The First 100 Chinese Characters: Simplified Character Edition: (Hsk Level 1) the Quick and Easy Way to Learn the Basic Chinese Characters

This book really does have the characters you need to know for a basic understanding of Mandarin. I like the fact that it supplies a proper grid, gives you both stroke order and direction, and shows the radical for each character. If you're new to learning Chinese, I'd also recommend flashcards (or make your own based on this book) because constant repetition is the key here.

This book is most useful for students with no exposure to the Chinese writing system. After a clear and thorough introduction to the history and development of Chinese characters, students are introduced to 100 basic characters - a nice attainable number for the first year of high school instruction or the first semester at the university level. Each entry includes several example compounds (very important for Chinese, in which disparate characters can be combined discretely to form unexpected words) as well as nice, large boxes for practicing. While the Matthews have made a nice introduction to Chinese characters, more serious students of the language will outgrow it quite quickly. Their newer book Tuttle Learning Chinese Characters Volume 1: A Revolutionary New Way to Learn and Remember the 800 Most Basic Chinese Characters provides several hundred more characters (without the practice space) for the more ambitious. Nathan Dummitt author of Chinese Through Tone & Color

I am learning to speak Mandarin but felt I needed more knowledge of the written language to get a more comprehensive feel for the language. I looked around and settled on this one and it was a good choice. It has just enough information for me to learn the character and its meaning as well as some commonly used phrases in which each character appears. It gives ample space to practice the strokes of the character. The characters are also in a type size that makes it easier to read than some other books I've looked at.

I have absolutely no educational background in Mandarin Chinese, and I love this book. It is reader-friendly and practical. It provides examples of how words are used in English to demonstrate and contrast how words are formed in Chinese. This book never promises anything that it doesn't fulfill. I look forward to purchasing the next book of this series. A+

The good thing about this very well designed book is that it starts just like an educative game and it actually ends up giving you a strong envy to discover or learn another extra 100 characters! Perhaps even to start learning Mandarin in earnest. You will never go to a Chinese restaurant like ever before... as after working out with this book for a while Chinese characters in the menu will make sense to you! Of course just the easiest ones. A real handy language book.