Chinese Flash Cards Kit Volume 1: HSK Levels 1 & 2 Elementary Level: Characters 1-349 (Online Audio for each word Included)

These are really wonderful aids and do all that a flashcard can be asked to do. Also, they DO provide a very detailed stroke order- I am puzzled why so many reviews comment that there is no stroke order. Perhaps there was an earlier edition? I will take and upload a photo, so other customers can see for themselves. I find them superior to "Chinese Character Flashcards 888" and wish I would have saved my money as I purchased both sets. There is another review comparing them that is incorrect. These flashcards are more sturdy, have a more detailed stroke order (they break down every single stroke while the 888 set often groups them), provide a sample sentence as well as additional words using the character (888 only has a few sample words), and provide the traditional character along with the simplified when applicable (888 does too, but it's very small). They are superior in every way to the 888 set- I haven't even looked at the other set since the Tuttle set arrived. In fact, this is the first Amazon review I've written, and I do so to correct the misinformation I based my purchasing decision upon. Another useful feature is that the first 500 flashcards in the set coincide exactly with the two Tuttle Language Library volumes "250 Essential Chinese Characters". So, if you're working your way through these books, these flashcards are the ideal study aid. (The labeling numbers coincide exactly...if learning character number 115 in the book, you can refer to flashcard 115.) I am very happy with the cards and encourage their use as part of a well-rounded study program. It has been commented that individual characters have no real "meaning", so these cards have limited use. I disagree. Individual characters do have meaning and are used to represent a particular sound and tone. You must learn what sound goes with which character since characters are written individually with equal spacing- when reading Chinese, you need to pronounce each sound as you go along since characters are not grouped together to signal they are being used to build a particular word. Thus, each character needs to be learned individually since it can be used with many different characters to build different words. For example, "pengyou", meaning "friend", is written with two characters: one representing the sound "peng" (which means friend) and one representing "you" (which also means friend). But the character for "you" can also be combined with the character for "yi" which result in "youyi", meaning "friendship". As far as the samples sentences go, they may potentially be confusing since they do not provide an exact word-for-word translation, but for someone with moderate experience (I've been studying Mandarin for 3 months now) they are very easy to understand. An exact translation wouldn't be very comprehensible anyway. I rarely find myself confused over which word represents which meaning, and if uncertain, it's easy enough to look up a troublesome word in the dictionary. It's all part of the learning process.

I studied Chinese in college and even as a native speaker I struggled. HARD. Never learnt to read and write but could speak it, however shabbily, but still I could speak Chinese. My biggest struggle was learning HOW to study Chinese and memorize characters, stroke order, pin ying, etc after years of learning language through the use of 26 alphabet letters. This might seem like a non issue to some but trust me when I say it was very difficult at first figuring out how to start from scratch with basically a foreign system of reading and writing and finding a method that was efficient, useful, and more importantly EFFECTIVE. Which is why I wish I had these back in the day. I had looked for something like this but most were just either not as good or less well laid out in terms of providing the information I needed in a form out that was helpful. And forget about me making my own. Believe me I tried. Whether it was my own terrible hand writing throwing me off, it was like the blind leading the blind, or the tedious and time consuming act of making print outs, typed up definitions, etc. then pasting them onto notecards, there just wasn't a convenient method. Then years after my Chinese classes I found these! Wish I had them back then but oh well. What I like about these is that the cards are not too flimsy, small but legible, easy to carry, and most important all the info you need is meticulously well thought out and organized into a very helpful method for quick learning. These cards have the pinying, stroke order directions, traditional AND simplified characters, definitions and even cooler common uses and other characters they are usually paired with. Plus they have the radicals associated with them. For me that was HUGE because somehow I missed the lesson on radicals and went a long time without knowing I had such helpful hints at my disposal. I really can't say enough glowing things about these handy dandy little helpers. Sure in this digital age there may be and probably is some app or program you could use and save some trees while doing so. But selfishly I gotta say there is something about notecards that always helps make learning easier and with these, as corny as it sounds, it makes it fun too! A must have for anyone learning Chinese or even struggling with learning Chinese! JIAAAAAAAAAAAAAYO!

A really high quality product. Beautifully printed cards with a slight sheen and nice coating. Good size, nice and solid for a card. We love the stroke order breakdown, the list of compound words and Pinyin. Highly recommend.

I absolutely love this card set! After taking a month-long break from studying, I thought I’d forgotten so much—but these cards proved me wrong. They’re perfect for quick practice on the go, whether I’m on the bus, waiting in line, or taking a short break. The format makes learning feel effortless, and I can already see my skills improving again. Highly recommended for both beginners and anyone looking to refresh their Chinese!

J'ai longtemps hésité avant d'investir dans ces cartes assez coûteuses mais je n'ai aucun regret car elles sont bien pensées à plusieurs niveaux d'apprentissage. Le lot comprend tous les mots à maîtriser en lien avec le niveau 1 du HSK (l'évaluation internationale du niveau de chinois). Il est divisé en 4 paquets de cartes qu'on peut installer sur un gros anneau. Les cartes font la taille de cartes de jeux (voire un peu plus petit). Elles sont blanches en papier glacé écriture en bleu. On pourrait penser que ces cartes sont des flashcards comme on peut maintenant parfaitement remplacer par des applications mais ici on a : _En façade le mot en caractère en gros à gauche, des mots composés sur ce mot à gauche (à raison de 4 à chaque fois, choisis pour leur fréquence ou pertinence) puis en dessous l'ordre dans lequel faire les traits et le nombre de traits (enfin le numéro de la carte pour les replacer dans l'ordre d'apprentissage) _au dos le mot en caractère suivi de sa translation en pinyin puis sa traduction en anglais avec à droite le radical qui le compose et les caractères différents qui le composent, une phrase en caractère/pinyin/anglais qui l'utilise puis la même chose pour les mots écrits en façade Donc chaque carte permet d'apprendre plus que le mot qui la compose pour aller plus loin car on pourra apprendre cinq mots par carte.

As a self-study beginner I really enjoy these flashcards. The paper quality is good so the don't torn. I recommend it.

This would be a perfect product if the cards were delivered in a smaller and more usable box, one that holds them as one would use them. The carton shown in the picture appears to have been designed to hold the cards on a store shelf. Nonetheless a proper little box was made by cutting up the Amazon package in which the cards were delivered. The cards are easy to use and contain the information that you will most likely want to know: The simplifed character itself, a small representation of the traditional character if there is one, warnings about similarly shaped characters, the stroke order, a few sample words and a sample sentence. Each card is 85mm x 55mm, which is a little smaller than A7 size, and sufficiently stiff to be handled rapidly. The card surface is smooth. The most important thing, however, is that the cards are a genuinely useful study tool with which a diligent student can make progress.