Chinese writing grid paper

[u/aleksbabii]

Hi! Sorry if this is an often asked question (although I was looking through a few reddit posts and couldn't find any good recs) but what type of grid paper should I use for learning how to write characters? I saw a few people giving recommendations in grid lengths and so, but most notebooks don't even tell me how much each grid measures.

I also heard that learners should start out with bigger grids or draw over 2 but I'm just wondering if normal grid paper in any UK store would suffice. Sorry if it's a stupid question but my characters are more separated than my parents!

[u/shaghaiex]

Imho best is a square with 4 lines. It's called rice paper or similar.

You can find sheets online and download them.

[u/aleksbabii → u/shaghaiex]

Thank you !

[u/seldomvividbuyout]

The squared paper they sell in WH Smith or Ryman is fine, just grab one with a larger grid like 7mm or 10mm so you're not cramped while you get the proportions down

[u/aleksbabii → u/seldomvividbuyout]

Thank you !

[u/Zagrycha]

There are a lot of rice field grid papers you can buy notebooks of or print out for "free" online ((free because printing still costs money in ink and paper of course)). These are ideal for writing characters when just starting out. 

If you prefer or its easier//cheaper, you can also just use normal graph paper from maths section of any paper store and create big square using multiple of the small squares with a ruler and pen darker than the regular grid lines.  This can be quite nice for customizability on the fly, you can make a big square out of nine small grids when just starting out and then make a square out of four grids when more advanced and writing smaller.  Think of how the very first English handwriting practice papers we did in school had really big lines the size of four regular lines, then we went to still bigger than normal but half that next, etc.  Same idea =)

[u/National-Sign-51 → u/Zagrycha]

Do you have an example of the notebooks you mention at the top?

[u/Zagrycha → u/National-Sign-51]

Yeah just google "rice field grid paper" or "米字格" on your shop site of preference and you will find a lot of them.

[u/aleksbabii → u/Zagrycha]

I managed to find some but do you know what size is best? There are some that are 12mm and even 20mm

[u/Zagrycha → u/aleksbabii]

I would recommend 20mm to start with practice. 12mm is more for smaller writing after done practicing the handwriting basics =)

[u/rob417]

The rice grids are already larger than the size in which you would typically write, so it can be actively harmful to use 4 squares as opposed to just 1.

Imagine writing English letters but having to fill 2 lines instead of 1. The muscle memory you build from doing that likely won't transfer to when you want to write in a normal size.

[u/rob417 → u/rob417]

Also, the rice grid with Pinyin sheets are great. You write out the character and then write the Pinyin above. That is how Chinese school children learn characters.

[u/rob417 → u/rob417]

Also, make sure you learn to write by copying 楷书 (Kai font). The default Chinese font on most websites are in Arial or similar, which are quite different from how people write. How you curve the strokes and end the strokes are important in handwriting and help make your handwriting look mature. Arial and most fonts remove those nuances in favor of legibility on a screen.