How to know the meaning of a new word?
Recently, I'm reading HarryPotter. This is the first English novel I have read. I saw the whole series of the books in Chinese as well as the movies before. So it's easy to understand the main meaning of each episode.
But I always meet some new words in the article. At first, I'd like to look for their meanings. However, the more episodes I read, the more words I don't know. I even forgot what I have looked up in the dictionary.
I'm wondering how your native people know all of the words, even though a little girl/boy. (I mean most parents would read it to their baby, right?)
Could you please tell me your experience of learning a new word? Can you help me correct this article either?
Thanks a lot~
Search from various English teachers...
Corrections · 6
1
How to know the meaning of a new word?
Recently, I'm reading HarryPotter. This is the first English novel I have read. I saw the whole series of the books in Chinese as well as the movies before. So it's easy to understand the main meaning of each episode book/movie.But I always find meet some new words in the books article. At first, I'd like to look for their meanings. However, the more books/chapters episodes I read, the more words I don't know. I even forgot what I have looked up in the dictionary.
I'm wondering how your native people know all of the words, even though a little girl/boy. (I mean most parents would read it to their children baby, right?)
Could you please tell me your experience of learning a new word? Can you help me correct this article either?
Thanks a lot~
First the writing in your article: I think you did an excellent job. I only made a few minor corrections. You English is very good!
Second, to answer your question. Harry Potter, being a magical fiction book, might not be the best book for you to read. When I read them in English there are a lot of made up words that won't be in the dictionary. A lot of the words are based out of Latin but then are modified to make them funny and "magic". A child will know what the words mean because of all the context around the word. They know what is happening in the story and what take what happens after and then remember back to the made up magic words. If you are really frustrated with them, look for parts of the words that you know and then only look up those parts. For example "Aguamenti" used in the Goblet of Fire shoots water. The part "aqua" means water and the "menti" might just be made up. Another example is "aparecium" which has the part of the word "aparecer" which from Spanish means "to appear". This spell makes invisible ink appear. So if you don't understand the words in Harry Potty, it isn't because your English isn't great, it is because the words are not all English!
0
How to know the meaning of a new word?
Recently, I'm reading HarryPotter. This is the first English novel I have read. I have read the series in Chinese as well as watched the movies, saw the whole series of the books in Chinese as well as the movies before so it's easy to understand the plot of each novel(/movie)But I always meet some new words in the novel. At first, I like to look for their meanings, however, the more chapters I read, the more words I don't know. I have even forgotten what I have looked up in the dictionary.
I'm wondering how native English speakers know all of the words, even when they are still young.
Could you please tell me about your experiences learning a new word? Can you help me correct this article as well?
Thanks a lot~
0
children know a lot of words because they have a lot of exposure to english. they hear it at home and outside. they go to school and everyone speaks english. they eventually learn many words even though they haven't studied them. it's the same for chinese speaking children learning to speak chinese.
i think a good way to remember words is to write them on flashcards and then try to put them in sentences. i would be happy to help you! :)
0
Ok, I'll have a try. Thanks!
0
You could write the new words on flashcards, and use apps/sites like Anki to review them regularly :)
Want to progress faster?
Join this learning community and try out free exercises!
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn a language from the comfort of your own home. Browse our selection of experienced language tutors and enroll in your first lesson now!
Start Learning Today
