Encyclopedia of Chinese Language and Linguistics

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Development of Reading Skills in Children
(2,843 words)

In order to understand how written Chinese is acquired, we must first review the composition of Chinese characters and words.

1. The Composition of Chinese Characters

In Chinese, the character is considered the basic unit of writing. The framing of a character is very different from a letter in an alphabetic orthography. A character looks square,…

Cite this page
Hwawei KO, “Development of Reading Skills in Children”, in: Encyclopedia of Chinese Language and Linguistics, General Editor Rint Sybesma. Consulted online on 02 April 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2210-7363_ecll_COM_000110>
First published online: 2015



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