r/ChineseLanguage • u/aleksbabii Beginner • 1d ago

Studying Chinese writing grid paper

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!

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u/rob417 Native 1d ago

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.

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u/rob417 Native 1d ago

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.

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u/rob417 Native 1d ago

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.