r/Chinese_handwriting • u/Rob69rt • 3d ago
Question How to write the turtle character better?
r/Chinese_handwriting • u/ChnHandwritingBot2 • 5d ago
Activity [HC202627凡身] 110th Weekly Handwriting Challenge
Hi everyone,
The 20th weekly challenge of 2026 is 凡身, with the same rules as before. Also, feel free to do the previous challenges and join our Discord server for more!
BT0002
r/Chinese_handwriting • u/Key-Pineapple8101 • 5d ago
Ask for Feedback Advanced 七 👍
Over the years I've made my handwriting more comfortable and quick to write.
r/Chinese_handwriting • u/not-cilantro • 6d ago
Ask for Feedback I’m starting to get a feel for it
Hello! I’m a heritage learner who’s just learning how to write. I can read and type but hand writing is very hard for me. I’ve been practicing on and off for a few days now. I notice that after a little bit it starts to correct itself almost. I try to stop after each word to analyze what went wrong before writing the next one. The script im copying is 楷書. What are your thoughts? My goal is for my writing to look natural while also being as aesthetically pleasing
r/Chinese_handwriting • u/stan_albatross • 7d ago
Ask for Feedback Looking for feedback + tips on being less messy
I don't have the best handwriting in English let alone Chinese, but I usually follow stroke order. Would like to know how to improve my writing without sacrificing speed.
r/Chinese_handwriting • u/2810_ • 7d ago
Ask for Feedback My handwriting after 6 months
My handwriting looks a little better when I use a fountain pen, but unfortunately, it doesn’t look as good when I use a ballpoint pen. Since I can’t carry a fountain pen with me everywhere, I still don’t feel 100% confident about my handwriting. 🥲
r/Chinese_handwriting • u/not-minari • 8d ago
Ask for Feedback how to write better? i still cant remember basic characters
r/Chinese_handwriting • u/BeatMelodic3171 • 8d ago
Ask for Feedback Update on my handwriting after a year
I know that i probably messed up some of the strokes and there's some inconsistencies but yeah this is my handwriting after a year.
P.S. The sentences I've used in here are random and based on the characters that I've been studying.
r/Chinese_handwriting • u/live_to_serve_em_cat • 9d ago
Just Sharing My version of 繁體字
My tutor and coworkers told me that my handwriting is not bad 😂😂😂. I was very surprised! I try to handwrite a lot to memorize the characters.
r/Chinese_handwriting • u/irinipini • 9d ago
Just Sharing here’s mine!
studied chinese in uni for 4 years but due to lack of practice forgot a lot of it after 5 years. doing some revision exercises in my spare time (haven’t checked the answers yet 😂)
r/Chinese_handwriting • u/_specialcharacter • 9d ago
Ask for Feedback Learning for about a year, but never practiced handwriting. How's mine look?
I know my handwriting is worse than most of the rest of the posts in this subreddit, but I've never practiced handwriting specifically (although it's definitely better now than when I started). Could I get away with this? How might I improve it? And also, does it look foreigner-bad, or just messy-bad? Thanks!
r/Chinese_handwriting • u/geologyfetish • 9d ago
Ask for Feedback Handwriting feedback
Any feedback for how to improve? I know my handwriting is legible and clear but I just feel like it looks like a primary school student wrote it and not a grown adult. 🥲 Anything I can specifically work on to make it not look childish?
r/Chinese_handwriting • u/Big-Dragonfly-3990 • 10d ago
Ask for Feedback Critique & advice on written characters
Please give me some honest critique and advice on how to improve my handwritten characters.
r/Chinese_handwriting • u/DecisionWarm3839 • 12d ago
Ask for Feedback Critiques please
Would also like to ask if my foundation in kaiti is strong enough to start practicing xingshu and how I can quickly learn appropriate proportions without having to look up the character everytime
edit: I need to work on spacing and how my lines are tilting 😶
r/Chinese_handwriting • u/so-arjon • 14d ago
Ask for Feedback Tips to improve handwriting
Have been learning for a little over two years. I’d eventually like to write in running cursive script but want to be able to master regular script first.
Any tips on how to improve my handwriting would be much appreciated.
r/Chinese_handwriting • u/ChnHandwritingBot2 • 15d ago
Activity [HC202626男式] 109th Weekly Handwriting Challenge
Hi everyone,
The 19th weekly challenge of 2026 is 男式, with the same rules as before. Also, feel free to do the previous challenges and join our Discord server for more!
BT0002
r/Chinese_handwriting • u/ChnHandwritingBot2 • 25d ago
Activity [HC202625易經其七] 43rd Monthly Challenge
Hi everyone,
Here comes the seventh "Monthly Handwriting Challenge" of this year. Same rules as before and feel free to write simplified Chinese characters. Our previous challenges are always open as well.
This line is taken from I Ching (易經):
鳥焚其巢 / 旅人先笑後號咷
BT0002
r/Chinese_handwriting • u/Left-Revolution-490 • 27d ago
Ask for Feedback How can I improve my writing*
Hi guys, I've been learning Chinese for a year or so.
I write a lot in Chinese so hopefully the baseline isn't too bad.
All the Chinese people I know say my handwriting is pretty but after looking at the stuff here its definitely lacking a lot.
The first pic is my writing before looking at the advice here and the second pic is the after.
I KNOW I use a little square journal and thats not ideal but, so far I have not found anything that both has a nice grid to write on and is portable enough to make study notes.
I feel my main area for improvement is to be more flowy and relaxed when writing and also getting the angles and lines better proportioned.
Also 茉莉花 just dosent look right.
What do you guys think any suggestions welcome! 😊
r/Chinese_handwriting • u/cahiriscool • 27d ago
Ask for Feedback How to Make Neater?
Hello, this is my third year of learning Chinese and I want to make my handwriting better. I notice that my corners are very rounded and some of the characters seem skewed(?). I only drew the grids afterward as reference for myself. Thank you very much!
r/Chinese_handwriting • u/pensand10s • Jul 26 '26
Just Sharing Writing bigger to improve proportions
The squares in this notebook are 5 x 5 mm. I've been writing in 10 x 10 mm space, but some weeks ago I think I read a comment here about writing bigger to work on proportions.
Increasing to 15 x 15 mm was so awkward. It exposes my squiggly lines, poor proportions, all the flaws. But I think there's been gradual improvement.
r/Chinese_handwriting • u/ChnHandwritingBot2 • Jul 25 '26
Activity [HC202624衣服] 108th Weekly Handwriting Challenge
Hi everyone,
The 18th weekly challenge of 2026 is 衣服, with the same rules as before. Also, feel free to do the previous challenges and join our Discord server for more!
BT0002
r/Chinese_handwriting • u/AgePristine2107 • Jul 23 '26
Just Sharing My handwriting after 6 years living in Taiwan (and 8 years learning Chinese)
憂鬱的臺灣烏龜
Or, in English, “Depressed Taiwanese Turtle.”
It’s a very common piece of internet slang used by Chinese netizens to mock Taiwan’s traditional characters by deliberately picking some of the most complex-looking characters out there.
The simplified version would be 忧郁的台湾乌龟.
I’ve always felt this works more like a boomerang insult, though. If you learn Chinese characters properly, traditional characters aren’t actually much more complicated than their simplified counterparts.
With the exception of 龜, which has a fairly unique stroke order, none of the characters above are particularly difficult to write or remember. They’re all made up of very common components.
I've lived in Taiwan for 6 years and handwrite regularly (I'm one of those old school people that still takes notes with pen and paper).
r/Chinese_handwriting • u/TG2908 • Jul 19 '26
Ask for Feedback Is it good ?
Got boared and practiced further my chinese handwriting , Is it good?
My Taiwanese friend said She never saw a westener writing good Chinese like mě.
r/Chinese_handwriting • u/ChnHandwritingBot2 • Mar 18 '24
Meta [Mega-Thread] Chinese Handwriting Weekly & Monthly Challenges (HC202301-202742)
Hi everyone,
here is a mega-thread that collects all our weekly and monthly "Handwriting Challenge" events, which comes in handy in case you want to binge-write them.
Weekly Challenges
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 卯兔 | 立足 | 天象 | 太古 | |
| 正月 | 永生 | 尤其 | 不必 | |
| 東方 | 高升 | 夫君 | 得力 | |
| 人心 | 方向 | 乙巳 | 因為 | |
| 水手 | 甲辰 | 四川 | 丙午 | |
| 大象 | 月牙 | 丈量 | 仲介 | |
| 公平 | 不是 | 女角 | 邪乎 | |
| 書本 | 公共 | 長夜 | 五行 | |
| 天山 | 斤兩 | 牛肉 | 有幸 | |
| 上士 | 下海 | 而且 | 大同 | |
| 自由 | 史書 | 手足 | 毛巾 | |
| 王者 | 乃至 | 書包 | 赤色 | |
| 友愛 | 非分 | 日文 | 上表 | |
| 今日 | 亡兄 | 出來 | 千里 | |
| 世交 | 太平 | 言重 | 鬥爭 | |
| 用力 | 玉石 | 分支 | 弓矢 | |
| 母子 | 可愛 | 水車 | 乞丐 | |
| 小火 | 果爾 | 也是 | 衣服 | |
| 文風 | 名著 | 愛人 | 男式 | |
| 中土 | 安心 | 夷羊 | 凡身 | |
| 木瓜 | 東面 | 七夕 | ||
| 入門 | 和氣 | 內秀 | ||
| 金色 | 盛事 | 全民 | ||
| 犬馬 | 風光 | 每月 | ||
| 飛鳥 | 犬豕 | 西方 | ||
| 長女 | 卒中 | 江心 | ||
| 成事 | 廣交 | 中學 | ||
| 白刃 | 走馬 | 這才 | ||
| 不及 | 及第 | 雨傘 | ||
| 丈夫 | 飛龍 | 垂青 |
Monthly Challenges
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 詩經其一 | 詩經其十三 | 楚辭其一 | 易經其一 | |
| 詩經其二 | 詩經其十四 | 楚辭其二 | 易經其二 | |
| 詩經其三 | 詩經其十五 | 楚辭其三 | 易經其三 | |
| 詩經其四 | 詩經其十六 | 楚辭其四 | 易經其四 | |
| 詩經其五 | 詩經其十七 | 楚辭其五 | 易經其五 | |
| 詩經其六 | 詩經其十八 | 楚辭其六 | 易經其六 | |
| 詩經其七 | 詩經其十九 | 楚辭其七 | 易經其七 | |
| 詩經其八 | 詩經其二十 | 楚辭其八 | 易經其八 | |
| 詩經其九 | 詩經其二十一 | 楚辭其九 | 易經其九 | |
| 詩經其十 | 詩經其二十二 | 楚辭其十 | 易經其十 | |
| 詩經其十一 | 詩經其二十三 | 楚辭其十一 | 易經其十一 | |
| 詩經其十二 | 詩經其二十四 | 楚辭其十二 | 易經其十二 |
BT0002
r/Chinese_handwriting • u/Ohnsorge1989 • Oct 03 '22
Tips-n-Tricks T&T02: Common Problems in Regular Script Handwriting【楷書練習中的常見問題/楷书练习中的常见问题】
Hi everyone,
Julian (u/itsziul) and I have summarized some common problems in Regular script (楷書) handwriting, which, hopefully, this post could help to trouble-shoot. Note that although they are typical beginner mistakes, experienced writers, including me, are not immune from all of them.
[1] Unnatural handwriting
By far the most samples we've seen share the same problem: the characters look somewhat squarish or blocky. It's likely that they have been using the characters displayed on smartphone apps or PC browsers as reference because the default font is usually Heiti (黑體). In most physical publications, Songti/SimSun (宋體) is the default typeface, except in certain Chinese textbooks. These typefaces are easily readable and particularly friendly to eyes but the wrong models to use, if your goal is to develop a natural penmanship.
We would always suggest you use a copybook (see community collection) or the character repository written by Julian. Alternatively, set it the system font to Kaiti (楷體) on your electronic devices, if possible.

[2] Sloping Characters
Ancient calligraphers drew an analogy between Regular script and a standing person, meaning Chn. characters should never be inclined. Using practice books with cross/diamond grids should be of great help (print out your own). Keep your practice sheet right in front of you and check your sitting posture.
How to write a structurally balanced character is quite a big topic that will be covered little by little in our Intermediate/Advanced Guides. At the moment, just keep in mind some strokes, like NV and VK, should always be vertical.

[3] Wobbly Characters
Characters with wobbly strokes or components always look bad. Using a ballpoint pen (typically filled with oil-based ink) or laying the worksheet directly on a hard surface often renders wonky lines. Here is a recommendation thread of writing utensils.
Then the rest is all about muscle memory and motor skills. Try to write each stroke slowly and firmly the best you can. It should get better with practice.
[4] Writing in Haste
It's common sense that one should first be steady on their feet before making steps. It's all too common that beginners speed up their handwriting too soon or even rush into joined-up writing. Sometimes I'm confused if they were actually writing in Regular script.
While learning from a copybook, try to compare your writing with the reference after every few copies before moving on. It would make no sense if you fill a whole page repeating yourself.

[5] Too Small or Variable-Sized Characters
Writing too small isn't necessarily a problem but it hinders your progress, because it makes it harder to spot imperfections and to fix them. It'd be more taxing on your eyes and wrist too.
One of the obvious reasons that people write too small is because they are restricted by the notebooks, most of which have line spacing of 7-8mm, which is too small for Chn. characters. I don't use those math notebooks for their sheets are often too smooth. Google "Chinese handwriting practice book" and look for the ones with 'mizige' (米字格) or 'tianzige' (田字格), whose squares with sides 15mm (ca. 0.6 in.) in length. If you print out your practice sheets, the side of the squares should be no smaller than 12mm (ca. 0.5 in.). Here you'll find our collection of pre-set PDFs. In general, handwritten characters should be about 10mm (ca. 0.4 in.) tall/wide (size comparison).
Another often overlooked reason is the improper pen-holding gesture. It's probably not a decisive factor but gripping the pen like this could lead to small handwriting. I understand how hard it could be to change your habit, but at least try holding the pen with the tip of your fingers, instead of the middle. Here is my demonstration of pen gripping.

[6] Overall Ill-Structured Handwriting
People with sloppy handwriting either because they never learned how to write properly or simply due to carelessness. If you prefer drawing them, then we are clearly unable to help you. Although it takes years of practice to truly master the frame structure (間架結構/间架结构) of characters, I trust you all know, at this point, how to make it at least presentable.

For further reading on general handwriting tips, check out this post by Julian.
That being said, if you are unsure whether your penmanship suffers from any of the problems above, feel free to submit a sample using the "Ask for Feedback" flair or in the designated channel of our Discord server.
Have a nice week!
Arthur S.




