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Handwriting?

thearchpoet

後輩
24 Feb 2005
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Hi!

So um... my handwriting sucks in both Japanese and Chinese, can anyone recomend a book/website/writing sample I can work off of to improve this?

Also, I have issues romanizing names b/c when I see Kanji the first thing I do is read them in Chinese, is there a website I can go to to help me romanize Kanji? Or do Japanese dictionaries work the same way as Chinese ones and I can just look up the word?

Thank You,

ArchPoet
 
most textbooks that teach kanji have taken great care in getting the kanji spot on. it's really up to you to sit down and practice practice practice. if your kanji looks different to the example, compare the two and see what's different.

Also, I have issues romanizing names b/c when I see Kanji the first thing I do is read them in Chinese, is there a website I can go to to help me romanize Kanji?
i'm not sure what you mean by romanizing "names". there is a useful website however - WWWJDIC: Word Search if you click the "translate words in japanese text" link, you can paste the kanji you can't read into there. it will then tell you how to read it in hiragana.
 
Thanks for the website, that's actually what I meant.

As for handwriting... I don't mean that my characters don't look right I mean that I have bad penmanship.

I'm a native Chinese but I moved out of the country when I was very young - meaning that I never got any penmanship training. My writing is easily identifiable as the character it's meant to be but the reaction I frequently get is "You write like a grade-schoolers". B/C when you're writing an Asian language even if you're writing in pencil you should be able to see echos of the calligraphy (sort of like the one below) and I can't seem to do that....

chuuka.gif
 
Wario Ware for the Nintendo DS has a little game where you have to draw a character. I suck at it. I should get bonus points for having the right stroke order though dammit. :p
 
I know there are penmanship practice books because my kids had them.
But I'll have to look for stuff on-line though.
As for on-line programs, here's one 漢字の正しい書き順.

Rereading you complaint
I never got any penmanship training. My writing is easily identifiable as the character it's meant to be but the reaction I frequently get is "You write like a grade-schoolers". B/C when you're writing an Asian language even if you're writing in pencil you should be able to see echos of the calligraphy and I can't seem to do that....
I can see your problem. I used to have bad handwriting, and had to attend a writing class at an institute after school for 3-4 months.

Getting the good script style is no easy task. I would say there are two factors that influence your writing.

1. What you see most often is likely to be your model. The image 中華 you linked is in my view not a good model. If the characters you see/read often are close to that quality, then it will negatively influence you handwriting. I would suggest reading some books in good 諧書 script and be more picky with the fonts that are used. If you have a choice, go for fonts in 宋體 or 明體, which are pleasant to the eye.

2. Avoid using ball-point pens, or mechanical pencils because they make you use the smaller muscles. Use a felt tip pen or a sturdy pencil. So I was told when I had that hand writing problem. The tip of the stylus should be thick, and your characters big. Try to make big, full forms, keeping the balance equidistant whenever you can. Avoid making small characters. You could also supplement your corrective handwriting efforts by studying calligraphy. Actually a lot of people took calligraphy to improve handwriting. If you use a lot of minor muscles when you write, that makes the strokes unstable. Try to use the bigger muscles as much as you can.
 
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