Yes totally. I wasn't contradicting GP. The pattern where part of the character indicates the sound is so common that it helps me a great deal when reading Chin

Yes totally. I wasn't contradicting GP. The pattern where part of the character indicates the sound is so common that it helps me a great deal when reading Chinese. My speaking/hearing is better than my reading. I might not know how to write a particular character but, if I can guess the sound, then that plus the surrounding context are enough for me to know what the word is.