Chinese Text Analyzer

Explanatory Note – Chinese Text Analyzer Thresholds

This analyzer evaluates a Chinese text according to various character thresholds based on the work of Joël Belassen and the Junda frequency list. These thresholds indicate which characters a learner is expected to know at a given level:

Active (writing): the student must be able to recognize and write them.
Passive (reading): the student must be able to read and understand them, without necessarily writing them.

🔢 Character Threshold Table

Threshold / List	Total Characters	Active (writing)	Passive (reading)	Description / Usage
LV3 (405 characters)	405	255	405	Basic threshold for beginner high school students (final LV3 level). Goal: simple comprehension of elementary texts.
LV2 (505 characters)	505	355	505	Intermediate threshold for students studying Chinese as LV2. Enables reading of common texts and simple writing.
LV1 (805 characters)	805	505	805	Advanced threshold: intended for students in an intensive Chinese section (LV1). Allows reading of short articles and authentic narrative texts.
International Section	1,555	Not specified	1,555	Very advanced level, used in international sections or Chinese baccalaureates. Lexical coverage close to that of a modern educated person.
Junda List	9,931	—	—	Frequency list based on a corpus of 15 million modern characters (newspapers, novels, media). It represents the “independence threshold” for reading modern Chinese texts without major blockage, even if some characters remain unknown.

Color Interpretation in the Analysis

Black: active character in the selected threshold (reading + writing).
Grey: passive character in the threshold (reading only).
Red: out-of-threshold character, not yet acquired at the selected level.

🎓 Educational Use

Choose a threshold suited to your students’ level (e.g. LV3 for high school beginners).
Enter a Chinese text into the analyzer.
The tool breaks down the text character by character and then displays:
- the total number of characters,
- the distinction between active/passive characters (lists 405, 505, 805),
- out-of-threshold characters in red.
Adjust your teaching progression:
- if a text contains too many out-of-threshold characters, it is too difficult,
- if most characters are black/grey, the text is appropriate,
- if the text is too easy, move to a higher threshold (LV2 → LV1).

About the Lists

The LV3 – LV1 thresholds were developed by Joël Belassen, Inspector General of Chinese, and are used as a reference in the French national curriculum for teaching Chinese as a foreign language. They define a coherent progression between learning levels (LV3 → LV2 → LV1 → International Section).

The Junda list comes from an academic corpus of 15 million modern characters, established by Jun Da (Middle Tennessee State University). It provides the frequency of occurrence of each sinogram in contemporary written Chinese.

🔗 Jun Da Chinese Character Frequency List

⚙️ Limits & Precautions

The thresholds measure frequency and coverage, not semantic understanding or syntax.
Some frequent characters are polysemous; others, though rare, are culturally essential.
Progression also depends on compound vocabulary (polysyllabic words), which is not included in these lists.

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