Chinese Handwriting
When you look at a Chinese character, you may have no idea how you should write it. In order to write Chinese character in proper stroke order, you first need to understand the character stroke order. It is the order in which the strokes of a Chinese character are written. It is easier to write Chinese character when you follow the stroke order.
Traditionally, Chinese characters are written in vertical columns from top to bottom, and the text run from right column to left column. Under the influence of Western languages such as English, it has become gradually common for Chinese language to be written horizontally, from left to right, with successive rows going from top to bottom.
Chinese Character Stroke Order - Basic Rules 1Chinese Character Stroke Order - Basic Rules 2
Chinese Character Stroke Order - Basic Rules 3
Chinese Character Stroke Order - Supplementary Rules 1
Chinese Character Stroke Order - Supplementary Rules 2
How to Practice Chinese Handwriting
There are few ways you can practice Chinese handwriting. You can use Tian Zi Ge paper or Mi Zi Ge paper to practice writing Chinese characters. Both of them are used to regulate how Chinese characters are placed in squares. They are widely used in primary schools in China when Chinese children start to learn Chinese handwriting.
Tian Zi Ge paper divides a square into four sections. (Tian Zi Ge Paper PDF Download)
Mi Zi Ge paper divides a square into eight sections. (Mi Zi Ge Paper PDF Download)
Chinese Handwriting Input
You can also use Chinese handwriting input on computer or smartphone. Many Chinese language learners often use Pinyin input to type Chinese characters when they write emails or send text messages. You can only recognize the Chinese characters by using Pinyin input. If you use Chinese handwriting input, you will have to write the character from memory. Not only you can learn to write in proper stroke order, it can also help you to memorize more Chinese characters.
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