Full Text

stroke


Subject Linguistics

DOI: 10.1111/b.9780631214816.1999.x


Extract

The basic graphic unit of Chinese characters. Each character consists of a definite number of strokes which are written in a fixed order. For example, a square is made up of three strokes: (1) the perpendicular stroke on the left, (2) the horizontal top which bends without a break into the right side, and (3) the bottom stroke. Both number and order of strokes must be learned, because the number of a character's constituent strokes determines its position in a dictionary, and because, in the absence of a fixed order of strokes, handwriting would be impossible to read. See also C haracter ; (illustration) C hinese writing system ; R adical . ... log in or subscribe to read full text

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Table of Contents

The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Writing Systems



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