Chapter 4 / Part 5

Learning Steps

Learning steps for these words:

1. Read the words by reading them aloud several times.
2. Read the examples several times.
3. Make sure you understand the examples.
4. Compare the examples and figure out what the differences for the pair of synonyms.
5. Check your answers with your teachers.
6. Remove the words in subject from both sentences.
7. Fill in the correct word.
8. Check your answer.
9. Make flash cards, put two words on the same card.
10. Say the example sentence for each word from memory.
11. One student gives English sentence, the other student picks the correct Chinese word for the key word.
12. One student give the English sentence, the other student translate the whole sentence into Chinese.

In writing, it is considered a good style to use words with antithetical meanings and words that have similar meanings to emphasize and illustrate the points that the author wants to make. The examples in this chapter indicate that many vocabulary words are formed by a pair of antonym words (more examples will be given in chapter five, four-character-expressions) and that there are also words with similar meanings. Though similar in meaning, they are often different in usage. Two things should be kept in mind when you study synonyms: (1) whether the word can be used in formal or informal situations, and (2) whether the word is compatible with the semantic situation that it intends to describe.

Since these nuances in usage are embedded in context, when you study shumianyu vocabulary, you should always learn them in sentences or a piece of writing, that is, the linguistic and semantic contexts in which it is used. We have demonstrated the differences by showing how two synonyms cannot be used interchangeably. Therefore, the procedure for study vocabulary words that we suggest is:

1. Read the expression several times, make sure the pronunciation and tones are correct.
2. Find out the meaning of each individual character.
3. Study the meaning of the expression and think about how the meaning of each individual character contribute to the meaning of the whole expression.
4. Study the position of the vocabulary word used in a model sentence or the text it was taken from.
5. Study the semantic situations where the word is used to describe.
6. Look for any antonyms or synonyms that you have encountered before.
7. Make a list of these words.
8. Write a sentence for each word to compare the contexts that they are used, whether there are any differences and similarities.
9. Ask a teacher if in each case, a synonyms can be used to substitute another word.

We highly recommend that you learn pairs of antonyms since they provide perfect meaning associations and will facilitate memorization of vocabulary words.