ABOUT THE SPEAKER
ShaoLan Hsueh - Technologist, entrepreneur
ShaoLan want to help people understand China's culture and language, and to bridge the gap between East and West.

Why you should listen

ShaoLan is an entrepreneur, angel investor, geek, writer, traveller and dreamer. She is the founder and creator of Chineasy, which she launched after her TED Talk in Long Beach, California in 2013.

In just over three years, she has built Chineasy into one of the most popular methods of learning Chinese across the Internet with several hundred thousand fellow learners. Her first book, Chineasy, The New Way to Read Chinese, was launched in March 2014 and has been translated into 18 languages. Her next book, Chineasy Everyday, was launched in March 2016.

ShaoLan is a tech entrepreneur with extensive business experience. At the age of 22, while studying for her MBA, she wrote four best-selling books on software in Taiwan, and her books were bundled by Microsoft. She co-founded pAsia, one of the major players on Internet in Asia in 1990’s. After a second masters degree at the University of Cambridge, she began Caravel Capital in 2005 to advise young tech companies.

Chineasy represents a return for ShaoLan to her artistic upbringing and in many ways a design project. This project is the culmination of her life’s journey through the East and West. Her aim is to help people to understand China, Chinese culture, its language and to bridge the gap between East and West. Her next step is to help Chinese children to enjoy and appreciate the beauty of their own language. 

 

More profile about the speaker
ShaoLan Hsueh | Speaker | TED.com
TED2013

ShaoLan: Learn to read Chinese ... with ease!

ShaoLan Hsueh: Legu la ĉinan... facile!

Filmed:
4,781,742 views

Por fremduloj, lerni kiel paroli la ĉinan estas ja malfacile. Sed legi la belegajn, ofte malsimplajn ideogramojn de la lingvo povas esti pli facile. ShaoLan demonstras simplan metodon, kiu ebligas rekoni la ideojn sin kaŝintajn en la simbolojn, kaj per kelkaj simplaj formoj atingi pli abstraktajn konceptojn.
- Technologist, entrepreneur
ShaoLan want to help people understand China's culture and language, and to bridge the gap between East and West. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
Growing up in Taiwan
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Mi kreskis en Tajvano
00:14
as the daughter of a calligrapher,
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kie mia patro estis kaligrafo.
00:16
one of my most treasured memories
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Unu el miaj plej ŝatataj memoraĵoj
00:18
was my mother showing me the beauty, the shape
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estas pri mia patrino montrante la formon
00:21
and the form of Chinese characters.
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kaj belecon de la ĉinaj ideogramoj.
00:24
Ever since then, I was fascinated
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De tiam, tiu nekredebla lingvo
00:27
by this incredible language.
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fascinas min. Bedaŭrinde,
00:29
But to an outsider, it seems to be
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por fremduloj, ĝi ŝajnas tiel
00:32
as impenetrable as the Great Wall of China.
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nepenetrebla kiel la Ĉinia Murego.
00:35
Over the past few years, I've been wondering
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Dum kelkaj jaroj, mi demandis min,
00:38
if I can break down this wall,
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ĉu mi eblus disfaligi tiun muregon,
00:40
so anyone who wants to understand and appreciate
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por ke kiu ajn volas kompreni kaj ĝui
00:42
the beauty of this sophisticated language could do so.
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la belecon de tiu rafinita lingvo povu tion fari.
00:46
I started thinking about how a new, fast method
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Mi ekpripensis kiel nova, rapida metodo
00:51
of learning Chinese might be useful.
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por lerni la ĉina povus utili.
00:54
Since the age of five, I started to learn how to draw
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Je mia kvina jaro, mi eklernis kiel desegni
00:58
every single stroke for each character
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ĉiun individuan strekon por ĉiu ideogramo
01:01
in the correct sequence.
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laŭ la taŭga ordo.
01:03
I learned new characters every day
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Mi lernis novajn ideogramojn ĉiutage
01:05
during the course of the next 15 years.
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dum la sekvantaj 15 jaroj.
01:08
Since we only have five minutes,
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Sed ni havas nur kvin minutojn,
01:10
it's better that we have a fast and simpler way.
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do prefere ni volas pli rapidan metodon.
01:14
A Chinese scholar would understand 20,000 characters.
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Ĉinia klerulo kutime eblas kompreni
20 000 ideogramojn.
01:17
You only need 1,000 to understand the basic literacy.
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Por baza legadpovo, oni bezonas nur 1000.
01:22
The top 200 will allow you to comprehend
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La ĉefa 200 ebligas onin kompreni
01:26
40 percent of basic literature --
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40 elcenton de la baza legaĵaro --
01:29
enough to read road signs, restaurant menus,
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sufiĉe por vojsignaloj, manĝokartoj,
01:32
to understand the basic idea of the web pages
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por la bazaj ideoj de retpaĝaroj
01:35
or the newspapers.
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aŭ gazetoj.
01:37
Today I'm going to start with eight
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Hodiaŭ, mi komencos per ok
01:39
to show you how the method works.
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por demonstri kiel funckias la metodo.
01:41
You are ready?
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Ĉu vi pretas?
01:43
Open your mouth as wide as possible
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Malfermu la buŝon kiel eble plej grande
01:46
until it's square.
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-- igu ĝin kvadrato.
01:48
You get a mouth.
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Jen buŝo.
01:50
This is a person going for a walk.
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Jen iu, kiu piediras.
01:53
Person.
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Homo.
01:57
If the shape of the fire is a person
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La ideogramo por fajro montras homon
01:59
with two arms on both sides,
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levantan ambaŭ brakojn,
02:02
as if she was yelling frantically,
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kvazaŭ li freneze kriegus,
02:04
"Help! I'm on fire!" --
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"Helpu! Brulas mi!" --
02:07
This symbol actually is originally from the shape of the flame,
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Origine, ĝi devenas el la formo de flamoj,
02:11
but I like to think that way. Whichever works for you.
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sed mi preferas mian vidmanieron. Elektu.
02:15
This is a tree.
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Jen arbo.
02:18
Tree.
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Arbo.
02:20
This is a mountain.
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Jen monto.
02:24
The sun.
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La suno.
02:29
The moon.
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La luno.
02:34
The symbol of the door
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La simbolo pri pordo similas al pordoj
02:36
looks like a pair of saloon doors in the wild west.
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de drinkejoj en kinaĵoj pri la fora okcidento.
02:41
I call these eight characters radicals.
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Mi nomas tiujn ok radikvortoj.
02:45
They are the building blocks
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Ili estas ilvortoj, kiuj ebligas
02:47
for you to create lots more characters.
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krei multajn aliajn ideogramojn.
02:51
A person.
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Homo.
02:53
If someone walks behind, that is "to follow."
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Kun alia malantaŭ, ĝi signifas "sekvi".
02:57
As the old saying goes,
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Kiel asertas la proverbo,
02:59
two is company, three is a crowd.
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du estas kunuleco, sed tri, amaso.
03:03
If a person stretched their arms wide,
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Etendante la brakojn ambaŭflanke,
03:06
this person is saying, "It was this big."
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tiu homo diras: "Tiel grande".
03:10
The person inside the mouth, the person is trapped.
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Ene de buŝo, tiu homo estas malliberulo,
03:14
He's a prisoner, just like Jonah inside the whale.
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ĝuste kiel Jona en la baleno.
03:20
One tree is a tree. Two trees together, we have the woods.
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Unu arbo estas arbo. Du estas arbareto.
03:24
Three trees together, we create the forest.
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Per tri, oni kreas arbaron.
03:27
Put a plank underneath the tree, we have the foundation.
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Metu tabulon sub arbo... jen fondaĵo.
03:31
Put a mouth on the top of the tree, that's "idiot." (Laughter)
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Buŝo super arbo... jen "stultulo" (Ridoj)
03:35
Easy to remember,
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Facile memoreblas,
03:37
since a talking tree is pretty idiotic.
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ĉar parolpova arbo -- kia stultaĵo.
03:42
Remember fire?
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Ĉu vi memoras pri la fajro?
03:44
Two fires together, I get really hot.
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Du fajroj kune, kaj mi tre varmas.
03:47
Three fires together, that's a lot of flames.
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Tri kune, estas multe da flamoj.
03:50
Set the fire underneath the two trees, it's burning.
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Metu fajron sub du arboj... "Brulado".
03:54
For us, the sun is the source of prosperity.
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Por ni, la suno estas fonto de prospero.
03:58
Two suns together, prosperous.
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Du sunoj kune signifas "Prospera".
04:00
Three together, that's sparkles.
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Tri kune, "Fajreroj".
04:02
Put the sun and the moon shining together,
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Kunigu la sunon kaj la lunon,
04:04
it's brightness.
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jen "Klareco",
04:05
It also means tomorrow, after a day and a night.
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sed ankaŭ "Morgaŭ", post tago kaj nokto.
04:10
The sun is coming up above the horizon. Sunrise.
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Leviĝas la suno ĉe la hozironto. Sunleviĝo.
04:14
A door. Put a plank inside the door,
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Pordo. Metu lignopecon malantaŭ,
04:17
it's a door bolt.
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kaj jen bartrabo.
04:19
Put a mouth inside the door, asking questions.
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Ĉi-flanke de la pordo, jen buŝo farante demandojn.
04:22
Knock knock. Is anyone home?
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Frap-frap... Ĉu iu ĉeestas?
04:26
This person is sneaking out of a door,
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Tiu ĉi ulo ŝtelpaŝe eliras tra pordo.
04:28
escaping, evading.
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Li eskapas.
04:31
On the left, we have a woman.
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Maldekstre estas virino.
04:33
Two women together, they have an argument.
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Du virinoj signifas "Disputo".
04:36
(Laughter)
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(Ridoj)
04:38
Three women together, be careful, it's adultery.
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Tri virinoj, atentu, tio signifas "Adulto".
04:44
So we have gone through almost 30 characters.
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Nu, ni ĵus vidis preskaŭ 30 ideogramojn.
04:48
By using this method, the first eight radicals
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Per tiu ĉi metodo, la unuaj ok radikoj
04:51
will allow you to build 32.
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ebligos vin konstrui 32.
04:53
The next group of eight characters
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La sekvanta aro de ok ideogramoj
04:55
will build an extra 32.
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rezultigas 32 aldonajn.
04:57
So with very little effort,
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Do sen tro granda strebo
04:59
you will be able to learn a couple hundred characters,
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vi povas lerni kelkcentojn da simboloj,
05:02
which is the same as a Chinese eight-year-old.
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same kiel faras okjaruloj en Ĉinio.
05:04
So after we know the characters, we start building phrases.
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Poste, per kunmetado de simboloj, oni faras frazojn.
05:08
For example, the mountain and the fire together,
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Ekzemple, kunmetante "Monton" kaj "Fajron",
05:10
we have fire mountain. It's a volcano.
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oni kreas "Fajrmonton", aŭ "Vulkanon".
05:13
We know Japan is the land of the rising sun.
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Japanio estas la lando de la leviĝanta suno.
05:17
This is a sun placed with the origin,
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Jen "Suno" kaj "Deveno" kunmetitaj,
05:20
because Japan lies to the east of China.
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ĉar Japanio kuŝas oriente de Ĉinio.
05:23
So a sun, origin together, we build Japan.
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Do, de kie ekaperas la suno? De Japanio.
05:27
A person behind Japan, what do we get?
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Kaj kio signifas "Homo" kaj Japanio"?
05:30
A Japanese person.
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"Japano".
05:33
The character on the left is two mountains
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La simbolo maldekstre estas "Du montoj"
05:36
stacked on top of each other.
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stakigitaj unu sur la alian.
05:38
In ancient China, that means in exile,
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En praa Ĉinio, ĝi signifis "Ekzilo",
05:41
because Chinese emperors, they put their political enemies
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ĉar la imperiestroj kutimis ekzili
siajn politikajn malamikojn
05:44
in exile beyond mountains.
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transmontare.
05:46
Nowadays, exile has turned into getting out.
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Hodiaŭ, "Ekzilo" fariĝis "Eliri".
05:51
A mouth which tells you where to get out
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Buŝo dirante kien eliri
05:54
is an exit.
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estas "Elirejo".
05:56
This is a slide to remind me that I should stop talking
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Kaj tiu ĉi bildo estas signalo por mi silenti
05:59
and get off of the stage. Thank you.
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kaj eliri tutsimple. Dankon.
06:01
(Applause)
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(Aplaŭdoj)
Translated by Stéphane Brault
Reviewed by Karine Breault

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
ShaoLan Hsueh - Technologist, entrepreneur
ShaoLan want to help people understand China's culture and language, and to bridge the gap between East and West.

Why you should listen

ShaoLan is an entrepreneur, angel investor, geek, writer, traveller and dreamer. She is the founder and creator of Chineasy, which she launched after her TED Talk in Long Beach, California in 2013.

In just over three years, she has built Chineasy into one of the most popular methods of learning Chinese across the Internet with several hundred thousand fellow learners. Her first book, Chineasy, The New Way to Read Chinese, was launched in March 2014 and has been translated into 18 languages. Her next book, Chineasy Everyday, was launched in March 2016.

ShaoLan is a tech entrepreneur with extensive business experience. At the age of 22, while studying for her MBA, she wrote four best-selling books on software in Taiwan, and her books were bundled by Microsoft. She co-founded pAsia, one of the major players on Internet in Asia in 1990’s. After a second masters degree at the University of Cambridge, she began Caravel Capital in 2005 to advise young tech companies.

Chineasy represents a return for ShaoLan to her artistic upbringing and in many ways a design project. This project is the culmination of her life’s journey through the East and West. Her aim is to help people to understand China, Chinese culture, its language and to bridge the gap between East and West. Her next step is to help Chinese children to enjoy and appreciate the beauty of their own language. 

 

More profile about the speaker
ShaoLan Hsueh | Speaker | TED.com