Cheers, my man. It took me years to realize there are better options than ballpoints and hard pencils for Western cursive. Nowadays, no matter the script, I just use a pencil and leave pens for when they're needed. 🙃
I appreciate that, in the process of answering the question in the title, you incidentally explained the difference between ballpoints, gels, and rollerballs-something I've low key wondered about for years, but never got around to looking up
The ACTUAL best contestant - fountain pen. Even an affordable one can add those wonderful dynamic strokes with ease, and has an unmatched flow and is very satisfying to write with.
Maybe this is a generational thing? I find great value in using fp over disposable brillos. But then again I am Gen X. Good to see fellow fp users here. I have long owned a Fude nib, and now I can see what it's really for. Def not for Roman alphabet. PS. I love Jinhao and Hero pens. Very affordable, too!
@@ABChinese you won't regret it. I've seen how Jinhao and Hero pens have improved in quality over the years. They're awesome Chinese pens. Great value for money. (I ordered them online only for about one dollar per 🖋 lol. Delivery fee was worth more than the product. 😂 )
@@ABChinese I started practising with my fountain pen the other day to learn characters and memorise how to write the ones I know, then I found this channel and found it very instructional so far, thank you!
Interesting video! I personally use fountain pens most often and also try to stay away from ball point pens bc my characters always turn out messy when using them haha
Same. Stubbed nibs, too. I take copious notes and writing with them is easier on my hands. I refill the ink and don't need to throw away anything. Environment friendly and more economical. Gel pens never last me very long.
I like fineliner pens and felt-tip pens for any kind of writing. There are even felt-tip pens with a fine calligraphy tip. However, my hanzi doesn't even look close as pretty as yours, and usually my writing is not ugly. But I guess that's just practice, as I concentrate more on speaking and reading Chinese atm. There is only so much time, and with Chinese there are a lot of things to learn.
Hello,I'm viwer from Hong Kong. I amazed to see your word writing so beautiful!As a Hong Kong using Cantonese and Chinese,we usually don't write that pretty because we need to write in a limited time. Also there a point need to remember at writing Chinese words,we have a precedence of it and the precedence will affect the word you write You need to write the left part frist,then write the right part Write the up part frist,then the down part The writting about 2 pant of out and inside will hard to explain,just link 固,you need to wirte 固'sㄇ part,then the 古 inside,last will be the bottom pard of outside Also a fact about Chinese words We have Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese,it a huge different of it Taiwan and Hong Kong are using Traditional,Chinese and Malaysiad using Simplified. The different of those is the word like Traditional using 們 but Simplified will be 门.
That's exactly what I just learned. I have the learning Mandarin Chinese characters Volume 1 for the HSK level one and AP exam prep book. Horizontal stroke written from left to right, vertical stroke written from top-to-bottom, downward left stroke written from top right to bottom left, etc. I have been learning Chinese for over a year now using Memrise and Rosetta Stone but learning the strokes is putting it all together. ❤
With regard to pencils, a softer graphite will allow for more dynamic strokes and darker lines. The higher B value results in a pencil that writes smoother lines and needs less pressure.
Your handwriting is pretty! I don't have the patience to work on how my characters look, because the only time I write characters is a couple times a week in my Boya textbooks. Which have very small lines anyways so I just use a ballpoint pen to fit in the tiny characters (especially because I'm trying to teach myself traditional after years of simplified)
Well that explains why my handwriting looks terrible when I write with a ballpoint pen, and why it feels so uncomfortable. I thought it was just because I'm not used to it but it turns out even people with a pretty handwriting have trouble making ballpoint pens work nicely. After a while I switched to a mechanical pencil for quick notes and a cheap fountain pen for exams and for writing practice and it's been working great for me.
Aye, when writing hanzi with a BP pen, the most you can hope for is legibility. Aesthetics go out the window. Me, I just use a pencil for basically everything.
Thanks a lot! I've been struggling with the choice of the right pen for a while. I started practicing characters with a ballpoint pen and soon enough realised, that there's no way to recreate some strokes and make my writing look the way I want it. So I tried using 0.5mm gel pen just to find out that I need at least 0.7mm to feel comfortable while writing. And now I understand why it all felt so wrong)
I personally use the 0.3 Sarasa Zebra Gel Ink pens, they also come in lots of pretty pastel colors for people like me who like to spice up their study notes with some colors and decoration. Thanks for going so in deprg about the pro and cons for each and explaining exactly why some type of pens feel like they give you more control than others!
Is it true that you can obviously tell when a left-handed person writes Chinese characters (because the strokes don’t look correct)? I’m still in the beginning stages of learning Chinese, but when I eventually start practicing writing, I’m wondering if I should force myself to learn right-handed.
Nah, one of my best friends is left-handed and her writing is 100% better than me Seriously, not everyone writes as neat as this youtuber, I started writing chinese since I first went to kindergarten and my writing is nowhere near this guy's handwriting Just get the strokes right and as long as it is legible then it's ok Edit: sorry my English is horrible, I confused eligible and legible lol
hahaha rest assured bro. I'm a left hander. It's fine to write with left hand. The difference is just the way you maneuvre the strokes, not just in Chinese but as well other writings. Since the text runs from left to right, it's often that left-handers have to 'push' while writing; while for right-handers, they 'pull' to write. Right hander just have a better start to writing nicel y. So, don't feel inconfident, your writing is unique to you 😉
Oh and also, maybe it does have the potential to expose you as a left hander, but it's UNLIKELY if it's neat I guess. Who would even bother to check if it's a left hander anyways 😂
Really good video🤝. I like the fact that you give the tools to all the people who are in this process through your knowledge and experience. It's really great to have a good guide when we're learning something. Grettings from Colombia 🇨🇴
Sir, I don't know what goals you've set for the future, but after watching and subscribing, I predict you'll have your pick in any business, law, or education field in the United States. Your energy and communication are vibrant and seem effortless. Shoot the moon.
The best Material to wright hanze ist called wen Feng se bao ..... They are brush,ink ,inkstone and paper.....the Beauty and meaning from Chinese caracters stay in the use from this traditional way of writhing. Try it and you will see.....
i recently started learning chinese and your channel is on my heavy rotation! i really needed this video since the calligraphy homework i had was pretty hard with the pen i was using. lol
After ±2 years of practicing my writing, I found out I prefer to write Hanzi/Kanji with a 0.9mm pencil lead on a standard 8mm rule height. I keep those proportions for when I write in smaller font, such as 0.7mm for college rule (6mm) notebooks.
This was interesting! I am currently learning to read and write Japanese, and have been wondering why I have some issues with the writing....now I am subscribed to JetPens here on RUclips (a Japanese stationery/pen company)! 🤣 I am excited to learn more about writing style and how to improve my writing with better quality products. Thanks for the video!
Thank you for these tips. I used a ballpoint pen for all of my character writing in my Chinese 1 class. I will find some other pens and practice writing characters with them.
I use Pentel "brush character" sign pen. They have flexible tip like a brush which makes them hugely dynamic. They come in a range of sizes and the thin ones are much easier to control and I move up to the thicker ones for more impressive strokes. They are very cheap although I don't know if they are available outside of Japan.
Best can be found in art supplies stores only. It's a variety of felt-tip pen but the tip is more like a brush the tip can bend a little bit like a brush
Pencils also have another obvious advantage, which is that you can erase them. For practicing, i wouldn't usually erase, and i would just try rewriting the character, but for normal writing, it does come helpful.
I love dip pens (nib pens, dip nibs, pen nibs, whatever you may know them as) for their satisfying, scratchy, very personalizeable feel. You can get some extremely dynamic strokes, whatever specific amount of ink you want, where you want, and you don't have to suffer through choosing how thick the line is for every single character with just the choice of pen.
My favorite pen ran outta ink just now, so I was wondering if there was any videos on them best for Chinese characters! I'm learning Japanese right now and have been having a blast learning how to write Kanji. Thanks for the video! Def will be getting one of these.
You always make very great, very informative videos. Keep going! My favorite is pencil, the old fashioned one. But the disadvantage is you have to sharpen all the time, so the pencil does not last long….
I've been using 0.5mm gel pens, but I think 0.38mm had worked best for me because I tend to write on the small side. Writing anything large feels too clunky and ugly, personally. I've used 0.3mm before, but it's so fine/sharp that it actually felt like it was scoring through the paper while I was writing, and actually tore through the page when I tried to write over mistakes for corrections (frequent habit of mine).
Could you do a tutorial on using the pinyin keyboard on phones? I’m trying to get good at memorizing pinyin on Duolingo by typing instead of tapping words
I had no idea when I started with Chinese since I've never stood outside of romance languages. I knew something wasn't right with the ballpoint pen but since it was the one i always had used i thought it was me who had no pretty handwriting, until i was rant-writing to my friend and then i started to suspect my regular pen and a pencil didn't felt the same on my fingers, wrist and result. I ended up liking the pencil better because i didn't had to put that much pressure to write and stuff flowed better, then i tried somewhat flexible tip markers and i realized it was my favorite so far. NOW i know why and why i should keep on trying different ones, that brush like made a huge difference and realized it wasn't my handwriting but it really was the materials. Nonetheless, i can write pretty small and cute as possible with a ballpoint pen as a side effect of trying so much to write properly but i still find it way enjoyable with brush-like tips.
Btw, thanks for sharing this info ❤ I bet there's some more people out there wondering why their characters doesn't look as the ones they see and knowing absolutely zero about pens like me.😅
Thank you for this amazing upload, I started mandarin since 2 months ago, I love the culture, food, language, writing and many more. I also got the blue Pilot G-2 have been using it for a year or so, really nice pen and great review as well, 谢谢你! 再见!👋
I'm personally a fan of the Kuretake No. 7 felt-tip pen. It's cheap, designed for writing Chinese characters with good line variation, yet very fine compared to most brush pens or felt-tipped pens. Among all felt-tip pens, I prefer this because whereas most are designed disposable, this is designed with cartridges and I can swap the ink out for one that I prefer (as long as the ink doesn't contain precipitate or residue)
Don't forget marker pens, which are basically just markers but more for normal writing. Haven't used them for writing Chinese (maybe a little a long time ago) but in theory they are the most similar to calligraphy brushes.
Very interesting video. Thanks for that. I am very jealous of your handwriting. I am left handed and have learned that it is very difficult to write acceptable Chinese characters with your left hand, no matter how hard you try, or whatever kind of writing tool you use. I found the gel pen works best, just as you said, but it is still a far cry from your writing. But I will keep trying.
Oh... you should try and learn to write with your right hand... how much hard can it be to be able to write at least some strokes with your right hand... This is the first time I feel really like I can write with my right hand
I would really make a case for fountain pens especially since the problems you stated for your rollerball pen section have far more to do with paper quality than any inherent property of the pen (America has the worst standard paper pretty much in existence.) At the end of the day fountain pen ink comes in basically every imaginable colour and style and you can fine tune your nib over time if need be since most cheaper pens have replaceable nibs. Overall a cheap (but good) FP + good paper and ink will not only save you money in the long run of ink costs but also provide the most flexibility in terms of your personal preference in terms of pressure sensitivity, paper feel, and end result of your characters besides at around $10 for a good pen or $2 for disposable ones (that are easy to modify and make reusable) FPs aren't some exclusive luxury item and are 1000% worth the effort to learn to use
@@ABChinese the pilot varsity is a really good disposable one although it can't be reused very effectively. Otherwise for non disposable the pilot metropolitan is the most often recommend since it's very robust but personally I use the tswibi eco which is a bit more expensive but easier to fill and maintain properly. Either uses japanese sizing so I'd look into what works best for you but a medium should be good for video purposes. I would also recommend getting either Clairefontaine (rhodia) paper or tomoe river paper as they'll be able to handle the flow of brush pens, fountain pens, and rollerballs far better. They aren't too much more expensive than regular paper if you buy loose leaf bulk.
Yes fountain pen is what you will use if you go to calligraphy class in China. It’s no doubt the best for calligraphy as it’s really good at creating dynamic strokes.
great video. I write with a Pentel Sign Pen "touch" for kanji, a Papermate Flain medium that is similar and I like much the super economic and simple Tratto Pen (made in Italy), fine and perfect for writing and to learn
I think your handwriting is quite good. It's just a little slow. We Chinese usually write very fast. In China, homework is usually very, very, very much. With such a thick paper, we can finish it in one night. Our holiday is usually two days, and two days are basically playing games. On the last night, we will be crazy to make up homework.
Ok, class is over, now, for homework, YOU WILL HAVE 7 ASSIGNMENTS, EACH ON A DIFFERENT (RANDOM) TOPIC. YOU WILL ALSO HAVE TO COMPLETE PAGE 27 TO 77. Next day: Ok, now, let's check the homework. The homework: 𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗬 𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝟯𝗠𝗘𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦.
As a native Chinese speaker, I always use a ballpoint pen to write, mostly a medium-point one. I enjoy, and am even addicted to the smoothness and the resistant force that differs from friction. While my classmates use gel pens with extra-fine tips. Actually anyone around me tends to use gel pens--even if they’re writing English letters.
I think rollerballs and fountain pens are also good, but with a gel pen, especially a fine one, I write Chinese characters so ugly that sometimes I myself cannot recognize them later.
I was literally wondering about this topic this week. I’ve started practicing characters on paper, and it feels so much better, but I started noticing a stronger pen preference. To me, writing characters helps me to solidify the vocabulary.
story time. In 2nd grade, I had a friend that was from Taiwan. I begged her to teach me the language. She eventually caved in, hand drew a grid, showed me one character (I think it was zhu ying) and told me to write it until it filled the page. In viewing your channel, the post on Skritter and what you said about writing on a grid instantly brought be back to this moment. I think this is the best way to do things
Beautiful video. Thank you for all your effort you put in these... they are very worth it! You touched a tough matter... Btw, do you know sth about the history of writing chinese more specifically why their writing system remained one based on characters rather than letters?
字写的好好看呀！有一个小imperfection是“有”字，它的下面不是“月”哦，“有”字的下面的第一笔是一竖，而不是一撇。Nice calligraphy! There is a small imperfections in your writing of the word 有. Its underneath part is not 月 exactly.
I’m curious, what’s your opinion on felt tip pens? Personally I found that with a bit of practice and the right pen (many bleed wayyy too much) they write some of the best characters, honestly regardless of language.
I was writing a page with a rollerball pen and I saw trough 5 pages so i think i am going to get a gel pen. Also where can I buy those exercise papers and are they good for Japanese aswel?
I've grew up with ballpen, then suddenly i have to go out of my country for study, i ended up in china. at that time i had only one ballpen with me so i was forced to use gel pen which i don't like. suddenly i was introduced roller ballpen which was a mess for me. after few moth of practice i feel more comfortable with 0.5mm roller ballpen then those ballpen. but i still can't get how do you make those dynamic stroke, can you make a new video just on stroke using 0.5mm pilot rollerball pen.
when i'm writing in my language, polish or english i prefer very thin pens, but with japanese or chinese it's sooooo hard to do it, it's often ugly and uncomfortable, but that's maybe because i'm not the best at writing :D
fountain pens from Japanese brands like pilot, sailor and platinum are quite good for hanzi writing, while lamy is not very good even many of my Chinese friends recommend it
Pencil is often too faint for those of us with less than perfect vision. (Also, to me it looks childish, because when I went to school we were expected to use ink (but not those new-fangled Biro things) from an early age. By the time we were 11 pencils were only for diagrams and drawings. )
My bigger problem is the paper as there tends to be lots of bleed through. So in a notebook, the even numbered pages are hard to see what's happening. Yes, even with chinese practice paper! Lately I've been doing pencil first and then pen (usually roller ball or gel) on the back side so that I can at least see what I'm doing during the process. Any suggestions for paper that doesn't show through with a roller ball?
Unironically watching this as a native Chinese speaker, you lot who are learning Chinese as a foreign language are not alone in this struggle lol.
Worse for me because I use iPad and apple pencil tu practice hanzi. I tried every brush still cannot get the desired result.
@@MaiElizabeth I bought expensive tools but it doesn't help either 😂. My teacher fooled me he said it is easy. Good luck everyone
Cheers, my man. It took me years to realize there are better options than ballpoints and hard pencils for Western cursive. Nowadays, no matter the script, I just use a pencil and leave pens for when they're needed. 🙃
I appreciate that, in the process of answering the question in the title, you incidentally explained the difference between ballpoints, gels, and rollerballs-something I've low key wondered about for years, but never got around to looking up
I really should have added the Chinese names too because they are much more obvious - 油性笔，中性笔，水性笔 "oil pens, blended pens, water pens"
The ACTUAL best contestant - fountain pen. Even an affordable one can add those wonderful dynamic strokes with ease, and has an unmatched flow and is very satisfying to write with.
Was looking for the fountain pen comment.
Maybe this is a generational thing? I find great value in using fp over disposable brillos. But then again I am Gen X. Good to see fellow fp users here.
I have long owned a Fude nib, and now I can see what it's really for. Def not for Roman alphabet.
PS. I love Jinhao and Hero pens. Very affordable, too!
Probably a generational thing😅 I’ve never seen anyone use a fountain pen before… BUT, after all the comments, I plan on getting one soon!
@@ABChinese you won't regret it. I've seen how Jinhao and Hero pens have improved in quality over the years. They're awesome Chinese pens. Great value for money.
(I ordered them online only for about one dollar per 🖋 lol. Delivery fee was worth more than the product. 😂 )
@@ABChinese I started practising with my fountain pen the other day to learn characters and memorise how to write the ones I know, then I found this channel and found it very instructional so far, thank you!
Interesting video! I personally use fountain pens most often and also try to stay away from ball point pens bc my characters always turn out messy when using them haha
Same. Stubbed nibs, too.
I take copious notes and writing with them is easier on my hands. I refill the ink and don't need to throw away anything. Environment friendly and more economical.
Gel pens never last me very long.
What nib do you use?
Fine or Medium is best for Hanzi in my experience. Medium or Broad is my preference for Latin.
The Pilot Kakuno makes a great starter fountain pen, and is only $10! I find it great for writing.
I like fineliner pens and felt-tip pens for any kind of writing. There are even felt-tip pens with a fine calligraphy tip.
However, my hanzi doesn't even look close as pretty as yours, and usually my writing is not ugly. But I guess that's just practice, as I concentrate more on speaking and reading Chinese atm. There is only so much time, and with Chinese there are a lot of things to learn.
It definitely takes time🥵 I practiced for 2 months before making this video
Hello,I'm viwer from Hong Kong.
I amazed to see your word writing so beautiful!As a Hong Kong using Cantonese and Chinese,we usually don't write that pretty because we need to write in a limited time.
Also there a point need to remember at writing Chinese words,we have a precedence of it and the precedence will affect the word you write
You need to write the left part frist,then write the right part
Write the up part frist,then the down part
The writting about 2 pant of out and inside will hard to explain,just link 固,you need to wirte 固'sㄇ part,then the 古 inside,last will be the bottom pard of outside
Also a fact about Chinese words
We have Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese,it a huge different of it
Taiwan and Hong Kong are using Traditional,Chinese and Malaysiad using Simplified.
The different of those is the word like Traditional using 們 but Simplified will be 门.
That's exactly what I just learned. I have the learning Mandarin Chinese characters Volume 1 for the HSK level one and AP exam prep book.
Horizontal stroke written from left to right, vertical stroke written from top-to-bottom, downward left stroke written from top right to bottom left, etc.
I have been learning Chinese for over a year now using Memrise and Rosetta Stone but learning the strokes is putting it all together. ❤
interesting
With regard to pencils, a softer graphite will allow for more dynamic strokes and darker lines. The higher B value results in a pencil that writes smoother lines and needs less pressure.
Your handwriting is pretty! I don't have the patience to work on how my characters look, because the only time I write characters is a couple times a week in my Boya textbooks. Which have very small lines anyways so I just use a ballpoint pen to fit in the tiny characters (especially because I'm trying to teach myself traditional after years of simplified)
This video is so interesting! I haven't seen anything like it before. Also, your characters are beautiful.
2:41 I use the sharpoe S gel pens and the sharpie felt tip. I love these pens.
Well that explains why my handwriting looks terrible when I write with a ballpoint pen, and why it feels so uncomfortable. I thought it was just because I'm not used to it but it turns out even people with a pretty handwriting have trouble making ballpoint pens work nicely.
After a while I switched to a mechanical pencil for quick notes and a cheap fountain pen for exams and for writing practice and it's been working great for me.
Aye, when writing hanzi with a BP pen, the most you can hope for is legibility. Aesthetics go out the window.
Me, I just use a pencil for basically everything.
Thanks a lot! I've been struggling with the choice of the right pen for a while. I started practicing characters with a ballpoint pen and soon enough realised, that there's no way to recreate some strokes and make my writing look the way I want it. So I tried using 0.5mm gel pen just to find out that I need at least 0.7mm to feel comfortable while writing. And now I understand why it all felt so wrong)
I personally use the 0.3 Sarasa Zebra Gel Ink pens, they also come in lots of pretty pastel colors for people like me who like to spice up their study notes with some colors and decoration.
Thanks for going so in deprg about the pro and cons for each and explaining exactly why some type of pens feel like they give you more control than others!
Is it true that you can obviously tell when a left-handed person writes Chinese characters (because the strokes don’t look correct)? I’m still in the beginning stages of learning Chinese, but when I eventually start practicing writing, I’m wondering if I should force myself to learn right-handed.
左撇子也可以写中文啊，实际上用哪只手没有任何差别哦。
Dont mind the minor difference. The differences will be obviously only
when you using brush pen to do some art works.
Nah, one of my best friends is left-handed and her writing is 100% better than me
Seriously, not everyone writes as neat as this youtuber, I started writing chinese since I first went to kindergarten and my writing is nowhere near this guy's handwriting
Just get the strokes right and as long as it is legible then it's ok
Edit: sorry my English is horrible, I confused eligible and legible lol
hahaha rest assured bro. I'm a left hander. It's fine to write with left hand. The difference is just the way you maneuvre the strokes, not just in Chinese but as well other writings. Since the text runs from left to right, it's often that left-handers have to 'push' while writing; while for right-handers, they 'pull' to write. Right hander just have a better start to writing nicel y. So, don't feel inconfident, your writing is unique to you 😉
Oh and also, maybe it does have the potential to expose you as a left hander, but it's UNLIKELY if it's neat I guess. Who would even bother to check if it's a left hander anyways 😂
Really good video🤝. I like the fact that you give the tools to all the people who are in this process through your knowledge and experience. It's really great to have a good guide when we're learning something.
Grettings from Colombia 🇨🇴
Sir, I don't know what goals you've set for the future, but after watching and subscribing, I predict you'll have your pick in any business, law, or education field in the United States. Your energy and communication are vibrant and seem effortless. Shoot the moon.
The best Material to wright hanze ist called wen Feng se bao ..... They are brush,ink ,inkstone and paper.....the Beauty and meaning from Chinese caracters stay in the use from this traditional way of writhing. Try it and you will see.....
i recently started learning chinese and your channel is on my heavy rotation! i really needed this video since the calligraphy homework i had was pretty hard with the pen i was using. lol
After ±2 years of practicing my writing, I found out I prefer to write Hanzi/Kanji with a 0.9mm pencil lead on a standard 8mm rule height. I keep those proportions for when I write in smaller font, such as 0.7mm for college rule (6mm) notebooks.
Thank you! You talk about topics that are not commonly discussed by other Chinese teaching channel but so useful!
This was interesting! I am currently learning to read and write Japanese, and have been wondering why I have some issues with the writing....now I am subscribed to JetPens here on RUclips (a Japanese stationery/pen company)! 🤣 I am excited to learn more about writing style and how to improve my writing with better quality products. Thanks for the video!
Thank you for these tips. I used a ballpoint pen for all of my character writing in my Chinese 1 class. I will find some other pens and practice writing characters with them.
I use Pentel "brush character" sign pen. They have flexible tip like a brush which makes them hugely dynamic. They come in a range of sizes and the thin ones are much easier to control and I move up to the thicker ones for more impressive strokes. They are very cheap although I don't know if they are available outside of Japan.
Im not even learning Chinese but this is such an instructive video on pens!
Thanks 😄
Appreciate this recommendation. The roller ball pen made a huge difference. Thanks.
Thanks for the pen review and looking forward to the specific writing utensils names video! :)
Best can be found in art supplies stores only. It's a variety of felt-tip pen but the tip is more like a brush the tip can bend a little bit like a brush
Glad that I found your channel! Really valuable tips to writing chinese characters in the most elegant way!
Pencils also have another obvious advantage, which is that you can erase them. For practicing, i wouldn't usually erase, and i would just try rewriting the character, but for normal writing, it does come helpful.
I love dip pens (nib pens, dip nibs, pen nibs, whatever you may know them as) for their satisfying, scratchy, very personalizeable feel. You can get some extremely dynamic strokes, whatever specific amount of ink you want, where you want, and you don't have to suffer through choosing how thick the line is for every single character with just the choice of pen.
Love the song you choose for the lyrics!
My favorite pen ran outta ink just now, so I was wondering if there was any videos on them best for Chinese characters! I'm learning Japanese right now and have been having a blast learning how to write Kanji. Thanks for the video! Def will be getting one of these.
You always make very great, very informative videos. Keep going!
My favorite is pencil, the old fashioned one. But the disadvantage is you have to sharpen all the time, so the pencil does not last long….
Your handwriting is wonderful
I noticed you just wrote the lyrics of 记得 from 林俊杰 👍👍👌 我特别喜欢哪一首歌❤️ thanks for the video
Yes！❤️
I've been using 0.5mm gel pens, but I think 0.38mm had worked best for me because I tend to write on the small side. Writing anything large feels too clunky and ugly, personally. I've used 0.3mm before, but it's so fine/sharp that it actually felt like it was scoring through the paper while I was writing, and actually tore through the page when I tried to write over mistakes for corrections (frequent habit of mine).
Could you do a tutorial on using the pinyin keyboard on phones? I’m trying to get good at memorizing pinyin on Duolingo by typing instead of tapping words
I will put out a poll😉
I had no idea when I started with Chinese since I've never stood outside of romance languages. I knew something wasn't right with the ballpoint pen but since it was the one i always had used i thought it was me who had no pretty handwriting, until i was rant-writing to my friend and then i started to suspect my regular pen and a pencil didn't felt the same on my fingers, wrist and result. I ended up liking the pencil better because i didn't had to put that much pressure to write and stuff flowed better, then i tried somewhat flexible tip markers and i realized it was my favorite so far. NOW i know why and why i should keep on trying different ones, that brush like made a huge difference and realized it wasn't my handwriting but it really was the materials. Nonetheless, i can write pretty small and cute as possible with a ballpoint pen as a side effect of trying so much to write properly but i still find it way enjoyable with brush-like tips.
Btw, thanks for sharing this info ❤ I bet there's some more people out there wondering why their characters doesn't look as the ones they see and knowing absolutely zero about pens like me.😅
No problem! Glad you found it helpful:)
@@ABChinese oops, i meant the ballpoint pen instead of the rollerball pen, i bet u all were so confused, lol
I've also noticed that pencils also make handwriting more stylized, I don't know but sometimes I opt to write with pencil because of that.
Thank you for this amazing upload, I started mandarin since 2 months ago, I love the culture, food, language, writing and many more. I also got the blue Pilot G-2 have been using it for a year or so, really nice pen and great review as well, 谢谢你! 再见!👋
Thanks. That's really helpful. I'm looking forward to your upcoming pen guide.
OMG ITS BEAUTIFUL! WELL DONE!!
I'm personally a fan of the Kuretake No. 7 felt-tip pen. It's cheap, designed for writing Chinese characters with good line variation, yet very fine compared to most brush pens or felt-tipped pens. Among all felt-tip pens, I prefer this because whereas most are designed disposable, this is designed with cartridges and I can swap the ink out for one that I prefer (as long as the ink doesn't contain precipitate or residue)
I will start using Pencil from now. Gel pen while it is great usually expensive, some people might not afford those in my region.
I'll get to it...after decades of learning tones and vocabulary.
As a japanese learner it really helped me
Now I can write kanji characters and not get confused from a single stroke....hehe
Edit : Thank you btw
I use the pencil for my writing study of japanese because is all of I've. But I want try use a gel pen because the kanjis looks very cool.
Thank you, such an informative video and pleasant to watch. You are a master.
thank you for teaching us
I never even considered that my choice of open might be an issue. Thanks for showing me otherwise! Now to find some decent gel pens...
Don't forget marker pens, which are basically just markers but more for normal writing. Haven't used them for writing Chinese (maybe a little a long time ago) but in theory they are the most similar to calligraphy brushes.
Lovely handwriting!
Very interesting video. Thanks for that. I am very jealous of your handwriting. I am left handed and have learned that it is very difficult to write acceptable Chinese characters with your left hand, no matter how hard you try, or whatever kind of writing tool you use.
I found the gel pen works best, just as you said, but it is still a far cry from your writing. But I will keep trying.
😞Unfortunately Chinese characters were designed for right handed writing, there’s no way around that
Oh... you should try and learn to write with your right hand... how much hard can it be to be able to write at least some strokes with your right hand...
This is the first time I feel really like I can write with my right hand
I would really make a case for fountain pens especially since the problems you stated for your rollerball pen section have far more to do with paper quality than any inherent property of the pen (America has the worst standard paper pretty much in existence.)
At the end of the day fountain pen ink comes in basically every imaginable colour and style and you can fine tune your nib over time if need be since most cheaper pens have replaceable nibs. Overall a cheap (but good) FP + good paper and ink will not only save you money in the long run of ink costs but also provide the most flexibility in terms of your personal preference in terms of pressure sensitivity, paper feel, and end result of your characters besides at around $10 for a good pen or $2 for disposable ones (that are easy to modify and make reusable) FPs aren't some exclusive luxury item and are 1000% worth the effort to learn to use
Do you have a recommendation? I didn’t include them because they’re not mainstream, but I do want to try them… and brushes too:)
@@ABChinese the pilot varsity is a really good disposable one although it can't be reused very effectively. Otherwise for non disposable the pilot metropolitan is the most often recommend since it's very robust but personally I use the tswibi eco which is a bit more expensive but easier to fill and maintain properly. Either uses japanese sizing so I'd look into what works best for you but a medium should be good for video purposes.
I would also recommend getting either Clairefontaine (rhodia) paper or tomoe river paper as they'll be able to handle the flow of brush pens, fountain pens, and rollerballs far better. They aren't too much more expensive than regular paper if you buy loose leaf bulk.
Thanks, I’ll look into it!
I’d be interested in an encore episode covering fountain pens and brush pens.
Yes fountain pen is what you will use if you go to calligraphy class in China. It’s no doubt the best for calligraphy as it’s really good at creating dynamic strokes.
great video. I write with a Pentel Sign Pen "touch" for kanji, a Papermate Flain medium that is similar and I like much the super economic and simple Tratto Pen (made in Italy), fine and perfect for writing and to learn
Majestic Handwriting
Actually I tried all the ones you showed on the video, and actually the most I like and didn’t mention, is a uniball signo needle 0.38.
Thanks, good solid advice.
Thank you so much for this useful video
Very helpful video. Thank you so much! :D
I can tell you which one is the best: Pilot Frixion. You can erase the ink when you're practicing.
I think your handwriting is quite good. It's just a little slow. We Chinese usually write very fast. In China, homework is usually very, very, very much. With such a thick paper, we can finish it in one night. Our holiday is usually two days, and two days are basically playing games. On the last night, we will be crazy to make up homework.
Ok, class is over, now, for homework,
YOU WILL HAVE 7 ASSIGNMENTS, EACH ON A DIFFERENT (RANDOM) TOPIC. YOU WILL ALSO HAVE TO COMPLETE PAGE 27 TO 77.
Next day:
Ok, now, let's check the homework.
The homework: 𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗬 𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝟯𝗠𝗘𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦.
As a native Chinese speaker, I always use a ballpoint pen to write, mostly a medium-point one. I enjoy, and am even addicted to the smoothness and the resistant force that differs from friction. While my classmates use gel pens with extra-fine tips. Actually anyone around me tends to use gel pens--even if they’re writing English letters.
I think rollerballs and fountain pens are also good, but with a gel pen, especially a fine one, I write Chinese characters so ugly that sometimes I myself cannot recognize them later.
Amongst all ballpoint pens, I prefer the most commonly used Bic Cristal.
That's true!! But if we are left handed... 😅...
Love your videos💖, I'm expecting more... 💖
I'm not learning Chinese but if you made a 10 hour video of writing the characters and teaching something, I'd watch it whole.
CORRECTION: The practice grids are 1.5 cm tall, not 2 cm
I AM A HIGHER MOTHER TONGUE STUDENT. LEARNING CHINESE MY WHOLE LIFE. And this dude's handwriting makes my handwriting look like a chicken scratch
Samee
Also beautiful handwriting by the way. Congratulations. Any tips for the best pens for 行书？
I was literally wondering about this topic this week. I’ve started practicing characters on paper, and it feels so much better, but I started noticing a stronger pen preference.
To me, writing characters helps me to solidify the vocabulary.
Yes! For sure, I always write new characters I learn, and if I get character amnesia, I’ll write it a few times to practice too
story time. In 2nd grade, I had a friend that was from Taiwan. I begged her to teach me the language. She eventually caved in, hand drew a grid, showed me one character (I think it was zhu ying) and told me to write it until it filled the page. In viewing your channel, the post on Skritter and what you said about writing on a grid instantly brought be back to this moment. I think this is the best way to do things
pilot P500，这个笔确实不错，我们的中考高考都几乎用的这个，快成为专用笔了。
Pentel touch brush sign pen SES 15, my favorit option! ✨
Very good, and thank you much.
I will say fountain pen, which costs like 20 - 30 dollars, and it's refillable, good for the environment as well. There's also fountain brush pen
Have you ever tried the calligraphy pens from brands like taobao? They have a small brush head. I like them the most.
Beautiful video. Thank you for all your effort you put in these... they are very worth it! You touched a tough matter...
Btw, do you know sth about the history of writing chinese more specifically why their writing system remained one based on characters rather than letters?
So you can see how critical it is, here in Brazil you buy a regular pen, not a day goes by and it fails or the ink runs out.
字写的好好看呀！有一个小imperfection是“有”字，它的下面不是“月”哦，“有”字的下面的第一笔是一竖，而不是一撇。Nice calligraphy! There is a small imperfections in your writing of the word 有. Its underneath part is not 月 exactly.
哦是吗？我一直都以为下面是个月🥺
dude ur handwriting is better than... i can say 90% of the native speakers
Im watching this video while I write in my chinese writing book using a very small pencil.
Good experience if you ask me.
I’m curious, what’s your opinion on felt tip pens? Personally I found that with a bit of practice and the right pen (many bleed wayyy too much) they write some of the best characters, honestly regardless of language.
I was writing a page with a rollerball pen and I saw trough 5 pages so i think i am going to get a gel pen. Also where can I buy those exercise papers and are they good for Japanese aswel?
Agree I prefer 0.7 personally too
Thanks!
I've grew up with ballpen, then suddenly i have to go out of my country for study, i ended up in china. at that time i had only one ballpen with me so i was forced to use gel pen which i don't like. suddenly i was introduced roller ballpen which was a mess for me. after few moth of practice i feel more comfortable with 0.5mm roller ballpen then those ballpen. but i still can't get how do you make those dynamic stroke, can you make a new video just on stroke using 0.5mm pilot rollerball pen.
What about a fountain pen. Or a khat pencil
This should have more likes
I use something called felt pen.
Any pen below 0.7 ,it's very rough and the feel is like cutting the paper while writing
when i'm writing in my language, polish or english i prefer very thin pens, but with japanese or chinese it's sooooo hard to do it, it's often ugly and uncomfortable, but that's maybe because i'm not the best at writing :D
haha if only I ever write chinese this good after my elementary years in China, all I remember was my messy speedy note taking handwriting afterwards
fountain pens from Japanese brands like pilot, sailor and platinum are quite good for hanzi writing, while lamy is not very good even many of my Chinese friends recommend it
Id watch a whole video of you writing in chinese characters.
I think the best pen for writing Chinese is... pencil, even in China children learn writing characters with pencils
Pencil is often too faint for those of us with less than perfect vision.
(Also, to me it looks childish, because when I went to school we were expected to use ink (but not those new-fangled Biro things) from an early age. By the time we were 11 pencils were only for diagrams and drawings. )
I can watch you until forever when you write🤠
好厉害，这字写的确实好看！
谢谢！我还在继续练习呢🤓
My bigger problem is the paper as there tends to be lots of bleed through. So in a notebook, the even numbered pages are hard to see what's happening. Yes, even with chinese practice paper! Lately I've been doing pencil first and then pen (usually roller ball or gel) on the back side so that I can at least see what I'm doing during the process. Any suggestions for paper that doesn't show through with a roller ball?
I prefer thinner paper so that’s definitely a problem if you use notebooks. But I use loose leaf paper and only write on one side 🤷
fountain pen? what about the fountain pen?
I didn’t think fountain pens were “mainstream” enough haha so I didn’t include it
@@ABChinese Oh. Really. :D
What about felt tips?
i am surprised nobody mentioned that he is writing 记得 lyrics in this video yet....