Mandarin Chinese Principles

Guiding Rule

Prove it works first. Build the system second.

What Gets Memorized

• meaning
• pronunciation (pinyin sound shape)
• tone
• character structure (radicals/components)
• locus position in a palace

Strategy Rules

• do not run a pinyin-only phase; encode pinyin with characters immediately
• use the first character’s radical as the anchor location for the word
• front-load frequent radicals so the main palace path covers most vocabulary
• treat common variant forms as separate images when useful (亻 vs 人, 忄 vs 心)
• use branch paths/side roads to expand after core radicals are stable

Community Patterns From The Thread

• PA pattern for pronunciation: map initials to characters/creatures and finals to actions.
• Keep tone inside the same image system (for example, action direction for tone).
• Treat character learning as semantic radical + phonetic component, not pure shape memorization.
• Keep speech and character learning in parallel; avoid “characters much later” workflows.
• Let goals drive method detail (reading-heavy vs speaking-heavy), but keep one shared core system.

Scene Quality Standard

• strange, vivid, and concrete
• one clear action, not abstract symbolism
• obvious sound link to the Mandarin syllable
• explicit tone marker included

Recall Standard

A word is considered learned when you can:

1. recall meaning from the locus
2. recall sound + tone from the scene
3. recognize character structure from your notes

Verification Rule

Check radical/component breakdown with multiple references (MDBG + a second dictionary/source) before finalizing cards.