P4 Chinese character choice practice
Singapore Primary 4 Chinese, character choice (选字填空): pick the right character for a blank from several that look or sound alike, testing accurate use of characters so that homophones and look-alikes do not creep in. Everything here follows the MOE syllabus. You can try one set free without signing up, and it is marked as you go — get one wrong and the same point comes back asked a different way, so your child can make steady progress on telling characters apart. This page has 20 skill points and 129 questions.
What is tested in P4 character choice
In P3 and P4 the question starts using families built on a shared phonetic element — 清, 晴, 请, 情 or 抱, 饱, 跑, 炮 — and tests whether a child can read meaning off the radical. Sentences get longer, so the words either side of the blank become a clue in their own right.
Common traps
- One phonetic element with four different radicals: all four options sound alike and only the radical separates them.
- The character is right but wrong for this particular word — 作 and 做 in 作业 and 做作业.
- One option is a more common character, put there to attract a guess.
How to practise
Group by radical: characters with the water radical have to do with water, those with the hand radical are actions. When answering, read the words either side of the blank first, then check which radical fits that meaning.
P4 character choice · worked examples
妈妈在厨房里（ ）爆米花，香味飘满了整个家。
- ・昨
- ・坐
- ・作
- ✓ 做
Why: The answer is "做". The sentence says Mom "做爆米花", meaning to make popcorn. "做" means to make. "作" is used for writing or homework, "昨" means yesterday, "坐" means sit, all wrong.
妈妈病好了以后，（ ）续帮全家人准备有营养的早餐。
- ・纪
- ・记
- ・维
- ✓ 继
Why: The answer is “继”. “继” and 续 form 继续, meaning to carry on. Mum could not make breakfast while she was sick, and after she recovered she carried on doing it, so “继” fits. “维” (as in 维持), “纪” (as in 纪念) and “记” (as in 记住) cannot form a word with 续.
表妹在信里说她学游泳很（ ）苦，但还是很开心。
- ・幸
- ・新
- ・心
- ✓ 辛
Why: The answer is “辛”. 辛苦 means tiring and hard, and learning to swim takes a lot of effort. “幸” (as in 幸福) is a common wrong way of writing 辛苦, so be careful. “新” (new) and “心” (heart) cannot form a word with “苦”.
Read each candidate into the sentence and check the meaning and the pairing; only the one that fits both is right.
Skill points on this page (20)
- 上L03·看电视 · 8 questions
- 上L06·我要参加什么活动呢 · 15 questions
- 上L08·马路如虎口 · 8 questions
- 下L11·天天运动身体好 · 12 questions
- 下L15·一年四季好风光 · 6 questions
- 上L02·我们是兄弟姐妹 · 4 questions
- 上L04·今天我值日 · 6 questions
- 下L16·丽华的脸又红了 · 4 questions
- 下L10·这样才对 · 6 questions
- 上L01·一起看电视 · 9 questions
- 上L05·我不怕打针 · 6 questions
- 上L07·他的脸红了 · 7 questions
- 上L09·爱心无障碍 · 7 questions
- 下L12·我是小导游 · 7 questions
- 下L13·植物园 · 4 questions
- 下L14·这个主意真棒 · 2 questions
- 下L16·多彩的动物世界 · 8 questions
- 上L01·自己管好自己 · 2 questions
- 上L05·我不怕打针 · 3 questions
- 上L06·给表妹的一封信 · 5 questions
小乐不小心把碗打碎了，他感到很后（ ），连忙向妈妈道歉。