ANSWER: One way is by playing with them.
One way to learn Chinese characters is by playing with them. And you can start by playing with the 1- and 2-stroke characters of the 1800 taught in Korean primary and secondary schools. Since there are two 1-stroke and fourteen 2-stroke characters among the 1800, that means you would start playing with the first 16 characters.
How can you play with Chinese characters? Here are some suggestions.
1) See how many words and expressions you can make by using just the first 16 characters. An easy one would be to combine the Chinese character for "two" (二 이) and the Chinese character for "ten" (十 십) to form 二十 (이십), which means "twenty." Both characters are 2-stroke characters, which means they are among the first 16 characters of the 1800.
2) See how many of the single characters you can double or triple up to form new characters. For example, the 2-stroke character 刀 (도) means "knife," but if you put three 刀s together (1 over 2), you form the Chinese character 刕 (리), which I've read was the family name of one of the eight great families of Baekje (백제 百濟).
Also, if you put 2 tens (十 십) together, side by side, you form the character 卄 (입), which means "twenty." Though it is not a common character, it is used in some place names. For example, there is a mountain village named 입천리 (卄川里) on the slope of Hyeongje Peak (형제봉) in the City of Gyeongju (경상북도 경주시 양북면 입천리). The village name literally translates as "Twenty (卄) Streams (川) Village (里)." Supposedly, there are 20 streamlets that flow down the slope of the mountain and merge into one stream near the village.
3) See how many different 1- and 2-stroke characters you can combine to form a 3- or 4-stroke character. For example, the 2-stroke characters 又 (우) means "and," "also," or "again." If you put the Chinese character for "ten" (十 십) on top of it, you form the 4-stroke character 支 (지), which means "prop," "support," or "pay." Some words that use the character are 지불 (支拂), which means "pay" or "disburse"; 지배 (支配), which means "manage" or "control"; and 지점 (支店), which means "branch office." Can you form a 6-stroke character by combining three different 2-stroke characters?
So, those are three ways you can play with Chinese characters. While you are playing with them, be sure to learn their pronunciations, their meanings, and how to write them. And don't forget to practice writing them.
And after you are tired of playing with the 1- and 2-stroke characters, move on to the 3-stroke characters, and then the 4-stroke. If you learn your characters this way, you will start to see characters made with characters you have already learned, as would be the case with 支 (지), which again is 十 (십) plus 又 (우).
For those who do not know the stroke order for writing Chinese characters, I have posted below some pages from Bruce K. Grant's book "A Guide to Korean Characters, Reading and Writing Hangul and Hanja" that give nine stroke-order rules to follow when writing Chinese characters. Stroke order is very important, so be sure to follow the rules. The first two rules are write 1) from top to bottom and 2) left to right.
I have also posted from Mr. Grant's book the first 16 characters of the 1800, so that you can start playing with them.
You can share your gameplay in the Comments section of this post if you want, or you can just play by yourself.
Don't forget to buy Mr. Grant's book, so that you can play with all 1800 characters.
Good luck.
By the way, one place you can go to play with the characters is at Naver's Chinese character dictionary HERE, where you can use your computer mouse to draw the characters next to each other to see if they form any new characters. The place on the page where you draw the characters is in a box labeled 한자필기인식기. For example, if you go to the page and draw in the box the Chinese character for "one" (一 일) on top of the character for "two" (二 이), what character do you think you will form?
UPDATE:
The meaning of the 2-stroke Chinese character 八 (팔) is "eight," but its original meaning was "to divide," which is why it is shaped the way it is. Originally, the shape of the character was two separated downward strokes.
Today, however, the Chinese character for "divide" is 分 (분), which is formed by putting the 2-stroke character for "eight" (八 팔) on top of the 2-stroke character for "knife" (刀 도), suggesting that something is divided by cutting it in half. So, even though 八 (팔) no longer means "divide" when used by itself, the meaning of "divide" is still there when it is used to form certain other characters.
Besides 分 (분), for example, there is also the 4-stroke character 公 (공), which means "fair," "impartial," or "public." It is the same 공 used in the words 공평(公平) and 공정(公正), both of which mean "fair" or "impartial." Notice that the character is formed by putting 八 (팔) on top of the character 厶(모), which is an old character that meant "private." If you "divide up" or "separate" (八) something from being "private," it becomes "public" (公), and if you "divide" (八) it equally, it is "fair" (公).
Playing with your Chinese characters and learning things like this should help you remember your characters.
