Articles tagged with ‘Handwriting’
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A minimum-effort approach to writing Chinese characters by hand
Chinese characters are beautiful and fascinating, but learning to write them by hand is time-consuming. If you want to learn to write Chinese characters by hand with the least possible time investment, what’s the best approach?
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How to talk about Chinese characters in Chinese
How do native speakers talk about Chinese characters? The writing system is not phonetic, so you can’t spell out words, but it is still possible to talk about Chinese characters.
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7 ways to learn to write Chinese characters
There are many ways of practising writing Chinese characters and they all have their pros and cons. In this article, I discuss seven different ways of practising and what advantages and disadvantages they have for you as a learner. Which do you use?
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16 reasons to learn to write Chinese characters by hand
Does handwriting still have a place in modern Chinese learning? Let’s explore 8 popular arguments in favour of writing characters by hand, each critically examined to see which ones truly stand up to scrutiny.
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Student Q&A: April, 2025: Reading with Pinyin, Chinese texts on your phone, and deciphering handwriting
Should you read Chinese with or without Pinyin? What are the pros and cons of reading on your phone? And how do you learn to read Chinese people’s handwriting?
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Three things I wish I had known as an intermediate student of Chinese: The time machine, part 2
Traversing the intermediate Chinese learning plateau requires a shift in focus. Here are three pieces of advice for intermediate students of Mandarin.
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Student Q&A, February 2024: Typing or handwriting, using new words in texts, and how to use AI to improve your writing
Is it better to practise writing Chinese on a computer or by hand? How do you find the right words when writing? And how can you leverage AI to improve your writing ability?
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Student Q&A, October 2023: Expanding vocabulary quickly, learning by watching videos and nailing dictation tests
How do you build a broad vocabulary in Chinese quickly? How do you best use video-sharing platforms to boost your learning? And how should you study to nail all your 听写 or dictation?
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Skritter review: Boosting your Chinese character learning
Skritter is a modern tool for learning ancient characters. It combines research-based methods such as active recall and spaced repetition with great Chinese-specific tools and content. While it’s not a free resource, it has enough edges over more generic, free services to be worth it in my opinion.
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How to learn Chinese characters as a beginner
Whole books have been written about how the Chinese writing system works, and understanding how Chinese characters really work is a lifelong project, but what do you do as a beginner when asked to memorise a list of characters and words? Here are eight easy-to-follow strategies!
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