{"id":6623,"date":"2015-12-26T12:47:33","date_gmt":"2015-12-26T12:47:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/?p=6623"},"modified":"2020-08-01T04:50:27","modified_gmt":"2020-08-01T04:50:27","slug":"the-best-resources-to-improve-your-chinese-handwriting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/the-best-resources-to-improve-your-chinese-handwriting.html","title":{"rendered":"The Best Resources to Improve your Chinese Handwriting"},"content":{"rendered":"

Writing anything down helps us to remember it better. A quick web search will yield a plethora of websites, software and mobile applications that all promise to significantly improve your Chinese handwriting skills. With all the options out there, it can be confusing to find those that are the most effective \u2013 that\u2019s where this article comes in!<\/p>\n

Websites<\/strong><\/p>\n

The most well-known resource to improve one\u2019s Chinese handwriting is Skritter<\/a>. The website itself, as well as its companion iOS and Android apps, is a very enjoyable and effective way of learning. Skritter is fun and engaging (if not downright addicting!). Its repetition-based system is very well scheduled. If you\u2019ve failed to write a particular character more often than another, it will be shown again at an increased rate. Similarly, a character which has been written multiple times without mistakes will be shown at a greatly reduced frequency.<\/p>\n

Skritter\u2019s handwriting recognition system checks whether your stroke order is correct or not, and if you are lost, a quick tap on the screen will show you a hint as to the next step.<\/p>\n

Another tool that allows you to boost your writing skills is Arch Chinese Handwriting Practice<\/a>. It uses handwriting recognition technology to provide instant feedback about the stroke order and form of various components of Chinese characters.<\/p>\n

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Unfortunately, one must pay to get the most of both resources. If you are a cash-strapped learner, consider the free Chinese Time School\u2019s Writing Tool<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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Unlike the Skritter app, though, Chinese Time School\u2019s tool doesn\u2019t provide any feedback. Furthermore, Skritter\u2019s vocabulary lists include thousands of items, while this website has only 500 basic Chinese characters. However, it is better than nothing, especially for beginners.<\/p>\n

Apps<\/strong><\/p>\n

On the iOS App Store and Google Play, more free alternatives may be found. The HelloChinese<\/a> mobile app, for example, contains a long list of characters in order to practice handwriting and learn Chinese quickly. It\u2019s hand-picked vocabulary is vast, but unfortunately not customizable. Additionally, advanced learners may find the hints about the correct stroke order a little bit annoying. However, the app is completely free!<\/p>\n

If you need more flexibility, try out the Pleco<\/a> app. It\u2019s primarily a dictionary, but it comes with a built-in handwriting recognition technology. Pleco lets you write characters by yourself, which is useful for learning new characters, but is tolerant of stroke order mistakes, so you won\u2019t get any feedback about your accuracy.<\/p>\n

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TrainChinese\u2019s Chinese Writer<\/a> is styled more similar to a game. Characters fall from the top of the screen, and you have to draw them correctly to don’t let them reach the bottom. This is really fun!<\/p>\n

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All the apps and websites mentioned above are strong alternatives to writing on paper. They are particularly helpful when you need:<\/p>\n