笔画 筆畫
bǐhuàㄅㄧˇ ㄏㄨㄚˋ
stroke, literally “brush line”
The atomic movement of a character: one press of the pen, one stroke. All Chinese writing is built from about 30 stroke shapes; 永 contains every basic type.
横 橫
héngㄏㄥˊ
the horizontal stroke, literally “horizontal”
Written left to right, often with a slight rise. In 三 the three 横 differ subtly: long-short-medium; in 王 the last is longest.
竖 豎
shùㄕㄨˋ
the vertical stroke, literally “vertical”
Straight down, can carry a hook (竖钩) or a hang-tail (悬针竖 as in 中) versus dewdrop (垂露竖).
撇
piěㄆㄧㄝ
the left-falling stroke, literally “throw away”
Sweeps leftward and thins out. Length and angle vary: short flat (千 top), long curved (人), upright (月 left).
捺
nàㄋㄚˋ
the right-falling stroke, literally “press down”
Presses rightward with a widening 'foot' then lifts. The counterpart of 撇: 人 has both and they must balance.
点 點
diǎnㄉㄧㄢˇ
the dot, literally “dot”
A short press that reads as a period or a speck. Position matters: top (六), left (心), right (犬 vs 大, which turns 大 into 犬).
提
tíㄊㄧˊ
the rising stroke, literally “lift up”
A quick upward-right flick, also called 挑. Found in 打, 江 and the bottom-left of 马; essentially a 横 that ends rising.
钩 鉤
gōuㄍㄡ
the hook, literally “hook”
A small backward flick ending another stroke: 竖钩 (小), 弯钩 (了), 斜钩 (我), 卧钩 (心). Hooks change direction, not identity.
折
zhéㄓㄜˊ
the turn, literally “bend”
A direction change inside one stroke: 横折 (口), 竖折 (山), 撇折 (女). Counted as one stroke even though it corners.
弯 彎
wānㄨㄢ
the curve, literally “bend”
A soft continuous bend without the hard corner of 折: 竖弯 (四's 儿), 横弯 (九). The difference between corner and curve is what separates 力 from 刀.
永字八法
yǒngzì bāfǎㄩㄥˇ ㄗˋ ㄅㄚ ㄈㄚˇ
the eight principles of Yong, literally “Yong-character eight methods”
The character 永 (yǒng, 'eternal') contains all eight basic stroke types — dot, horizontal, vertical, hook, rising, left-falling, short-falling, right-falling. Students have practiced it for a thousand years.
先横后竖 先橫後豎
xiān héng hòu shùㄒㄧㄢ ㄏㄥˊ ㄏㄡˋ ㄕㄨˋ
horizontal before vertical, literally “first horizontal, then vertical”
Stroke-order rule: in crosses, draw the 横 first. 十 = 横 then 竖; 干, 王, 土 all follow the same top-to-bottom habit.
先撇后捺 先撇後捺
xiān piě hòu nàㄒㄧㄢ ㄆㄧㄝ ㄏㄡˋ ㄋㄚˋ
left-falling before right-falling, literally “first pie, then na”
Stroke-order rule: sweep left before pressing right. 人, 八, 入, 木 all obey it; the left stroke sets up the balance for the right.
从上到下 從上到下
cóng shàng dào xiàㄘㄨㄥˊ ㄕㄤˋ ㄉㄠˋ ㄒㄧㄚˋ
top to bottom, literally “from top to bottom”
Stroke-order rule: upper parts before lower parts. 三, 言, 竟 all write top-down, which is how the hand naturally moves on the page.