Definition

1. Noun:
   • Chinese character: A logographic character used in the writing system of the Chinese language, historically also used in the traditional writing systems of Japanese (kanji), Korean (hanja), and Vietnamese (Hán Nôm).
   • Chinese script: The system of writing using Chinese characters.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Học hán tự rất quan trọng để nghiên cứu văn học cổ điển Trung Quốc. (Learning Chinese characters is very important for studying classical Chinese literature.)
  • Trên tấm bia cổ khắc đầy những hán tự. (The ancient stele is fully inscribed with Chinese characters.)
  • "Chữ Nho" là một cách gọi khác của hán tự. ("Chữ Nho" is another term for Chinese characters.)

Advanced Usage

• "mượn hán tự": to borrow/use Chinese characters (e.g., in the historical context of Vietnamese, Korean, or Japanese writing).
  • Tiếng Việt cổ từng mượn hán tự để ghi chép. (Ancient Vietnamese once borrowed Chinese characters for recording.)
• "âm hán tự" / "âm Hán": the Sino-Vietnamese reading/pronunciation of a Chinese character.
  • Âm hán tự của chữ "學" là "học". (The Sino-Vietnamese reading of the character "學" is "học".)

Variants and Related Words

• Hán văn (n): Classical Chinese literature or texts written in Chinese characters.
• Chữ Hán (n): A common synonym for "hán tự," meaning Chinese characters.
• Chữ Nho (n): A historical Vietnamese term for Chinese characters and Classical Chinese scholarship.
• Hán Nôm (n): The combined study or script system of Chinese characters (Hán) and adapted Vietnamese characters (Nôm).

Synonyms

• Chữ Trung Quốc: Chinese characters/script.
• Chữ Tàu (colloquial, may be considered dated or impolite): Chinese characters.

Related Phrases

• Học chữ Hán: to study Chinese characters.
• Dịch hán tự: to translate Chinese characters/text.
• Viết bằng hán tự: to write using Chinese characters.

Related Idioms

• "Một nét chữ là một nét người": (Idiom about handwriting) While not exclusive to , this idiom about calligraphy is deeply associated with the art of writing Chinese characters, meaning "One's handwriting reflects one's character."

1. Chinese literature