is not always the same. Xu Shen arranges hieroglyphs according to 540 key characters in the "Showen jiezi" dictionary. Today it is customary to allocate 214 basic hieroglyphic keys, and most dictionaries are based on this figure.

In dictionaries and reference books compiled according to the key principle, hieroglyphs are grouped according to one of the constituent keys, and this key is considered the main key for the hieroglyph. The principle of highlighting the main key is not always obvious, often hieroglyphs are attributed to one or another key only according to tradition. Therefore, to simplify the work with such dictionaries, a table of hard-to-find hieroglyphs is usually placed at the end of the index.

The elements included in the hieroglyph are also called "pianpan" (pian1pang2). The way of translating this term into Russian and its interpretation are very ambiguous. Some researchers tend to see this concept non-key components of the hieroglyph (for example, "edge graphemes"), others, on the contrary, argue that this is a designation of key spellings in complex hieroglyphs. In favor of the last statement is the fact that in many dictionaries in Lately the key table is represented not by the basic spelling of the keys, but by their simplified image as part of complex hieroglyphs, and such a table is called the "pianpan" table.

Full and abbreviated forms of hieroglyphs

As a result of the writing reform in the PRC in the 1950s, the spelling of many hieroglyphs and hieroglyphic keys was changed. The new hieroglyphs and hieroglyphic keys were distinguished by a smaller number of features and ease of writing compared to the original version. New hieroglyphs began to be called "abbreviated" (jian3ti3zi4), and the old ones - "full" or "full forms of writing" (fan2ti3zi4). Long forms of spelling are still the main ones among ethnic Chinese living outside the PRC. They are also accepted in the special administrative regions of the PRC: Xianggang (Hong Kong) and Macao (Macao), as well as in Taiwan. Abbreviated characters other than PRC are currently accepted in Singapore. Chinese calligraphy is focused specifically on the full forms of hieroglyphs, so that many signs, book titles or company logos made by famous calligraphers are written in the traditional style without any abbreviations.

The order of the lines of the hieroglyph

The order of strokes is individual for each hieroglyph and is regulated by certain established rules. For some complex hieroglyphs, there are two or more generally established stroke orders. All trait order rules come from the main setting: The elements of the character are written in order from top to bottom, from left to right and from the periphery to the center. This principle in a number of cases needs additions and adjustments; sometimes some of its provisions may even be violated.

The concept of writing ideas and options for writing keys

When several graphic elements or simple hieroglyphs (keys) are combined in a complex hieroglyph, the latter undergo certain changes. Sometimes the transformation affects the whole appearance and the structure of the key, then they talk about the variant of writing this key as part of complex hieroglyphs. In some cases, the transformation concerns only individual distortions in the balance of the parts of the key, necessary for the harmonious arrangement and balance of the parts of a complex character. The direction of these distortions is called the idea of writing a hieroglyph or a graphic element. Proper mastery of the technique of writing basic elements and knowledge of the idea of writing will make it possible to harmoniously arrange parts of a complex hieroglyph.

It's time to talk about the role of keys in Chinese. You have probably heard more than once that in Chinese there is a certain table of keys. In this article, we will tell you about the keys and the keymap, what it consists of and how to make the keymap your assistant in learning. Chinese.

Keys in Chinese are the elements that make up the character. Each of them consists of one or more features, having its own name, number and introducing the corresponding meaning into the word.

For example:

Key: 火huǒ - fire

火灾 huǒzāi – fire

烤 kǎo – to fry

Please note that the keys can be used as an independent hieroglyph, as in the word "fire", or be its component, as in the word "fry".

The key table is where the Chinese language keys are collected. On this moment the most common table, which includes 214 keys.

All keys are arranged in ascending order of features, from the simplest to the most complex. In the center is the key itself, below it is its meaning. In the upper left corner you can see its number and name. On the right is the number of strokes and other possible variations of this key in hieroglyphs.

How to make a table your assistant in learning Chinese?

Knowing the keys can make learning Chinese much easier.

With the help of keys, you can quickly find hieroglyphs in the dictionary

Do not forget that Chinese is a special language, without an alphabet, but with hieroglyphs. Accordingly, Chinese dictionaries are also different from ordinary ones based on the first letters of a word: they are built on keys. That is, if you want to know the translation of a word, then you need to enter words in Pinyin, or find the desired key that is part of this hieroglyph.

Using the keys, you can guess the meaning of the word and, accordingly, quickly remember it, which is very important in learning a language.

I think everything is clear here. Here is an example:

Key: 水 shuǐ - water

Possible variations: 氵氺

Words: 海 - sea, 冰 [bīng] - ice, 洗 - wash, wash, 湿润 - wet

As you can see, in all words there is a key "water" in one of the variations.

Here are some more examples:

Key: 人 - person

Variations: 亻

Words: 男人 - man, 作家 - writer, 你 - you

Key: 手 - hand

Variations: 扌龵

Words: 拿 - take, 手机 - telephone, 看 - look

By the way, the last word has a very curious origin. From above, as you noticed, the key 手 is “hand”, and below the key 目 is “eye”. And this hieroglyph appeared something like this:

A few more words about the key table in the end ....

Based on my own experience, we can say that the key table is like the alphabet (figuratively) in Chinese. Of course, having studied the table, you will not be able to read all the hieroglyphs and understand them. exact value. But, you will be able to guess the meaning of the word, it is easier to remember its spelling, and it is easier to remember how it is spelled after some time.

214 keys is not a large number of, but not small either. To learn all the keys more efficiently and quickly, try breaking them down by topic.

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Structure of hieroglyphs.

According to the method of formation, hieroglyphs are of the following types:
pictographic, ideographic, phonographic.
Pictographic hieroglyphs are the simplest hieroglyphs. In them we can find an echo of the form of the denoting object, for example, 口，心，日。

Ideographic characters are made up of two simple characters, such as 信.

Phonographic hieroglyphs consist of a key and a phonetic. The key conveys the distant meaning of the hieroglyph (rather, even the group to which the hieroglyph is related), and the phonetic conveys the sound of the hieroglyph and does not carry a meaning.
Most often, the key is located on the left, above and below the hieroglyph, and the phonetic is on the right, but options are possible.
For example, the character 枝 branch consists of the key "tree" and the phonetic "zhi".
About 80% Chinese characters are phonographic.
In total, there are 214 keys in Chinese. Knowing them all by heart is completely optional, but it is advisable to remember the most common ones.

List of the most common Chinese character keys:

List of some phonetics:

possible readings: cun
小 possible readings: sun, xiao
每 possible readings: mei
羊 possible readings: yang, xian
银 possible readings: yan, yin, hen, gen.
重 possible readings: tuan, zhong
谁 possible readings: shei, shui, tui

Why do we need to know the main keys and phonetics?
Keys are necessary for at least an approximate understanding of the meaning, which makes it possible to guess the meaning of the word.
We may need phonetics in situations where we need to guess the pronunciation of a word. It may also come in handy when we need to look up a word in the dictionary, but we can't use the search by style. For example, we need to know the meaning of the character: 银. By the key, you can understand that the word has something to do with metal. The phonetic can be read as yan, yin, hen, gen. Looking through these combinations, we can easily find the word 银 - yín silver.

EXERCISES
1) Name the meaning of the key and, accordingly, guess the semantic category of the hieroglyph

洋
key is water, value is ocean
钱
the key is metal, the meaning is "money"
惊
the key is the heart, the meaning is to be afraid
热
the key is fire, the meaning is "hot"
筷
Key - Bamboo, Meaning - "Chopsticks"
馆
key is food, meaning is "restaurant"
让
key - speech, meaning - "yield"

2) Guess about the possible pronunciation of the hieroglyph by phonetics:

跟
possible phonetic pronunciations: yan, yin, hen, gen. Character pronunciation: gēn
鲜
possible phonetic pronunciations: yang, xian. Character pronunciation: xiān
畽
possible phonetic pronunciations: tuan, zhong. Character pronunciation: tuǎn
梅
possible pronunciations phonetics: mei. Character pronunciation: mei
脽
possible phonetic pronunciations: shei, shui, tui. Character pronunciation: tuǐ
忖
possible pronunciations phonetics: cun. Character pronunciation: cǔn
锺
possible phonetic pronunciations: tuan, zhong. Character pronunciation: zhōng
洋
possible phonetic pronunciations: yang, xian. Character pronunciation: yang
推
possible phonetic pronunciations: shei, shui, tui. Character pronunciation: tuī

Any hieroglyph consists of one or more keys, so the keys are the basic components of the hieroglyph. There are 214 keys or key elements in total, but you can often find abbreviated lists on the Internet, there is nothing to worry about, just some keys are very complex or rarely found, and they may not be added to the table.

Why do you need to learn the keys at all

After all, many of them are not independent hieroglyphs, which means they are, as it were, not needed. This question is asked by every person who begins to learn Chinese. As experience shows, the study of keys subsequently simplifies the memorization of hieroglyphs. In addition, without knowing them, it is impossible to use Chinese paper dictionaries. To some extent, this is not very relevant today.

What you need to pay attention to when studying the key table

First, hell, it's very important for correct spelling!! You need to write in exactly the same order as indicated in the table, and not as you want or more convenient.
Secondly, it would be nice to learn and various options writing keys that change depending on the hieroglyph. Moreover, the spelling options can be completely different from each other.

Pronunciation

Some keys may be phonetics, that is, the pronunciation of the hieroglyph will match the pronunciation of the key. Knowing how the key is read, you can also read an unfamiliar hieroglyph.

Meaning

There is such a thing as generic keys, by which you can understand the meaning of the hieroglyph. For example, characters with the key 牛 (cow) refer to bulls or other livestock.
The character 物 "thing" wu consists of the semantic key 牛 (spelling on the left) and the phonetic key 勿 wu (the character is pronounced according to it). In terms of explaining the meaning, the hieroglyph is certainly not very successful, but the Chinese believe that the bull is a thing, so this hieroglyph consisting of two keys is translated as “thing”. Chinese logic is not always clear to foreigners, but one should try to accept it.

Studying the Keys is a Necessary Step on the Path to Foundation Chinese characters, so I advise everyone not to neglect this topic and give it sufficient attention to early stages study.

View an example of a Chinese character key table or download a PDF

Key	Variant/Order of Traits	Reading	Meaning
牛	牜left	niku	Cow
羊	 top	yang	Ram
鱼	—	yu	Fish
鸟	—	niǎo	Bird
犬	犭 left	(quǎn)	Dog

Download Chinese characters PDF