In Chinese and Japanese, there may seem to be a 秭septillion秭 characters to 研examine研 and 究exhaustively investigate究--maybe even D: 研究research研究--which seems to cause even the more resolute to 皺wrinkle up...contract...fold皺 early in the Sino-/Altaic/Sino-Altaic game; others are even too timorous to brave the crossing of the threshold into the 社community社 of Chinese/Japanese learners that dare to go beyond the relatively familiar Roman alphabet. Are they to be banished to the 郊outskirts郊 of this happening 漢字(hanzi)-opolis？

No! There aren't septillions of characters to learn; there are just thousands to learn. That's a whole order of twenty-something less! Also, 盍why not盍 just learn these characters 緩slowly, leisurely緩 and 縱freely縱? Don't worry that it will take a while to be able to 翻translate翻 text using Chinese and Japanese (there are some seen in Japanese that aren't seen in Chinese) characters; you can't learn these thousands of characters overnight. None of us is capable of educating ourselves through an en masse influx of information like Milla Jovovich in The Fifth Element, which would be cool (actually that would suck quite hard). All in all, let not your confidence or what not be 翻upset, overturned, or toppled翻.



秭 (zĭ)

• a septillion

研 (yán)

• to investigate carefully


• to grind into powder

研討 (yán tăo): to investigate and research

研討會 (yán tăo huì): a study group or a seminar

研究 (yán jiù): to research

鑽研 (zuān yán): to delve into


究 (jiù)

• to examine or investigate exhaustively


• to dig into


• finally


• actually

究意 (jiù yì): the very truth, or the very outcome

究問 (jiù wèn): to cross-examine

探究 (tàn jiù): to investigate, probe, or inquire into



皺 (zhòu)

• wrinkles, creases, folds


• to wrinkle or contract

皺皺巴巴 (zhòu zhòu bā bā): crumpled up

皺折 (zhòu zhé): a crease, a fold, a wrinkle



社 (shè)

• an organization or a corporation


• a society or a community

社團 (shè tuán): an organization, a corporation

社會 (shè huì): society, community

社會學 (shè huì xué): sociology

上流社會 (shàng liú shè huì): upper-class



郊 (jiāo)

• suburbs or outskirts

郊區 (jiāo qū): suburban districts, outskirts

郊遊 (jiāo yóu): an excursion

郊外 (jiāo wài): outskirts



盍 (hé)

• what


• why not

盍興呼來? (hé xīng hū lái?): Why not rise up and join us?



緩 (huăn)

• slow, gradual, leisurely


• to delay


• to refresh

緩步 (huăn bù): to stroll or walk slowly

緩緩 (huăn huăn): slowly, leisurely

緩限 (huăn xiàn): to extend a time limit



縱 (zòng ; zōng)

(zòng)

• to allow to move and work freely


• to indulge


• even if, although


(zōng)

• vertical; longitudinal

縱浪 (zòng làng): unrestrained, unbridled

縱酒 (zòng jiŭ): to drink to excess

縱有 (zòng yŏu): Even though there is...

驕縱 (jiāo zōng): arrogant



翻 (fān)

• to upset, capsize


• to translate


• to fall out/through, to break up

翻天覆地 (fān tiān fù dì): to turn everything upside-down; world-shaking

翻新 (fān xīn): to remodel