Do you need to learn to write characters by hand?
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I’m just a beginner (studying part time for three years… maybe HSK-2) so grain of salt here. I think hand writing is useful, but not blindly memorizing the strokes of the characters. To me writing helps break down the radicals and components which gives a character meaning. This allows you to make educated guesses as to meanings of new characters within the context of its use. That being said, writing is a small portion (of my already small studies), but I find the composition of characters deeply fascinating and really wish I had time to really delve into them.
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Thank you for sharing your perspective — I really like how you put it. I agree that handwriting can be more than just memorizing stroke order; it’s a way to see how radicals and components come together to form meaning. That deeper understanding definitely helps when you encounter new characters. I can totally relate to what you said about finding the composition of characters fascinating but not always having the time to dive into it. It’s encouraging to hear how you’ve integrated writing into your studies, even as a smaller part.