In the HeInput components system, a word can be a simple or complex word.
Simple Word：A simple word has no more than 3 components.
| Number | Word | Chars | Code | Similar Structure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一 | |
11 | 丨乚丿丶乙 | one stroke |
| 1 | 口 | |
24 | 又王十土木米女火心 | Multiple strokes |
| 2 | 志 | |
32 55 | 旧吕回因江汉如什圣 | Separated |
| 2 | 天 | |
11 34 | 千白自万巨另去丑 | Touched |
| 2 | 果 | |
25 34 | 本来必里电束内东 | Crossed |
| 3 | 同 | |
23 11 24 | 品圆画压盼劳论烟闷 | Separated |
| 3 | 占 | |
21 11 24 | 至舌兴壮音改笑任香 | Connected |
| 3 | 生 | |
41 11 32 | 理事块君讲更吨兔 | Crossed |
Complex Word：A complex Word has 4 or more components.
The complex word has two coding rules.
Coding rule 1: Divide the complex word to 3 parts, take 1 code from each part.
| Word | 3 Parts | Coding | 3 Codes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 蕉 | 艹住灬 |  |
33 42 54 |
| 敬 | 艹句攵 |  |
33 44 45 |
| 障 | 阝立早 |  |
32 55 25 |
| 栽 | 土木戈 |  |
32 34 34 |
| 剧 | 尸古刂 |  |
12 31 21 |
| 随 | 阝有辶 |  |
32 32 53 |
| 照 | 日召灬 |  |
25 14 54 |
Coding rules 2：For a complex word coding, the character derivative uses its core character’s code first.
The Character derivative concept：
one of 4 basic strokes (一丨丿丶) + a core character = (forming) a character derivative.
| Core Char | Derivative | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 日 | 白=(丿日) | 魄原绵谐魏 |
| 目 | 自=(丿目) | 鼻熄 |
| 土 | =(丿土) | 造靠选 |
| 木 | 禾=(丿木) | 科乘透梨诱秦 |
| 大 | 天=(一大) | 凑添 |
| 厂 | 广=(丶厂) | 序遮俯渡糠 |
| 冂 | 门=(丶冂) | 阀阔润闹 |
| 王 | 主=(丶王) | 集售隽 |
A single stroke, does not have base meaning but widely used in many words, such as strokes of code 11, 21, 41, and 51.
A core character, composed by at least 2 strokes, has its base meaning.
A character derivative, is formed by adding one basic stroke to a core character.
For the complex word coding, the character derivative uses its core character’s code first.
The character derivative is a new concept; using the core character to represent its derivatives, this simplifies HeCharacter extended table.
Complex words and character derivatives examples:
| Word | 3 Parts | Derivative | Coding | 3 Codes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 碧 | 王白石 | 白 |  |
15 25 35 |
| 稼 | 禾宀豕 | 禾宀豕 |  |
34 23 45 |
| 淼 | 水水水 | 水水水 |  |
53 53 53 |
| 造 | 壬口辶 | 壬 |  |
32 24 53 |
| 阀 | 门亻戈 | 门 |  |
23 42 34 |
| 型 | 开刂土 | 开 |  |
33 21 32 |
| 望 | 亡月王 | 亡 |  |
13 23 15 |
Word’s 4th code (assistant code): For complex words, after 3 main codes taken, there are some components left, take one code from remains as 4th code (assistant code), next page will talk more about 4th code. However, the HeInput application always prompts the 4th code.
So a complex word has 4 codes, 3 main codes + 1 assistant code.
When coding, we always take the big character code.
For example, character 木 is composed of 十八, when coding words: 杜杏困, we use 木’s code 34, do not use十 or 八. Also, character 火 is composed of 丷人; when coding words: 灶烘灼, we use 火‘s code 54, do not use 丷 or人.
火 is bigger than 丷 and 人, it is easy, but how to compare 丷 and 人?
To compare characters, we give each character a weight; a character’s weight is a measurement of its frequency in words. Character’s weight is the inverse number of its code. For example, character 丶’s code is 51, and its weight is 15; 人’s code is 43, and its weight is 34; 口’s code is 24, and its weight is 42.
The following table lists 5 characters’ codes and weights of the fifth column.
| Code | Character | Weight | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| 51 | 丶 | 15 | Vast |
| 52 | 冫 | 25 | Lots |
| 53 | 氵 | 35 | Lot |
| 54 | 火 | 45 | Many |
| 55 | 心 | 55 | A few |
Characters can use their weights to order, for example, 火’s weight is 54, 口’s weight is 42, 人’s weight is 34, so they can be ordered as 火→口→人.
A complex word has 4 codes, we have 2 coding rules for the first 3 main codes, how to get the 4th code? One consideration is using character’s weight.
For a complex word, after 3 main codes token, some components left, weight them and take the heaviest component’s code as the 4th code.
| Word | Components | Remails | Heaviest remain | 4th Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 稼 | |
丿丶一 | 丶(15) | 51 |
| 熟 |  |
一口子丶 | 子(51) | 15 |
A phrase coding is based on its words’ codes.
A phrase has at most 4 codes.
| Number of words | Phase | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 国家(24 15 51 23) | 2+2=4 Codes |
| 3 | 联合国(15 43 24 15) | 1+1+2=4 Codes |
| 4 | 中国人民(24 24 43 12) | 1+1+1+1=4 Codes |
| >4 | 和码输入法(41 35 35 43) | 1+1+1+1=4 Codes |
Especially for a two-word phrase, if the first word has only one code, such as 日期, 心里, 小心, then take 3 codes from the second word to form 4 codes.
A phrase has at most 4 codes, but some phrase has less than 4 codes, such as 小心: 54 55; 心里: 55 25 32; 中国人: 24 24 43.
Simple or Complex words examples:
| Type | Word | Code | Word | Coding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple | 日（日） | 25 | 木（木） | 34 |
| Simple | 白（丿日） | 41 25 | 禾（丿木） | 41 34 |
| Simple | 皇（丿日王） | 41 25 15 | 和（丿木口） | 41 34 24 |
| Complex | 碧（王白石） | 15 25 35 | 程（禾口王） | 34 24 15 |
Word and phrase coding practice cards.
The HeInput online training application has coding practices for 3 parts words, derivative components, and phrases. Appendix 3 includes several complex words writing pages.
Online application：
Complex word and phrase coding practice：www.HeChinese.net/HeInput/Lesson04
10+ years old Chinese students need 1-2 hours, foreign adults need 2-3 hours, and 5-6 years old kids need 4-6 hours to finish this chapter, more practices is also needed to improve fluency.