4 Ways To Learn How To Write In Mandarin Chinese Easier

Looking at any Chinese character, you might think, “How can I write that?”

Chinese characters, or Hanzi, have many strokes compared to the English letters, and their complexity may lead Chinese learners to believe it’s impossible to learn and write Chinese. But it is possible to write in Mandarin! Many have done it, and so will you.

But first, here is one of the most common questions that many people encounter.  

Is Mandarin the same as Chinese? 

While you see these two terms together and used interchangeably, they are not the same! Mandarin is a subset of Chinese and is often considered a dialect of Chinese. You can think of Chinese as an umbrella term with Mandarin, Cantonese, Shangainese, etc acts as its branches.

Mandarin uses simplified Chinese characters, but these tips also apply to traditional Chinese characters as well.

Top 4 tips to learn to write in Mandarin Chinese with ease

Now that you’ve decided to learn  Mandarin Chinese, let’s look at simple and strategies to write in Mandarin.

1. Learn Pinyin as soon as possible

What is Pinyin? Pinyin is the official romanized version of written Mandarin Chinese. For example, hànyǔ is the Pinyin for the Chinese word 汉语, meaning the Chinese language. 

Learning Pinyin in the early stages of your Chinese studies is incredibly important for beginners. It can help you read, write, speak, and understand Hanzi quicker and easier.  With Pinyin, you’ll be able to pronounce any Chinese word in the dictionary.

Pinyin is also the most common way to type in Chinese on electronic devices such as phones, tablets, and computers. Simply type in Pinyin, and your phone will suggest or autofill Chinese characters for you. 

Additionally, Pinyin is not just for foreign learners as elementary school children learn them, too! Which means native speakers also understand Pinyin. So if you ever find yourself unable to convey your message in Chinese characters, Pinyin could save the day! 

2. Start with basic radicals first!

As you know, Mandarin Chinese doesn’t have an alphabet. Instead, Chinese relies on the use of more than 50,000 characters (some people put the total at over 100,000!) to create words. The best way to do it: start with basic Chinese radicals.

Every character contains a radical, which can give you a pretty good idea of the character/word’s meaning and sound. Think of it as a prefix or suffix in English. If a word starts with “re-”, it likely means ‘again’; such as ‘replay,’ ‘regain,’ or ‘repeat,’. Chinese dictionaries use radicals to list and categorize characters. 

Learning the 214 Chinese radicals are the building blocks for learning Chinese words and complex vocabulary. To help you out, try Pandanese!

Pandanese is a Chinese learning website that combines mnemonics and Spaced Repetition System for you to effectively learn and memorize Chinese Hanzi. Starting with radicals and slowly building up to common Chinese characters and complex vocabulary, you will naturally build up your Chinese comprehension.

3. Learn Chinese characters’ stroke order

Stroke order is the standard set of rules for how to write any Chinese character. When you start writing basic characters with only a few strokes, you may think your way is better and quicker than following the correct stroke order. 

The characters look the same either way, right? But don’t be mistaken! When you learn more complex characters, which can have up to 20-30 strokes, stroke order helps you position the strokes better, making your writing look neater. 

Knowing how to write these characters is also a common method to memorize and recognize hanzi in real life.

4. Use practice grid paper

To write in Chinese Characters neatly, try using the square gridded paper when practicing. 

There are two versions of these square paper grid sheets, Tian Zi Ge and Mi Zi Ge. These sheets have lines of squares; each square is divided into 4 smaller squares all you to practice each character's proportions and spacing more precisely.    

Chinese writing practice sheet | Chinese Forum.

Regardless of which one you choose, writing Chinese characters with these practice sheets will not only help you memorize Chinese characters, but it will also make your Hanzi look nice.

Final thoughts

Learning how to write in Mandarin can be challenging. But with these 4 tips, you’ll see yourself writing Hanzi without trouble. Keep increasing your Chinese vocabulary and Mandarin writing skills to the point where you can write whole sentences and maybe even a novel.