If you live in Anki and want to practise writing characters on proper grid paper, you can absolutely bend Anki to do it. The question worth asking is whether the bending is worth it, or whether a tool built for writing saves you the trouble.

How to put 米字格 in Anki

Anki cards are HTML and CSS under the hood, which means you can style them heavily:

  • Custom card templates. Add a styled div behind your writing area with the cross and diagonal lines of a 米字格, or the simpler cross of a 田字格, using CSS (borders, gradients, or a background image of grid paper).
  • Background images. Drop a grid image into your card’s media and position it behind the answer field.
  • Community add-ons. Various add-ons add handwriting or stroke-related features, and shared note types for Chinese sometimes include grid styling you can copy.

It is real, and for a determined tinkerer it works. If you want printable versions to go with it, see Chinese grid paper templates.

The catch nobody mentions

A grid background does not change what Anki fundamentally does: show you a prompt and ask whether you knew it. Unless you force yourself to actually write the character from memory before flipping the card, you have added a pretty background to a recognition exercise. The grid helps your proportions only if you are writing, and Anki will happily let you skip that step.

So the setup only pays off with discipline you supply yourself: write first, every time, then reveal. That is the recognition-versus-recall gap we cover in the case for a dedicated Hanzi writing app, and it does not vanish just because the card looks like grid paper.

The simpler option

A purpose-built writing tool gives you both halves without configuration:

  • The grid is built in, so proportions are guided from the start.
  • The recall test is enforced, because the character is hidden and you must produce it before checking. No self-discipline required to avoid peeking, because there is nothing to peek at.
  • Scheduling is handled, so the forgetting curve works for you, the same as Anki, but aimed at writing.

You lose Anki’s infinite configurability and gain a tool that does this one job without setup.

Where Hanzi Write Practice fits

Hanzi Write Practice is that simpler option for writing specifically. You draw each character from memory on a built-in practice grid, check stroke order, pinyin, and meaning, and spaced repetition returns what you miss, no template editing, no add-ons, no risk of accidentally training recognition.

If you love configuring Anki, the 米字格 route is genuinely doable and worth it for you. If you would rather just write, skip the setup.

Join early access and get the grid and the recall test in one.