- Chinese words can be divided into two broad categories:
- 1. Notional Words (实词)
- 2. Function Words (虚词)
- Today we are going to learn Notional Words (实词), which make up 80 – 90 % of Chinese words.
- We have learnt 实 before ( click here ).
- 实 in Chinese means real or solid. Basically, notional words (实词) often refer to the “real” (like things, properties, actions, ideas).
- Notional words (实词) can usually form meaningful words by themselves, and can combine with each other in meaningful ways.
- In Chinese, notional words can be divided into seven main categories:
- Affixes include prefixes and suffixes, are another 2 types of notional words (实词), which can both be used to construct sentence elements.
| Affixes(附类) |
词头
Prefix |
词尾
Suffix |
| 第 |
们 |
| 初 |
子 |
| 老 |
儿 |
- We will learn about Function Words next week. Stay tuned.
Learn a Chinese Character a Day
