Learning Tips
Here is a presentation of some notions you need to know in order to get the best of your Learn Chinese 2008 experience.
Simplified or traditional Chinese ?
Starting 1956 in People's Republic of China the simplified set of characters has been officially established. However traditional Chinese is still in use in Hongkong, Taiwan and in most overseas Chinese communities.
In simplified characters, the number of strokes has been dramatically reduced making them easier to learn and write. For example, "love" is written as 
under simplified system as opposed to 
in the traditional system.
Learn Chinese 2008 is able to deal with both systems : the dictionary contains 16,000 characters, both traditional and simplified. Although the 400-character list focuses on the simplified system, you can simply add traditional characters from the dictionary to it.
Pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin is the standard Chinese pronunciation system to represent characters using the occidental alphabet. It is completed by accents representing the 4 tones of Mandarin. For example, "ma" can have several pronunciations depending on the tone you use, from the softest one to the hardest one (
).
Pinyin can be used to enter chinese characters in western computer systems. The four tones are then represented by 4 numbers: 1,2,3,4. Instead of writing you would write ma1, ma2, ma3 and ma4.
With Learn Chinese 2008 you can hear any character and practice to differentiate each tone. You will then be able to understand and speak correctly.
Note : You need a Chinese Pinyin font to be able to write and read tones on your computer : It is embedded into Learn Chinese 2008's setup !
Radical (also known as Key)
The Chinese characters are based on root components known as "radicals". These 189 ideographs include archaic representations such as man, woman, tree, water, soil, rock, sky, heart, field, roof, dish, tiger, bamboo, bird, metal, hand and foot. Radicals can be a way to classify characters in dictionaries. Knowing them can help you get the general idea or domain of a character.
In Learn Chinese 2008, each character is associated with its radical. The radical mini-window gives you detailed radical information whenever you click on a character in your list.
Unicode
Unicode is the standard for displaying non-alphabetical character sets on any computer. Before Unicode, GB and Big5 were commonly used to display Chinese characters.
Learn Chinese 2008 is based on Unicode and you can use Microsoft's Global IME to input Chinese characters in the dictionary
HSK (Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi or Chinese Proficiency Test)
The Chinese Proficiency Test, also known as HSK, is the national standardized test designed and developed by the HSK Center of Beijing Language and Culture University to evaluate the Chinese proficiency of non-native Chinese speakers (including foreigners, overseas Chinese and people from Chinese national minorities).
HSK is divided into three categories: beginning level (HSK Basic), elementary to intermediate level (HSK Elementary-Intermediate), and advanced level (HSK Advanced). HSK is held regularly in China and in other countries each year and HSK certificates are issued to those who meet required scores.
Your HSK certificate(s) can serve the following purposes:
1) To certify that you have obtained the required Chinese proficiency to enter a college or university in China as an undergraduate or graduate student;
2) To certify that you have obtained the required Chinese proficiency and thus, you may be exempted from taking certain Chinese language courses in your institution in the United States (if your institution agrees to grant you the permission). At NYU, HSK scores can be used to waive CAS foreign language requirements. A minimum passing scores is to be set by the East Asian Studies Program.
3) To serve as a reference when you apply for a job position that requires a certain level of Chinese competency.
4) To test your Chinese proficiency if you are learning the language.
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