Master the form, understand its parts, and learn how it behaves in real Chinese.
Replay the complete order, pause on difficult movements, inspect one stroke at a time, then write it yourself with live correction.
Switch between the accumulated form and the isolated movement of each stroke.
Loading stroke diagrams…
The decomposition shows how the visual pieces fit together, not necessarily the character’s historical origin.
Count each continuous pen movement once, including turns and hooks.
Keep the left side compact and leave enough room for the right side.
Use the highlighted radical in the animation as a visual anchor for remembering the form.
Get a ready-to-use A4 sheet immediately, or open the full builder to change its grid and guidance.
Includes the stroke sequence, progressive tracing, and blank writing squares. Generated locally in your browser.
Open a word for its full breakdown, or listen before reading the meaning.
short pants
text message
shortcoming
short term
to shorten
length
shortage
of short duration
brief
short in time
good prospects in the short term
short-sighted
Notice where 短 sits in each complete thought.
Everyone has strengths and weaknesses.
Source: Tatoeba #335044 · CC BY 2.0 FRI know that life is short.
Source: Tatoeba #7772403 · CC BY 2.0 FRTom sent me an interesting text.
Source: Tatoeba #1839152 · CC BY 2.0 FRShe texted her boyfriend.
Source: Tatoeba #8858016 · CC BY 2.0 FRDefinitions and traditional forms are compiled from Make Me a Hanzi, HSK curriculum data, and CC-CEDICT. Sourced example sentences link to Tatoeba; editorial examples are labeled separately. Review data sources and licenses.