Stroke number

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Stroke number is the count of strokes in a Chinese character. It can also mean the number of different stroke types in a writing system. Knowing the stroke number helps with sorting characters, teaching, and computer processing.

Quick examples
- 1 stroke: 丶, 一, 乙
- 36 strokes: 齉
- 48 strokes: 龘
- The most-stroked character in Unicode Basic CJK is 48 strokes. A famous ultra-high example (not standard) has even more strokes, such as a 172-stroke character reporters sometimes cite online.

Counting tips
- Count from the standard regular form of the character (usually Kai script) and follow the usual stroke order, imagining writing the character stroke by stroke.
- A stroke should be written in one smooth path; do not lift the pen between parts of the same stroke.
- Horizontal strokes (heng) go left to right; vertical strokes (shu), diagonals (pie), dots (dian), and curved strokes (na) follow top to bottom rules.
- If you need a reference, use an official list of stroke forms and stroke orders.
- When two strokes touch at endpoints, decide if they form one stroke or two. A single stroke is usually allowed only if the tail of the first stroke connects to the head of the second.

Differences and tricky counts
- Mainland China and Taiwan sometimes count the same character differently. For example:
- 之: Mainland 3 strokes, Taiwan 4
- 阝: Mainland 2, Taiwan 3
- Some characters are easy to miscount, such as 凹, 凸, and 鼎.

A look at typical datasets
- Taiwan’s Chart of Standard Forms (4,808 characters): strokes range 1–32; the 11-stroke group is the largest (about 9.3%); average about 12.19 strokes per character.
- Mainland PRC’s 3,500 commonly used characters: strokes range 1–24; the 9-stroke group is the largest (about 11.9%); average about 9.74.
- Mainland’s 7,000 commonly used characters (includes the 3,500): strokes range 1–36; the 9-stroke group is the largest (about 11.2%); average about 10.75.
- Cihai (辞海, 1979) data: 1–36 strokes; the 12-stroke group is the largest (about 9.5%); average about 12.71.
- Unicode Basic CJK: 1–48 strokes; the 12-stroke group is the largest (about 9.36%); average about 12.85.

What “stroke number” can mean
- It can mean the count of strokes in a character or the number of different stroke types used.
- There is no single universal standard for how many stroke types exist. In teaching and reference books, fewer categories are common; in calligraphy and design, more categories are used.

Common classification systems
- Mainland China generally uses five categories in stroke order: heng (horizontal), shu (vertical), pie (left-falling), dian (dot), zhe (fold).
- Hong Kong, Taiwan, and others sometimes follow dian-heng-shu-pie-zhe.
- The “Eight Principles of Yong” is a traditional way to classify strokes around eight basic forms, using the character 永 as a reference.
- Unicode and other systems list many stroke types; some lists (like the YES Stroke Alphabet) describe around 30–37 basic stroke forms.

If you want to learn more, look up official stroke orders and reference charts for Chinese characters, which explain how strokes are written and counted in detail.