Solving Hieroglyphic Riddles-Puzzles as a Method of Teaching Written Chinese and Idiomatic Expressions

Hieroglyphic writing forms the integral part of studying the Chinese language. The author suggests to support teaching the Chinese language and culture with solving various hieroglyphic riddles and puzzles. Relative to the difficulty, the author outlines the three levels. 1) Use of the 'phonic similarity' principle: in this case not only one hieroglyph can be replaced with another, which sounds similar, but also foreign, e.g., English words can be used. 2) The generated puzzles can be based on objects representing traditional Chinese culture, such as: Mahjong tiles, musical instruments etc. 3) Often full variants of hieroglyphs writing are used here. Solving riddles and puzzles supports in better understanding features of the Chinese culture; as well as represents one of the most efficient ways of learning hieroglyphic characters.