<p>On one comment to a recent <a href="https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/7149/%E5%A5%87-is-a-strange-character">question</a>, LulalaBoss made reference to this <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_character_classification" rel="nofollow noreferrer">article on Chinese character classification</a>. When a character is transformed or redefined, is there a comprehensive method to identify when one is dealing with a sound-loan rather than an 形聲 that has changed to a related (presumably more modern) meaning? On the other hand, I see some characters that appear to simply have had newer meanings added to an existing character. I'm curious to understand more about:</p>

<p>How to discover basic sound-loans (is this even necessary to be aware of in reading/writing/speaking Chinese)?</p>

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2014-08-27T22:25:43.253Z
I think understanding the character classification is very helpful for learning the language but once you've become proficient you'll treat characters even words as a whole and you'll be significantly less aware of the composition of the character. An example is the 'gotcha' riddle: 三点水加来来去去的去念什么. It gets more native speakers than language learners.
NS.X.
<grammar><learning>
Sound Loans in Chinese
# Sound Loans in Chinese

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-08-27)

On one comment to a recent [question](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/7149/%E5%A5%87-is-a-strange-character), LulalaBoss made reference to this [article on Chinese character classification](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_character_classification). When a character is transformed or redefined, is there a comprehensive method to identify when one is dealing with a sound-loan rather than an 形聲 that has changed to a related (presumably more modern) meaning? On the other hand, I see some characters that appear to simply have had newer meanings added to an existing character. I'm curious to understand more about:

How to discover basic sound-loans (is this even necessary to be aware of in reading/writing/speaking Chinese)?

**Tags:** grammar, learning
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I think understanding the character classification is very helpful for learning the language but once you've become proficient you'll treat characters even words as a whole and you'll be significantly less aware of the composition of the character. An example is the 'gotcha' riddle: 三点水加来来去去的去念什么. It gets more native speakers than language learners.  

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## 0 answers

