Essays
Are Radicals Identical Across Hanzi, Kanji, and Hanja?
Are visual radicals the same across Chinese hanzi, Japanese kanji, and Korean hanja? They share roots, but simplification diverged. Here is the honest answer.
Lawrence Arya··5 min
Essays
Can You Just Use Kanji in China? Not Really
If you blank on a Chinese character, can you write the Japanese kanji instead? Mostly no. Here is where they diverge and what to do when you forget.
Lawrence Arya··5 min
Essays
Japanese vs Chinese Character Proportions
Japanese and Chinese write many of the same characters but with subtly different proportions and style. Here is what differs and how to write the Chinese forms well.
Lawrence Arya··5 min
Playbooks
Japanese Kanji vs Chinese Hanzi Stroke Order
Kanji and hanzi often share a character but write it in a different stroke order. Here is where they diverge and how to retrain your hand for Chinese.
Lawrence Arya··5 min
Playbooks
From Kanji to Hanzi: Bridging the Two by Hand
Know Japanese kanji and learning Chinese? The forms and stroke orders differ in traps. Here is why an overlay is not enough and how to retrain your hand.
Lawrence Arya··5 min
Playbooks
A Traditional Hanzi Tracing App for Japanese Speakers
Japanese speakers have a huge head start on Chinese characters, and a few traps. Here is how to leverage kanji knowledge to learn traditional hanzi by hand.
Lawrence Arya··5 min
Playbooks
Does HSK Penalize Japanese (Kanji) Stroke Order?
If you learned characters as Japanese kanji, switching to HSK raises a real worry. Here is how stroke order and Japanese character forms actually affect HSK writing, and how to adjust.
Lawrence Arya··5 min