Sketchbook

Where I draw and doodle thoughts and story-lines (for all sketches, see instagram below @yilindastories). 

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Character Learning #0086 Traditional: 去［qù］[ㄑㄩˋ ] Simplified: same Radical: 厶 ＊ MODERN MEANINGS: 1) Verb: To go 2) Verb: To depart 3) Verb: to remove 4) Adverb: Last/the previous ＊ CHARACTER TYPE: (?) Compound Ideogram - (會意 “joined meaning”) ＊ CHARACTER NOTES: The origins of 去 are a little murkey - some earlier versions of the character depicts what looks like a 大 (interpreted as “man”) on top of a square object (口). Some scholars have interpreted this as a man departing from a city or a cave. One scholar has a more amusing interpretation: a man squatting over (perhaps) a toilet… with something “leaving” the body. ART NOTES While I considered doing a “potty illustration”… this explanation isn’t well documented/supported :-P. I’ve decided to go with the “person departing a city” explanation — with a modern update. Older version of this character reminds me of an airplane/jet flying over a city: and that’s how I’ve painted it: a jetliner one city for another in our multinational - bearing an ancient symbol (the ancient version of 去). * EXAMPLE USAGE: * 出去 － Pinyin: Chūqù － Zhuyin: ㄔㄨ ㄑㄩˋ － Translation: To go out 去掉 － Pinyin: qùdiào － Zhuyin: ㄑㄩˋ ㄉㄧㄠˋ － Translation: To get rid of, remove 去年 － Pinyin: qùnián － Zhuyin: ㄑㄩˋ ㄋㄧㄢˊ － Translation: last year (the previous year) #chinese #chineselearning #LearnChinese #WrittenChinese #mandarin #typography #watercolor #illustration #panda #lettering #languages #StandardChinese #Onewordaday #FlashCard #Cantonese #Putonghua #childrensbooks
CHARACTER REVIEW:
Traditional: 後 [Hòu] ［ㄏㄡˋ］
Simplified: 后 Radical: 彳 ＊
MODERN MEANINGS: 1) Behind, the back 2) Later, afterwards 3) descendants
ANTONYM: 前 [qián] in front of/before
***
CHARACTER EXPLANATION:
TRADITIONAL 
The Traditional Chinese form of the character for behind, or “後［Hòu］” is an ideogrammatic compound (a puzzle piece character in which each piece contributes a piece of the meaning) made of three components: “彳 + 幺 + 夊” . “彳” [Chì] is often seen in radical form. It means small step, or to walk slowly. “幺”[Yāo] (as we’ve seen before with the character “麼”) means tiny, and is said to depicted a thin thread. Lastly, “夊” [Suī] depicts a footprint - and usually indicates some sort of motion. We can imagine a story of someone walking slowly but steadily along, leaving behind a path well trodden, and perhaps even a line of descendants! 
SIMPLIFIED NOTE
You may notice that the traditional form of “後” looks very different: “后”. This is actually because these are two completely different characters. “后” (also pronounced [Hòu］), is a character that originally meant “sovereign” - and depicted a person giving orders (皇后, for instance, means “empress”). When simplified Chinese was created, they simply borrowed the less complicated (to write at least) “后” and decreed that it would also mean behind etc.

So, if we can learn both the simplified and traditional forms of 後/后, we’ll have two characters under our belt — for the price of one:) COMMON WORDS & PHRASES (example usage)

Before and after
--- pinyin: Qiánhòu
--- Traditional: 前後
--- Simplified: 前後

From now on --- pinyin: Jīnhòu
--- Traditional: 今後
--- Simplified: 今后

Afterwards --- pinyin: Hòulái
--- Traditional: 後來
--- Simplified: 后来

Queen
--- pinyin: Huánghòu
--- Traditional: 皇后
--- Simplified: same #pandacubstories #chinese #chineselearning #mandarin #typography #watercolor #panda #lettering #languages #FlashCard #Cantonese #Putonghua #Chinese #StandardChinese #LearnChinese
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Apologies for the longer pause! Back (a little slowly) with character paintings! Today’s new one: 門/门 Character Learning #0085 Traditional: 門［mén］[ㄇㄣˊ] Simplified: 门 Radical: 門／门 ＊ MODERN MEANINGS: 1) Noun: Door/entryway 2) Noun: Any opening ＊ CHARACTER TYPE: Simple Pictogram - 象形 (xiàng xíng, "form imitation”) ＊ CHARACTER NOTES: 門(门) is a pictogram pure and simple: the oldest form of the character looks almost identical to the traditional form: 門. It depicts a gate, or a double sided door. Today, 門(门) also means “door” in a metaphorical sense: an opening or entryway to anywhere! * EXAMPLE USAGE: * 門(门) 口 － Pinyin: Ménkǒu － Zhuyin: ㄇㄣˊ ㄎㄡˇ － Translation: The doorway (door + mouth) 出門(门)了 － Pinyin: chūménle － Zhuyin: ㄔㄨ ㄇㄣˊ ㄌㄧㄠˇ － Translation: Went out (exit + door + done) 前門(门) － Pinyin: qián mén － Zhuyin: ㄑㄧㄢˊ ㄇㄣˊ － Translation: The front door #chinese #chineselearning #LearnChinese #WrittenChinese #mandarin #typography #watercolor #illustration #panda #lettering #languages #StandardChinese #Onewordaday #FlashCard #Cantonese #Putonghua #childrensbooks
Apologies for the longer than anticipated “paws”! Back with the character paintings! * CHARACTER REVIEW:
Traditional: 前 [qián] ［ㄑㄧㄢˊ］
Simplified: same Radical: 刂 ＊
MODERN MEANINGS: 1) (adv) before, in front, forward 2) (noun) the front 3) (verb) to proceed
ANTONYM: 後 (simplified 后) [Hòu] “behind”
***
CHARACTER EXPLANATION:

Originally, the character “前［Qián]” looked like “歬”, which was a compound of “止 (foot)” and “舟 (boat)”. This has sometimes been interpreted as a foot on a boat, moving forward. Today, the character has shifted in form: the “舟 “ has been transformed to look more like a “月” and the “止” has shifted into “䒑” (which sometimes shows up as “艹“ and indicates plant life). ART NOTE:

I’ve taken extra creative liberties with this character. When I see it, I see a little boat heading forward on a river, straight into a beautiful wetland scene (I’m from Georgia, there are loads of beautiful wetland plant scenes!). COMMON WORDS & PHRASES (example usage)

before, previous --- pinyin: Yǐqián
--- Traditional: 以前
--- Simplified: same

2 hours before
--- pinyin: Liǎng gè xiǎoshí qián
--- Traditional: 兩個小時前
--- Simplified: 两个小时前

1 day before --- pinyin: Yītiān qián
--- Traditional: 一天前
--- Simplified: same 
1 month ago
--- pinyin: Sān gè yuè qián
--- Traditional: 三個月前
--- Simplified: 三个月前

7 years ago
--- pinyin: Qī nián qián
--- Traditional: 七年前
--- Simplified: same

In front of --- pinyin: Miànqián or Qiánmiàn
--- Traditional: 面前 or 前面
--- Simplified: same

Before one’s eyes (figuratively, this means “at present”)
--- pinyin: Yǎnqián
--- Traditional: 眼前
--- Simplified: same #pandacubstories #chinese #chineselearning #mandarin #typography #watercolor #panda #lettering #languages #FlashCard #Cantonese #Putonghua #Chinese #StandardChinese #LearnChinese
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*update (last thesis update!): All set up to begin my final thesis re-writes! Last leg of this marathon will run though mid July (16th!). I’ll still be painting/sharing character paintings during this time, but my pace will be slower (2-3 a week). Thank you all for following along this journey with me! - Linda
Character Learning #0084 Traditional: 出［Chū］[ㄔㄨ] Simplified: same Radical: 凵 ＊ MODERN MEANINGS: 1) Verb: go out 2) verb: produce ＊ CHARACTER TYPE: Compound Ideogram - (會意 “joined meaning”) or Simple Pictogram - 象形 (xiàng xíng, "form imitation”) ＊ CHARACTER NOTES: There are two main competing interpretations for 出: the earliest versions of this character seemed to be a “compound ideogram”: depicting a foot (止 ) stepping out of a cave (凵) - hence the meaning of “out”. As the character changed across the centuries, the original shape shifted to look more like a plant growing out of the ground. This lent to it’s interpretation as a plant growing “outwards” from the ground (hence simple pictogram). Which is right? Whichever helps you remember! * ART NOTE I’ve tried to capture both historical interpretations of 出 in this painting… a foot “stepping out” from a cave/ditch… and a little flower hitching a ride on the “way out” ! * EXAMPLE USAGE: * 出來（来） － Pinyin: Chūlái － Zhuyin: ㄔㄨ ㄌㄞˊ － Translation: To come out 出門(门)了 － Pinyin: chūménle － Zhuyin: ㄔㄨ ㄇㄣˊ ㄌㄧㄠˇ － Translation: Went out (exit + door + done) 出去 － Pinyin: chūqù － Zhuyin: ㄔㄨ ㄑㄩˋ － Translation: to Go out #chinese #chineselearning #LearnChinese #WrittenChinese #mandarin #typography #watercolor #illustration #panda #lettering #languages #StandardChinese #Onewordaday #FlashCard #Cantonese #Putonghua #childrensbooks
CHARACTER REVIEW:
Traditional: 以 [Yǐ] ［ㄧˇ］
Simplified: same Radical: 人 ＊
MODERN MEANINGS: 1）(preposition) with; by, according to 2) (adv) in order to 3) (conjunction) so as to ＊ CHARACTER TYPE: (?) Simple Pictogram - 象形 (xiàng xíng, "form imitation”)
＊ CHARACTER NOTES:
Historically, the character “以［Yǐ］” is a combination of “㠯” and “人”. (“㠯” is no longer used today, but meant ‘mouth’. ‘人’ as we’ve seen before, means ‘person’. In my mind, sometimes I see a person talking, hence “according to”). The character “以［Yǐ］”is a bit of a chameleon, but really great helper character. It crops up so often in different Chinese words, you’ll have it memorized the more you read (more on this in the example phrases)! * ART NOTE: For this character, I’ve decided to paint “人” as a person (surprise), and the other half of “以” as a speech bubble! Inside the speech bubble are examples of words that use “以”. See below for those translations!
* EXAMPLE USAGE
Ok/ able to/ pretty good! --- pinyin: Kě yǐ
--- Traditional: 可以
--- Simplified: same *
Wǒ kěyǐ bāng nǐ ma?
我可以帮你吗？ 
Can I help you? *
kěyǐ
可以！ Ok! *
Therefore / as a result / the reason why
--- pinyin: Suǒ yǐ
--- Traditional: 所以
--- Simplified: same

The above (the above mentioned)
--- pinyin: Yǐshàng
--- Traditional: 以上
--- Simplified: same 
The following (the below mentioned
--- pinyin: Yǐxià
--- Traditional: 以下
--- Simplified: same

before, previous --- pinyin: Yǐqián
--- Traditional: 以前
--- Simplified: same

after, afterwards， subsequently
--- pinyin: Yǐhòu
--- Traditional: 以後
--- Simplified: 以后 #pandacubstories #chinese #chineselearning #mandarin #typography #watercolor #panda #lettering #languages #FlashCard #Cantonese #Putonghua #Chinese #StandardChinese #LearnChinese
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Character Learning #0083 Traditional: 了［le， liǎo ］[ㄌㄧㄠˇ ] Simplified: same Radical: 乛 ＊ MODERN MEANINGS: 1) auxiliary/helper particle: (usually) used after a verb to indicate the completion of an action (helps establish past-tense). Also often used at the very end of a sentence to indicate something has taken place, or something has changed. ＊ CHARACTER TYPE: Simple Pictogram - 象形 (xiàng xíng, "form imitation”) ＊ CHARACTER NOTES: You may notice that 了 looks very similar to the character for “child”, or 子. Indeed, both characters have the same origin: they depicted an infant: 子 a baby with her arms outstretched and 了 that same baby with her arms tucked away/by her side. Today, 了’s meaning has shifted from “child” to something else. And what is that something else? Well, like 個(个) and 的， 了 is one of those Chinese characters that doesn’t have an exact translation in English. For now, it is most helpful to connect 了 with it’s most used function: to indicate something is in the “past” or something has been “completed”. For instance, 我吃 means to “I eat”. If you say: “我吃了”, then you have “completed eating”, or in other words: “I ate”. CHINESE TENSES (MORE) check out this helpful blog: https://www.writtenchinese.com/past-present-future-tenses-mandarin-chinese/ * ART NOTE I’ve painted 了 as a bundled baby (just as the etymology indicates). Her baby-quilt is decorated with different patterns … different phrases using “了”. How many can you find/recognize? * EXAMPLE USAGE: * 吃了！ － Pinyin: Chīle － Zhuyin: ㄔ ㄌㄧㄠˇ － Translation: Ate (eat + done) 出門(门)了 － Pinyin: chūménle － Zhuyin: ㄔㄨ ㄇㄣˊ ㄌㄧㄠˇ － Translation: Went out (exit + door + done) 去了 － Pinyin: qùle － Zhuyin: ㄑㄩˋ ㄌㄧㄠˇ － Translation: Went (Go + done) #chinese #chineselearning #LearnChinese #WrittenChinese #mandarin #typography #watercolor #illustration #panda #lettering #languages #StandardChinese #Onewordaday #FlashCard #Cantonese #Putonghua #childrensbooks
CHARACTER REVIEW:
Traditional: 來 [Lái] ［ㄌㄞˊ ］
Simplified: 来 Radical: 木 ＊
MODERN MEANINGS: 1）to come/arrive 
ANTONYM: 去 [Qù] to go *** ＊ CHARACTER TYPE: Simple Pictogram - 象形 (xiàng xíng, "form imitation”)
＊ CHARACTER NOTES:
For me, the character “來［Lái] ” is beautifully placed right next to “未”［Wèi］ (which we just learned yesterday). As you can see, the two characters look rather similar. While “未” represented a tree just budding (the leaves not yet come), “來” is said to be a pictograph showing a tree (represented by wood or “木”), bearing fruit: the harvest having “come”. EXAMPLE USAGE

The future （literally: not yet come)
--- pinyin: Wèilái
--- Traditional: 未來
--- Simplified: 未来

To come up
--- pinyin: Shàng lái
--- Traditional: 上來
--- Simplified: 上来

To come down
--- pinyin: Xià lái
--- Traditional: 下來
--- Simplified: 下来

To come out/appear --- pinyin: Chū lái
--- Traditional: 出来
--- Simplified: 出來

To get up --- pinyin: Qǐ lái
--- Traditional: 起來
--- Simplified: 起来

Originally; As it turns out （literally: origins + come)
--- pinyin: Yuánlái
--- Traditional: 原來
--- Simplified: 原来 #pandacubstories #chinese #chineselearning #mandarin #typography #watercolor #panda #lettering #languages #FlashCard #Cantonese #Putonghua #Chinese #StandardChinese #LearnChinese
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Tried a new style today! Character in reverse! * Character Learning #0082 Traditional: 太［tài ］[ㄊㄞˋ ] Simplified: same Radical: 大 ＊ MODERN MEANINGS: 1) Adverb: Too 2) Adjective: highest, greatest *** CHARACTER TYPE: Simple Ideogram - 指事 (zhǐ shì, "form indicates meaning”) or Phono-semantic - 形聲 (xíng shēng, "form and sound”) ＊ CHARACTER NOTES: 太 means “too” (as in “too much!”), or highest/most senior (e.g. 太空 ＝ “highest space” or “outerspace”). 太 is formed with a character we’ve already learned: 大 (or big): one simply adds an extra “dot” to the left leg of 大 to end up with 太! Scholars differ as to the origins of 太. Some say that the form imitates the meaning: we have a perfectly good character with “大” and if you add anything more to it (e.g. the extra dot), it becomes “太多！” (Too much)! Another parallel explanation is that the 大 gives the sound hint (Dà)， which sounds similar to 太 (Tài). As for me - both explanations make sense. Whichever explanation helps you remember 太 is “too much” will work! 太空 * ART NOTE As we learned before, 大 used to depict a person with arms stretched out wide! When I was thinking about how to paint this character… I wanted to incorporate both meanings of “too/excessive” as well as “highest” … hence the astronaut with a little hitchhiking duo clasped onto her heel:) EXAMPLE USAGE: * 太多! － Pinyin: Tài duō － Zhuyin: ㄊㄞˋ ㄉㄨㄛ － Translation: too much! 太少! － Pinyin: tài shǎo － Zhuyin: ㄊㄞˋ ㄕㄠˇ － Translation: To little! (not enough) 太好! － Pinyin: tài hǎo － Zhuyin: ㄊㄞˋ ㄏㄠˇ － Translation: Awesome (highest + good)! #chinese #chineselearning #LearnChinese #WrittenChinese #mandarin #typography #watercolor #illustration #panda #lettering #languages #StandardChinese #Onewordaday #FlashCard #Cantonese #Putonghua #childrensbooks
CHARACTER REVIEW:
Traditional: 未 [Wèi] ［ㄨㄟˋ ］
Simplified: same Radical: 木 ＊
MODERN MEANINGS: 1）not yet 2) have not ＊ CHARACTER TYPE: Simple Pictogram - 象形 (xiàng xíng, "form imitation”)
＊ CHARACTER NOTES:
The character 未［Wèi］also allows us to “travel” to the future. The character is built with the character for wood, or “木” [Mù]. The smaller line added to “木“ represents a tree budding: new leaves “not yet” in full growth! As we will learn later, 未［Wèi］is also the “sound: component to many other characters. Knowing (and memorizing ‘未［Wèi］’ will help you recognize the following characters: 
DERIVED CHARACTERS! 
味 [Wèi] - Taste 
妹 [Mèi] - Younger sister
昧 [Mèi] - Hide/conceal
魅 [Mèi] - enchantment/magic 
LOOK ALIKE CHARACTERS: 
There are several characters that look similar to “未”. It can be confusing, but each of these have their own original stories - which I’ll talk about when we get to them. But for now, here they are:
木 [Mù] - wood
禾 [Hé] - grain
末 [Mò] - end, final stage
夫 [Fū] - Husband ＊ EXAMPLE USAGE

The future （literally: not yet come)
--- pinyin: Wèilái
--- Traditional: 未來
--- Simplified: 未来

Never --- pinyin: Cóng wèi
--- Traditional: 從未
--- Simplified: 从未

Cannot / to fail to (do something)
--- pinyin: Wèi néng
--- Traditional: 未能
--- Simplified: same

Not necessarily! --- pinyin: Wèibì
--- Traditional: 未必
--- Simplified: same

Unmarried
--- pinyin: Wèihūn
--- Traditional: 未婚
--- Simplified: same #pandacubstories #chinese #chineselearning #mandarin #typography #watercolor #panda #lettering #languages #FlashCard #Cantonese #Putonghua #Chinese #StandardChinese #LearnChinese
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