Although Chinese characters are not as exotic as compared to the alphabetic writing systems used for languages throughout the rest of the world, one reason they still fascinate me is their ability to convey a story differently than what letters can. If Chinese speakers used a romanized system (such as pinyin, or any alphabet-based transcription), posts like these would not be possible! Many of these stories and origins have been lost, however, and is up to our interpretation. Anyhow, here is a subset of some characters I have found interesting in my time of trying to learn Mandarin once again…
- 楽 (lè: happiness, music)
Whether we are trying to get pumped up during a workout, or screaming our lungs out at a concert, music has the ability to make us excited. Even the ancient Chinese definitely felt this phenomena with their beautiful zithers and percussion, as the character for music, 楽 (which actually is a picture of some string on some wood), eventually also took on the meaning of joy. This version of the character is actually the Japanese rendition of it, which I chose because it also looks like a man having a hearty chuckle.
- 串 (chuàn: skewer)
It’s probably because I’m hungry right now but this is literally a picture of a kebab and I love it for that.
- 臭 (chòu: stinky)
What that smelly smell? Let’s leave it to some dogs to find out for us, and let the character for smelly be a combination of dog (犬) and nose (自).
- 習 (xí: to study, learn)
As Shakira sings in “Try Again,” “Birds don’t just fly, they fall down and get up.” Apparently the Chinese took this to the next level, because if you wanted to learn something, you had to spread your wings (羽) until you sore higher than the sun (日). I’m inspired.
- 男 (nán: male)
By the way, if you’re a dude, you should be working in the fields (田) and making use of your mighty strength (力). What are gender roles again?
- 我 (wǒ: I, me)
The next time you’re feeling down about yourself, visualize how ‘me’ is written in Chinese; you’ll soon find a weapon in your hand, and start feeling undefeatable – 我 seems to be a pictogram of a hand (手) grasping a shield or knife!
- 旦 （dàn: dawn, sunrise)
Forget real life sunrises, you’ll get all the natural beauty you need in your life with this Chinese character. It once again makes use of a sun (日), situated just over a horizon. Wholesome.
- 好 (hǎo: good, well)
If you think it couldn’t get more wholesome than the previous word, check this out. This character for good is a picture of a woman (女) with a child (子). Because what in this world is better than a loving mother with her child? Huh? Are you telling me this isn’t the actual etymology? That we might be making this up? Shh. Let us have our moments please.
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