Free Printable Chinese Writing Paper

Which writing paper should I use?

Every design comes in the same three sizes, so pick the size first, then the grid.

• 20 mm, kids and beginners: room to get each stroke in the right place.
• 15 mm, everyday practice: also a good size for hard pen calligraphy, 硬笔 (yìng bǐ, "hard pen").
• 10 mm, dictation, sentences and compositions: for writers whose strokes are already steady.

Then the grid: tian zi ge for most practice, mi zi ge when diagonal strokes or balance are the problem, and the pinyin version when you want to write the pinyin above each character.

Tian zi ge vs mi zi ge

The difference is two lines. Tian zi ge divides each square into four quarters with one horizontal and one vertical dashed line, so it looks like 田 (tián, field). Mi zi ge adds both diagonals, and the lines meeting in the center look like 米 (mǐ, rice).

Tian zi ge is enough for most practice. The center lines show you where the middle of the character is and where left and right or top and bottom parts meet. Mi zi ge helps when diagonal strokes are the problem, as in 人 (rén, person) or 文 (wén, writing), and when you want to check a character's balance. That's why calligraphy practice often uses it.

How to use tian zi ge paper

Write each character centered in its square. Let it fill most of the square, with a small margin at the edges, so every character in a row comes out the same size.

The dashed lines are there to place strokes. In 十 (shí, ten), the horizontal stroke runs along the horizontal line and the vertical stroke along the vertical one. In 你 (nǐ, you), the left part 亻 (rén, the "person" radical) is narrow and stays left of the vertical line, while the right part takes the larger share of the square.

Before you write, look at where a model character's strokes cross the center lines, then copy those positions. Write the character along a whole row and compare the last one with the first.

Writing pinyin above the characters

The pinyin sheets put a four-line strip above every row of squares, like the lines children use to learn English handwriting. The four lines make three spaces. Letters like a, o and e fill the middle space, letters with ascenders such as b, d and h reach into the top space, and g, p and y drop into the bottom one. Tone marks go above the vowel.

Write the pinyin for each character directly above its square, so sound and character stay lined up. If you're not sure of a spelling or a tone, check it on our pinyin chart.

Printing tips

Download the version that matches your paper. US Letter is standard in the US and Canada; A4 is standard in most other countries. The squares are the same size in both, and on some sheets A4 fits one or two more rows because the page is taller.

In the print dialog, choose 100% or "Actual size". If the printer is set to "Fit to page", it shrinks the page slightly and the squares come out a little smaller than stated. The PDFs are vector files, so the lines print crisp on any printer. The guide lines are soft red, and in black and white they print as light gray.

Using the paper in GoodNotes, or as a notebook

The PDFs work in GoodNotes, Notability and other PDF note apps. Import the PDF as a template or notebook page, then duplicate the page whenever you need a fresh sheet. With a stylus you get the same grid as on paper, without running out of copies.

For a paper notebook, print a stack of sheets double-sided and staple or bind them along the edge. That gives you a tian zi ge notebook like the exercise books Chinese students use, in whichever square size you need.

Need a worksheet for specific characters?

This paper is blank on purpose. If you want sheets for particular characters, with stroke order, tracing and model characters, use our free Character Worksheet Generator. It has the same design as these sheets, with the Hanzi Express logo, a Name and Date line and the same soft red guide lines, so the pages match. If you're deciding which characters to learn, the HSK 3.0 character lists are a good place to start.

Frequently asked questions