Customer Reviews

Chinese in a Flash Volume 2 (Tuttle Flash Cards)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

First, I would like to say that i'm really happy with my purchase.

I bought the cards vol1 and vol2 by amazon, both are great, excellent price-value, and exceeded my expectations.

Second, this cards are not for begginers, are not to learn by yourself, you have to know pinyin and have some formal instruction before use this cards, in particular with volume 2, that introduces more complicated symbols .

Third, can help you with simplified chinese and traditional.
Fourth, each card include valuable information as:

1.-Meaning
2.-Pinyin
3.-Radical
4.-Chinese Proverb or expression that use that word in pinyin/hanzi/english.-
5.-3 or 4 common words that includes the symbol (pinyin/hanzi/english)


However, the volume 2 doesn't include the order of the strokes.
Volume 1 includes the order. I have no idea the volumes why are different, or i received and older version of volume 2, but for me it's the only lack of this cards.-

Finally, the cards are in package that has the shape of a book. That it's great to carry the cards everywhere.
This it's important for me because i used other cards before and the box was a nightmare, every day the box opened in my purse, and i have to order de 500 cards by number again.

I totally recommend this volume.

Sincerely

Carolina from the south of the world

PD: Sorry for my english, i speak spanish and some chinese

Since I have both "Chinese in a Flash" and "Chinese Character Flashcards 888" flashcard sets, I wanted to offer a comparison between the two.

Flashcards 888 are organized in the order of frequency of use of characters; Chinese in a Flash are arranged in the order of frequency and complexity. Someone learning Chinese language is more likely to encounter characters in the order presented in Chinese in a Flash cards.

Flashcards 888 are of a sturdier quality than Chinese in a Flash cards.

Both are approximately the same size.

Both have radicals mentioned. On Flashcards 888, radicals are provided in the upper right corner on the front of the card; on Chinese in a Flash cards, beside the radical is also noted the name of the character as well as character components.

On Flashcards 888, you'll also find a stroke order, helpful to know when you practice writing characters; Chinese in a Flash cards, do not provide a stroke order.

Both sets also mention several character combinations, together with their pronounciation in pinyin and the meaning in English.

Chinese in a Flash also provide a sample sentence where the particular character / word is used; Flashcards 888 don't.

Flashcards come in one set of 888 cards; Chinese in Flash come in two sets of 448 cards.

I am very happy with both sets and enjoy using them both.

Vol. 2 of Chinese in a Flash (flashcards) has a printing error. The top of the front of the cards is the same edge as the top of the back of the cards. This means you cannot "flip" the card by holding it on the side to read the back of the card. Vol. 1 of this set is printed correctly so you you can flip them by holding the side of the card. This makes it a real pain when trying to mix cards from both sets. Tuttle Publishing realizes this problem and corrected cards will be available the end of April 2006. Tuttle may be contacted for an excahnge if you already have the misprinted second set. Otherwise these cards have been useful to me when used with the asociated books in my study of Chinese characters.

I am learning Chinese & these flashcards are great! They are a very nice size to carry around, plus they have several different words listed at the bottom of the card that also use the character. They show the simplified & original character. The biggest plus for me is they show you the order in which to write the character (they only show order on the simplified character)! I would highly recommend these cards if you are learning Mandarin Chinese.

Volume 2 does not repeat words from Vol. 1, but just builds a bigger vocabulary. This is very helpful as you advance in learning Mandarin Chinese.

I liked the idea and the layout, unfortunatley, they have used a font which is incredibly difficult to read.

Im very glad with this bought, its helping me to improved my study of chinese and the best its that I can take it to everewhere I go.

The best way to learn a language is to live in the country using the language you want and be 4 years old. Any variation on this means hard work. Spending money on books, tapes, CDs, and classes will work less and less the farther away from being 4 years old and the place where the language is spoken.

People who speak many languages tell me that learning a 3rd and 4th are much easier but I never got a second language. I grew up in a very boring all white English speaking suburb.

I religiously carred 10 flash cards at a time for days and studied them as directed while waiting in lines and in quiet moments. I don't think the Chinese words stayed with me more than 15 seconds.

I have spent many dollars on books, etc trying to learn a second language but have had no success so I have instead started to learn about languages. This has become a delightful hobby.

So IF you were lucky enough to be in China for at least several months and played with the local kids while you were 4 years old then these flash cards may help you. If not then you better have already learned several languages, have a super memory, or just plain be willing to use this along with other aids for 6 hours a day of study.

This four volume set is a very well done collection of flashcards for simplified Chinese characters (traditional characters also given for main entry, but not for examples). Flashcards by themselves are NOT a good way to learn Chinese, even if reading only is your main objective. You also need some grammer (word order affects meaning) and, most importantly, single characters are syllables, not (usually) words. For example, in English, "petro" means rock (as in petroglyph) but you do not pick up a petro from the side of the road. Learning characters is the first step in learning words.

Having said that, this series is great as flashcards. It shows stroke order, the traditional character if different, a sample sentence, and some words or set expressions using that character (usually four). Each volume has about 450 characters (2000 characters covers about 97% of printed Chinese). The physical quality of the cards is high, which is important because flashcards get carried around and shuffled a lot. The only real negative is that a Chinese character can have many meanings, depending on how it is used and regional variations, and a few of the cards present somewhat odd or imcomplete choices for the English equivalents. However, this is a minor flaw in an otherwise excellent product.

Bottom line: Great product for the flashcard role in your program for learning Chinese.

Chinese in a Flash - Volume 1, 2, 3 and 4

As an additional tool to learn Mandarin Chinese characters these flashcards are excellent made and very easy in use. Each volume offers 448 character flash cards and 1792 compounds words.

On each individual flashcard you can find on the front side:
- Large print of the character
- Stroke order
- Four possible (and frequently used) words using that character
- A card number for easy ordering and traceability

On each individual flashcard you can find on the back side:
- Smaller print of the character (with pinyin and translation)
- Radical
- Character component
- Example of using that character in a phrase (with pinyin and translation)
- The four words using that character - as printed on the front side (with pinyin and translation)
- The card number

The 4 volumes offer in total 1792 characters and about 7168 words.

Each volume has also a booklet that allows you to search on pinyin, character or translation. Volume 1 starts with more frequently used words and the volumes built up on that. All are printed in easy to read fonts by the way.

This is a really great tool for the serious student of Mandarin Chinese. Great designed and superb in use!

Pros:
- The phrases at the bottom are great examples of how the word is used in practice; it broaden my vocabulary
- the cardstock is durable
- the card is very easy to read
- portable

Cons:
Can't think of any!

I love my new flash cards! =)