How To Write Chinese Characters: Page 1 of 12

Strokes
Stroke Name Direction


din dot



hng horizontal



sh vertical



pi left-falling


n right-falling


t rising



gu hook


zh turning
Basic Rules
Rule
Example Stroke Order
First horizontal, then vertical

First left-falling, then right-falling

From top to bottom

From left to right

First outside, then inside

Finish inside, then close

Middle, then the two sides

How to write a hng and a sh
A hng must be kept level but may be raised slightly at the right end. The spaces between
hng must be even. Hng must be of different lengths, usually the one on top is shorter
than the one below. If there are three hng, the middle one is the shortest, e.g.:

A sh must be perpendicular. If there are two or more sh in a character, they should be
parallel with even spaces in between and differ in length, usually with the left one a bit
shorter than the right one, e.g.:
How To Write Chinese Characters: Page 2 of 12
How to write a pi
There are three kinds of pi: horizontal ( ), slanting ( ) and vertical (

)
The horizontal pi ( ) is usually shorter and somewhat level, e.g.:

A slanting pi ( ) is made slightly inclined to the left and is of medium length, e.g.:

A vertical pi (

) must be kept somewhat vertical and rather long, e.g.:

In characters which contain several pi, see that they should be different from one another
in length, e.g.:
In characters which contain two similar pi ( ), see that the one above is shorter than the
one below, e.g.: . In Characters with three such pi ( ), see that the
one below starts from under the middle of the one above, e.g.:
How to write a n
There are three kinds of n: short (

), long (

) and horizontal-long ( ).
A short n must be of medium length, e.g.:
A long n must be somewhat longer, e.g.:
A horizontal-long n must be kept somewhat level and even longer, e.g.:

If a character has more than one n, only the main one is kept and the others are turned into
din, e.g.:


In characters which contain a pi and a n as well, they are symmetrical and are written as
such, e.g.:
How to write a din (All din are longish like fruit pips.)
There are four kinds of din: short ( ), long ( ), left-and-right ( ) and four parallel ( ).
A short din must be short and roundish at the lower end, e.g.:
A long din must be somewhat longer and narrower, e.g.:
The left-and-right din must be symmetrical, e.g.:
In writing the four parallel din, the first din must incline somewhat to the left while the
fourth din to the right. The two in between should be a bit smaller than the other two, e.g.:

How To Write Chinese Characters: Page 3 of 12
How to write a gu, a t and a zh
There are three kinds of gu: horizontal ( ), vertical ( ) and slanting ( ). All these gu
must be forceful and sturdy, e.g.:


A t (

) must be short and forceful, e.g.:
A horizontal zh (

) must look natural, e.g.:
A vertical zh ( ) must look forceful and sturdy, e.g.:
A hngzhgu (

) and a shwnggu (

) both look forceful and natural, e.g.:

Characters which have no other components
Quite a number of Chinese characters are composed of only a few strokes and have no other
components. Since there are only a few basic strokes in characters of this kind, each stroke plays an
important role. Therefore, in writing such a character, one must see that each stroke is placed at its
proper position and the whole character is well-balanced, or else the character will look awkward.
In a longish character, the hng must be shorter than the sh, e.g.:

In a shortish character, the hng must be longer than the sh, e.g.:

A sh must be right in the middle of the character, e.g.:
A pi and a n, if they cross each other, cross at the centre of the character, e.g.:

Characters with one component on top of the other
If the upper component consists of fewer strokes than the lower one, it occupies a smaller
space, e.g.:
If the upper component consists of more strokes than the lower one, it occupies a bigger
place, e.g.:
If the two components are made of the same thing, the upper component is made smaller
than the lower one, e.g.:
Two components side by side
If the left-hand component consists of fewer strokes than the right-hand one, it occupies a
smaller space, e.g.:
If the left-hand component consists of more strokes than the right-hand one, it occupies a
bigger space, e.g.:
How To Write Chinese Characters: Page 4 of 12
In some characters, the two components must be of similar height and breadth, e.g.:

In some characters, if the two components are made of the same thing, the left-handed
component is made smaller than the right-hand one, e.g.:

The left-hand component, if it is a short one, should be placed a little above the middle of
the character, e.g.:
The right-hand component, if it is a short one, should be placed a little below the middle of
the character, e.g.:
If a character is made up of three components, they must be of similar height and breadth,
e.g.:
One component enclosed in the other
If the enclosure comes from above, the enclosed component should be a bit near to the top
stroke of the enclosure, e.g.:
If the enclosure comes from below, the enclosed component should be a bit near to the
bottom stroke of the enclosure, which is of medium length, e.g.:
If the enclosure comes from the left, the enclosed component must be somewhat close to it.
The bottom stroke of the component must be a little longer than its top stroke: e.g.:

If the enclosure comes from the right, the enclosed component must be somewhat close to
the upper cover stroke on the right, e.g.:
If the enclosure is the component

, it must be of rectangular shape, and the enclosed
component stands in the middle and should be made well-balanced and plump, e.g.:

Other Rules
If the component on the left starts with a dot stroke, one must see that the dot is not too
much to the left, e.g.:
If the characters has a dot stroke above the right upper cover, one must see that it is not
placed too far away, e.g.:
All components on the left must be comparatively small, e.g.:
All components on the right must be comparatively large, e.g.:
The character , whether standing by itself or forming part of a character, must not be in
the shape of a square

but a trapezium with the top always wider than the bottom,
e.g.:
How To Write Chinese Characters: Page 5 of 12
All the components,

,

,

,

, , , and must be big
enough to cover the bottom component, e.g.:


All the bottom components , , and must be big enough to support the top
component, e.g.:
All the components , , and must be big enough to hold all the strokes
of the other component, e.g.:
How To Write Chinese Characters: Page 6 of 12
Stroke Order of Characters
(Stroke Order)
a

i

n

n

b

b

b

ba

bi

bi

bn

bn

bn

bng

bo

bi

bi

bn

b

b

bin

bin

bio

bi

bng

b

b

b

b

ci

ci

cn

co

ch

ch

chng

chng

chng

(Stroke Order)
chng

ch (: )
chn

chng

(: )
ch

ch

ch

chun

chun

chung

chung

chn

c

c

cng

cu

d

d

d

di

dn

do

do

do

de

de

dng

d

d

d

din

din

din

din

dng

dng

dng

How To Write Chinese Characters: Page 7 of 12

(Stroke Order)
dng

dng

du

d

dun

du

du

du

r

r

f

f

fn

fn

fng (: )
fng

(: )
fng

(: )
fi

fn

fng

fng

f

f

f

gi

gn

gn

gng

gng

go

go

g

g

g

gi

gn

(Stroke Order)
gng

gng

gng

g

g

gu

gu

gun

gun

gun

gun

gung

gu

gu

gu

gu

hi

hn

ho

ho

h

hi

hn

hng

hu

hu

h

h

hu

hu

hu

hun

hun

hung

hu

hu

hu (: )
hu

How To Write Chinese Characters: Page 8 of 12

(Stroke Order)
j

j

j

j

j

j

ji

ji

ji

ji

jin

jin

jin

jin

jin

jing

jio

jio

jio

jio

jio

ji

ji

ji

ji

ji

ji

ji

ji

jn

jn

jn

jn

jng

jng

jng

jng

ji

(Stroke Order)
ji

ji

j

j

j

jn

(: )
ki

kn

k

k

k

k

k

kng

ku

k

kui

kui

kung

li

ln

ln

ln

lo

lo

le

lng

l

l

l

l

lin

(: )
lin

ling

ling

ling

How To Write Chinese Characters: Page 9 of 12

(Stroke Order)
li

lng

lng

li

li

lu

l

l

l

(: )
m

m

ma

mi

mi

mn

mng

mo

mo

me

mi

mi

mi

mn

men

min

mn

mng

mng

m

n

n

nn

nn

nn

ne

nng

n

(Stroke Order)
nin

nin

nn

n

n

nun

p

pi

png

po

png

pin

pio

png

png

q

q

q

q

q

q

q

qin

qin

qin

qing

qng

qng

qng

qng

qi (: )
qi

q

rng

r

rn

rn

r

How To Write Chinese Characters: Page 10 of 12

(Stroke Order)
rng

si

sn

s

shn

shng

shng

sho

sho

(: )
sho

sh

sh

sh

shn

shn

shng

shng

sh

sh

sh

sh

sh

sh

sh

sh

sh

sh

sh

sh

sh

sh

shu

shu

sh

sh

sh

sh

(Stroke Order)
sh

shu

shu

shu

shu

s

s

sng

s

s

t

t

ti

tn (: )
tng

tng

tng

t

tng

t

t

t

t

tin

tio

tng

tng

tng

tu

t

wi

wn

wn

wn

wi

wi

wn

wn

How To Write Chinese Characters: Page 11 of 12

(Stroke Order)
w

w

w

w

w

w

x

x

x

x

xi

xi

xin

xin

xing

xing

xing

xio

xio

xio

xi

xi

xi

xn

xng

xng

xng

xi

xu

xu

yn

yn

yn

yng

yo

yo

y

y

(Stroke Order)
y

y

y

y

y

y

y

y

y

y

y

yn

yng

yng

yng

yng

yng

yu

yu

yu

y

y

y

y

yun

yun

yun

yun

yun

yu

yu

yu

yn

z

zi

(: )
zi

zng

How To Write Chinese Characters: Page 12 of 12

(Stroke Order)
zo

zn

zhn

zhn

zhng

zhng

zho

zho

zh

zh

zhe

zhn

zhn

zhng

zhng

zh

zh

zh

zh

zh

zh

zhng

zhng

(Stroke Order)
zhng

zh

zh

zh

zh

zhn

zhu

z

z

z

zu

z

zu

zu

zu

zu