Playbooks
A GoodNotes That Auto-Corrects Hanzi Structure?
A note app like GoodNotes captures your writing but can't correct character structure. Here is why that needs a character-aware tool, not a notetaker.
Lawrence Arya··5 min
Playbooks
Hack Chinese Doesn't Test Handwriting: an Alternative
Hack Chinese is a strong vocabulary SRS, but it tests recognition, not handwriting. Here is why that gap exists and what to pair with it to actually write.
Lawrence Arya··5 min
Essays
HackChinese Lacks Writing Practice: How to Fill the Gap
HackChinese is a strong spaced-repetition vocabulary app, but it tests recognition, not handwriting. For writing, pair it with a from-memory, stroke-grading tool rather than replacing it.
Lawrence Arya··5 min
Essays
A No-Pinyin Writing App for Cantonese Heritage Speakers
Heritage Cantonese speakers can speak but often cannot write. You already know the sounds, so pinyin is just noise. Here is how to focus purely on the characters.
Lawrence Arya··5 min
Playbooks
A Browser-Only, Offline Hanzi Writing Space (WASM)
A pure-browser Hanzi writing space using WebAssembly and local storage is private, offline, and install-free. Here is why that architecture fits.
Lawrence Arya··5 min
Essays
Haptic Feedback for Wrong Strokes: a Good Idea?
A buzz when you draw a stroke wrong sounds helpful, but immediate haptic correction has trade-offs for learning. Here is the honest case for and against.
Lawrence Arya··5 min
Essays
Closing a Generational Literacy Gap by Writing Family Names
Want to reconnect with heritage by learning to write your family's names and relations in Chinese? It is a meaningful, achievable goal. Here is a gentle path.
Lawrence Arya··5 min
Playbooks
HelloChinese Is Great, But Where Is the Writing?
HelloChinese is one of the best apps for beginners, yet manual writing practice is thin. Here is how to keep it and add the from-memory writing drills it lacks.
Lawrence Arya··5 min
Playbooks
Forgot How to Handwrite Lunchbox Notes? A Fast Fix
You read Chinese fine but freeze writing a lunchbox note. The fast fix: drill a tiny set of short, warm phrases from memory, plus your kid's name, until your hand has them cold.
Lawrence Arya··5 min
Playbooks
Writing Hospital and Triage Terms in Chinese
Expats sometimes need to write medical and triage terms in Chinese by hand on forms. Here is the bounded vocabulary to drill and how to make it reliable.
Lawrence Arya··5 min
Playbooks
Registering at a Chinese Hospital: Filling the Form by Hand
The hospital registration desk, guahao, needs your details written by hand, often in a hurry while unwell. Learn that small fixed set from memory so the form is one less thing to worry about.
Lawrence Arya··5 min
Essays
One-Handed Hanzi Practice for Waiting Rooms and Commutes
Dead time in a waiting room is ideal for writing practice, if the app works one-handed. Accessible, thumb-friendly interaction turns short, awkward moments into real recall reps.
Lawrence Arya··4 min