Pages

Character-confusion No More Part 2



It seems this new series is very well-received by my regular readers on this website! Let's get on with the second of the series, with this character 艮 gěn

艮 gěn means ''stillness'' or ''stopping'', it is 6 strokes and is one of the 214 radicals.

艮 gěn is the seventh of the Taoist Ba Gua trigrams (guacosmology), it is also the 52nd hexagram of the I Ching. There is no top stroke if you compare with the common 良 Liáng  (as it is commonly confused with).

Photo Courtesy of the Nationals Online, Bagua

There are consequences when you use 艮 gěn with a different radical incorrectly.  The easiest way to remember is the sounding of 良 Liáng  which has the additional top stroke. With the female radical on its left is the resultant character: 娘 

娘 niáng is Mother, or as in 新娘  Xīn niáng(which is the Bride)

With the 犬 radical, or犭on its left
The resulting chinese character is 狼 Láng which means Wolf.

So 艮 gěn is different. The easiest way to remember is the contrast of this character 狠 Hěn which means 'Ruthless'.

When it is with the radical 足 ⻊ foot radical. The resultant is 跟 and this means to follow. 

We have new online lessons for Autumn/Winter 2016, if you would like to try

please email us nihaojodee@gmail.com





Zannnie

NihaoHello is designed to meet the increasing demand for Mandarin Chinese language learning among the younger generation. We specialize in providing homeschooling and tutoring services specifically for English speakers, focusing on teaching essential yet practical Mandarin Chinese skills. Our program is geared towards beginner learners and is designed to provide immediate practical usage as soon as the global economy improves.