Chinese Strokes

1. Speak Chinese like a native speaker http://www.tprsc.com Strokes The strokes of Chinese characters refer to one uninterrupted dot or line, such as “一”（横）、“丨”（竖）、 “丿”（撇）、“丶”（点）、“乛” （折）, etc. A stroke is the smallest component of a character. There are 8 traditional fundamental strokes, which are “丶”（点）、“一” （横）、“丨”（竖）、 “丿”（撇）、 “乀” （捺）、 “ ”（提）、 “乛” （折） and “亅”（钩） .It`s also called “’永’字八法”（yǒngzìbāfǎ） . The character “永” basically represents the common stroke types of the Chinese character system. The modern modular strokes are regulated as the 5 one’s, “一”（横） 、 “丨”（竖）、 “丿”（撇）、“丶”（点）and“乛” （折）, and they are called “’札’字法” （zházìfǎ）. It`s a simpler version of “’永’字八法”. Learn Chinese Free http://www.echinesebridge.com

2. Speak Chinese like a native speaker http://www.tprsc.com #1 Main Stroke: “一 一”（横） （横） Horizontal Stroke Variations Names of Strokes Examples 一，二，三，王，工 1 横 （héng） Horizontal 习，地，冷，冰，刁 2 提 （tí） Rising Stroke #2 Main Stroke: “丨 丨”（竖） （竖） Vertical Learn Chinese Free http://www.echinesebridge.com

3. Speak Chinese like a native speaker http://www.tprsc.com Stroke Variation Name of Stroke Examples 书，快，师，十， 市 1 长竖（cháng shù） Long vertical 刊，修，候，刚， 利 2 短竖 （duǎn shù） Short vertical 小，水，求，寸， 找 3 竖钩 （shù gōu） Vertical hook #3 Main Stroke: “丿 丿”（撇） （撇）Left falling Learn Chinese Free http://www.echinesebridge.com

4. Speak Chinese like a native speaker http://www.tprsc.com Stroke Variation Name of Stroke Examples 月，木，大， 人，个 1 撇（piě） Left falling 千，舌，毛， 白，禾 2 横撇 （héng piě） Shorter and more horizontal left falling #4 Main Stroke: “丶 丶”（点） （点）Dot Stroke Variation Name of Stroke Examples Learn Chinese Free http://www.echinesebridge.com

5. Speak Chinese like a native speaker http://www.tprsc.com 主，广，心，注， 文 1 短点（duǎn diǎn） Short dot 双，不，贝，头 2 长点（cháng diǎn） Long dot 办，刃，心，必， 小 3 左点 （zuǒ diǎn） Left dot 之，延，这，走 4 平捺 （píng nà） horizontal right falling Learn Chinese Free http://www.echinesebridge.com

6. Speak Chinese like a native speaker http://www.tprsc.com 又，义，个，人， 大 5 斜捺 （xié nà） slanted right falling #5 Main Stroke: “乛 乛”（折） （折）Turning Stroke Variation Name of Stroke Examples 口，问 1 横折（héng zhé） Horizontal turning 说，话，讨， 论，讲 2 横折提（héng zhé tí） Horizontal turning and rising 又，反 3 横撇（héng piě） Horizontal and left-falling Learn Chinese Free http://www.echinesebridge.com

7. Speak Chinese like a native speaker http://www.tprsc.com 刀，门，也 4 横折钩 （héng zhé gōu） Horizontal turning and hook 买，皮，卖 5 横钩（héng gōu） Horizontal hook 飞，风，凤， 凰 6 横折斜钩 （héng zhé xié gōu） Horizontal and slanted hook 几，九，匹 7 横折弯钩（héng zhé wān gōu） Horizontal turning and curved hook 朵，铅 8 横折弯 （héng zhé wān） Horizontal turning and curved turning Learn Chinese Free http://www.echinesebridge.com

8. Speak Chinese like a native speaker http://www.tprsc.com 凹 9 横折折 （héng zhé zhé） Horizontal turning and turning 廷，建 10 横折折撇 （héng zhé zhé piě） Horizontal turning and turning left-falling 凸 11 横折折折 （héng zhé zhé zhé） 阵，队，除 12 横折撇弯钩 （héng zhé piě wān gōu） 乃，奶 13 横折折折钩（héng zhé zhé zhé gōu） Learn Chinese Free http://www.echinesebridge.com

9. Speak Chinese like a native speaker http://www.tprsc.com 山，匹 14 竖折 （shù zhé） Vertical turning 四 15 竖弯 （shù wān） Vertical curved turning 民，切 16 竖提 （shù tí） Vertical and rising 鼎 17 竖折折 （shù zhé zhé） Vertical turning and vertical 专，传 18 竖折折撇 （shù zhé zhé piě） Vertical turning and left-falling Learn Chinese Free http://www.echinesebridge.com

10. Speak Chinese like a native speaker http://www.tprsc.com 儿，乱 19 竖弯钩 （shù wān gōu） Vertical curved hook 与，马 20 竖折折钩 （shù zhé zhé gōu） Vertical turning and turning hook 么，公 21 撇折 （piě zhé） Left falling and turning 女，巡 22 撇点 （piě diǎn） Left-falling and dot 家，了，子 23 弯钩 （wān gōu） Curved hook Learn Chinese Free http://www.echinesebridge.com

11. Speak Chinese like a native speaker http://www.tprsc.com 戈，我，伐 24 斜钩 （xié gōu） Slanted hook Radicals Radicals in Chinese characters are called 部首[bùshǒu]. They are used to classify the character patterns which are commonly used in Chinese dictionaries. There are mainly two types of radicals depending on their different functions and properties. One is based on the principles of the six categories of Chinese characters (which we will illustrate more in the content that follows), and the other is based on the shapes of the structures. Learn Chinese Free http://www.echinesebridge.com

12. Speak Chinese like a native speaker http://www.tprsc.com Once you understand the relations among strokes, radicals, and characters, writing characters becomes a piece of cake. Moreover, you can not only imitate drawing the shapes, but also understand the underlying rules and reasons behind the characters. Of course, practicing with understanding would be a much better way than mechanical imitation. Let`s take “女” as an example. “女” is not only a independent character which means female, but it is also a radical which can be combined with other Chinese components and indicates some certain meanings. As the following picture shows, “妈”“姐”“妹” are all females, thus they share the same radical while the right sides are diversified because of the phonetics. Learn Chinese Free http://www.echinesebridge.com

13. Speak Chinese like a native speaker http://www.tprsc.com The Basic Writing Order Stroke order really matters if you want to learn writing characters. Using the wrong stroke order or direction would cause the ink to fall differently on the page. The Chinese stroke order system was designed to produce the most aesthetical, symmetrical, and balanced characters on a piece of paper. Furthermore, it was also designed to be efficient – creating the most strokes with the least Learn Chinese Free http://www.echinesebridge.com

14. Speak Chinese like a native speaker http://www.tprsc.com amount of hand movement across the page. Here are some tips on mastering stroke order. 1). 从上到下 从上到下 Top to bottom When a Chinese character is “stacked” vertically, like the character 立 (lì) which means to stand, the rule is to write from top to bottom. 2). 从左到右 从左到右 Left to right When a Chinese character has a radical, the character is written left to right. The same rule applies to characters that are stacked horizontally. 3). 先中间后两边 先中间后两边 Symmetry counts Learn Chinese Free http://www.echinesebridge.com

15. Speak Chinese like a native speaker http://www.tprsc.com When you are writing a character that is centered and more or less symmetrical (but not stacked from top to bottom) the general rule is to write the center stroke first. 4). 先横后竖 先横后竖 Horizontal first, vertical second Horizontal strokes are always written before vertical strokes. Here is how to write the character “十(shí)” or “ten.” 5). Enclosures before content You want to create the frame of the character before you fill it in. Check out how to write the character 日(rì) or “sun.” Learn Chinese Free http://www.echinesebridge.com

16. Speak Chinese like a native speaker http://www.tprsc.com 6). Close frames last Make a frame then fill in some of the components inside. After you write the middle strokes, close the frame, such as in the character “回 (huí)” or “to return.” 7). Character spanning strokes are last For strokes that cut across many other strokes, they are often written last. For example, the character 半 (bàn), which means “half.” The vertical line is written last. There are always small exceptions to the rule, and Chinese stroke order can vary slightly from region to region. However, these Learn Chinese Free http://www.echinesebridge.com

17. Speak Chinese like a native speaker http://www.tprsc.com variations are very miniscule; so by following these general tips, you’ll have an astute grasp on Chinese character`s writing order. From strokes to characters, this is the way Chinese characters are formed. And it should also be the way you learn to write them. Writing is not the final goal, but understanding and using them correctly. Following the order of the writing will help you remember the characters better. Speak Chinese like a native speaker Go to http://www.tprsc.com Learn Chinese Free http://www.echinesebridge.com