Guides to Writing Your Chinese Name

A generated name is only half the story — these illustrated guides show you how to actually write the characters: in the right stroke order, with an eye for what each radical means, and with the basic brush strokes behind elegant calligraphy. Every screenshot is a frame from a real lesson, credited to its creator, and every step links to the exact second it happens.

Browse the guides

Writing basics

Chinese Character Stroke Order Rules

The eight core rules that decide whether a character looks balanced — worked through on 三, 八, 十, 小, 回 and 我.

Meaning

Chinese Character Radicals and What They Mean

The building-block radicals that show up inside real names, what each one carries, and how they hint at a name's feeling.

Calligraphy

The Eight Basic Strokes of Chinese Calligraphy

The Eight Principles of Yong — the brush strokes behind a beautiful written name, one stroke at a time.

Pronunciation

Mandarin's Four Tones: Pinyin Pronunciation Guide

Tone-mark rules, the five-level pitch scale, and each tone's contour — so you can say your name's pinyin correctly.

Seal carving

Chinese Seal Carving: Stone Name Stamp Tutorial

Mirror-reversed design, yin vs yang carving, V-cut technique, and a finished test stamp on Qingtian stone.

Pen strokes

Chinese Handwriting Basic Strokes for Beginners

Horizontal héng, vertical shù, and dot diǎn — then spot them in 十, 日, 三, 土 and write 上 and 下.

Brush grip

How to Hold a Chinese Calligraphy Brush

The finger-by-finger grip, ink loading, and the horizontal and vertical strokes behind a name written in ink.

Numbers

Chinese Numbers 1-10: Stroke Order

Write 一 to 十 correctly — every stroke named and counted, from the héng to the hanging-needle vertical.

Pronunciation

Pinyin Initials and Finals Explained

The 21 initials, 36 finals in three groups, and the syllable formula that makes any Chinese name readable aloud.

Culture

Chinese Surnames Explained

Why the surname comes first, the stories behind Wang, Li, Zhang and Liu, and why Zhang is also spelled Chang or Cheung.

Culture

The Great Race: Why the Rat Leads the Zodiac

The river race that fixed the order of the 12 animals — plus how the 60-year cycle and your month, day and hour animals work.

Characters

How Chinese Characters Work: The Four Building Blocks

From oracle bones to phono-semantic compounds — pictograms, ideograms, compound ideograms and the radical-plus-sound system behind every name.

Philosophy

Wu Xing Explained: The Five Elements of Chinese Naming

Wood, fire, earth, metal and water as processes, not substances — the generating and controlling cycles behind your name's element balance.

Generate a Chinese name to practise writing