Top 100 Chinese Characters (Stroke Order Chart & PDF) - Chinese Stroke Order Dictionary & Animation

The Definitive Top 100 Hanzi Stroke Order Chart

Characters 1-20

No.	Character	Pinyin	Basic Meaning	Strokes
1	的	de	of, possessive particle	View Strokes
2	一	yī	one	View Strokes
3	是	shì	to be, yes	View Strokes
4	在	zài	at, in, on	View Strokes
5	不	bù	not, no	View Strokes
6	了	le	completion particle	View Strokes
7	有	yǒu	to have, there is	View Strokes
8	和	hé	and, with	View Strokes
9	人	rén	person, people	View Strokes
10	这	zhè	this	View Strokes
11	中	zhōng	middle, center, China	View Strokes
12	大	dà	big, large	View Strokes
13	为	wéi	for, as, to be	View Strokes
14	上	shàng	up, above, on	View Strokes
15	个	gè	measure word	View Strokes
16	国	guó	country, nation	View Strokes
17	我	wǒ	I, me	View Strokes
18	以	yǐ	with, by means of	View Strokes
19	要	yào	to want, need, must	View Strokes
20	他	tā	he, him	View Strokes

Characters 21-40

No.	Character	Pinyin	Basic Meaning	Strokes
21	时	shí	time, when	View Strokes
22	来	lái	to come	View Strokes
23	用	yòng	to use	View Strokes
24	们	men	plural marker	View Strokes
25	生	shēng	to be born, life	View Strokes
26	到	dào	to arrive, to	View Strokes
27	作	zuò	to make, work	View Strokes
28	地	dì	earth, ground	View Strokes
29	于	yú	at, in, on	View Strokes
30	出	chū	to go out, exit	View Strokes
31	就	jiù	then, just, immediately	View Strokes
32	分	fēn	to divide, minute	View Strokes
33	对	duì	correct, pair, to	View Strokes
34	成	chéng	to become, succeed	View Strokes
35	会	huì	can, will, meeting	View Strokes
36	可	kě	can, may	View Strokes
37	主	zhǔ	main, master	View Strokes
38	发	fā	to send, hair	View Strokes
39	年	nián	year	View Strokes
40	动	dòng	to move, action	View Strokes

Characters 41-60

No.	Character	Pinyin	Basic Meaning	Strokes
41	同	tóng	same, together	View Strokes
42	工	gōng	work, worker	View Strokes
43	也	yě	also, too	View Strokes
44	能	néng	can, ability	View Strokes
45	下	xià	down, below	View Strokes
46	过	guò	to pass, past	View Strokes
47	子	zǐ	child, son	View Strokes
48	说	shuō	to speak, say	View Strokes
49	产	chǎn	to produce, product	View Strokes
50	种	zhǒng	kind, type, seed	View Strokes
51	面	miàn	face, surface	View Strokes
52	而	ér	and, but	View Strokes
53	方	fāng	direction, square, method	View Strokes
54	后	hòu	after, behind	View Strokes
55	多	duō	many, much	View Strokes
56	定	dìng	to decide, fixed	View Strokes
57	行	xíng	to walk, line, OK	View Strokes
58	学	xué	to learn, study	View Strokes
59	法	fǎ	method, law	View Strokes
60	所	suǒ	place, that which	View Strokes

Characters 61-80

No.	Character	Pinyin	Basic Meaning	Strokes
61	民	mín	people, citizen	View Strokes
62	得	dé	to get, obtain	View Strokes
63	经	jīng	to pass, experience	View Strokes
64	十	shí	ten	View Strokes
65	三	sān	three	View Strokes
66	之	zhī	of, it	View Strokes
67	进	jìn	to enter, advance	View Strokes
68	着	zhe	ongoing action particle	View Strokes
69	等	děng	to wait, etc.	View Strokes
70	部	bù	part, department	View Strokes
71	度	dù	degree, measure	View Strokes
72	家	jiā	home, family	View Strokes
73	电	diàn	electricity	View Strokes
74	力	lì	power, strength	View Strokes
75	里	lǐ	inside, mile	View Strokes
76	如	rú	if, like	View Strokes
77	水	shuǐ	water	View Strokes
78	化	huà	to change, transform	View Strokes
79	高	gāo	high, tall	View Strokes
80	自	zì	self, from	View Strokes

Characters 81-100

No.	Character	Pinyin	Basic Meaning	Strokes
81	二	èr	two	View Strokes
82	理	lǐ	reason, principle	View Strokes
83	起	qǐ	to rise, start	View Strokes
84	小	xiǎo	small, little	View Strokes
85	物	wù	thing, object	View Strokes
86	现	xiàn	now, appear	View Strokes
87	实	shí	real, actual	View Strokes
88	加	jiā	to add, plus	View Strokes
89	量	liàng	quantity, measure	View Strokes
90	都	dōu	all, capital	View Strokes
91	两	liǎng	two, both	View Strokes
92	体	tǐ	body, form	View Strokes
93	制	zhì	to make, system	View Strokes
94	机	jī	machine, opportunity	View Strokes
95	当	dāng	when, should	View Strokes
96	使	shǐ	to use, make	View Strokes
97	点	diǎn	point, dot, o'clock	View Strokes
98	从	cóng	from, follow	View Strokes
99	业	yè	industry, business	View Strokes
100	本	běn	book, root	View Strokes

Why These 100 Characters Matter

These aren't just any 100 characters—they're the most frequently used characters in modern Chinese writing, carefully selected based on corpus frequency analysis.

The 80/20 Principle in Action:
• These 100 characters appear in 42% of all written Chinese
• Combined with the next 400 characters, you reach 75% coverage
• Mastering stroke order for these foundational characters builds muscle memory that transfers to thousands of related characters

Learning Benefits:
• Reading: Recognize nearly half of all characters in newspapers, books, and signs
• Writing: Build correct stroke patterns that make learning new characters easier
• Typing: Faster character input with proper component knowledge
• Memory: Stroke order creates kinesthetic memory pathways

Example: The character 一 (yī - one) appears in over 1,000 compound characters. Master its simple horizontal stroke, and you've learned a component that appears everywhere.

How to Practice Effectively

Don't just memorize—build permanent muscle memory with this proven method.

The 5-Day Mastery System:

Day 1-2: Foundation (Characters 1-20)
1. Watch the [stroke order animation](/order/的) for each character
2. Write each character 15 times following the exact sequence
3. Focus on stroke direction and order, not speed
4. Use our [worksheet generator](/tools/chinese-worksheet-generator) for structured practice

Day 3-4: Building (Characters 21-60)
1. Practice 20 characters per day
2. Self-test: Write from memory before checking
3. Note characters that share stroke patterns (e.g., 口, 日, 目)
4. Review previous day's characters (5 minutes)

Day 5+: Mastery (Characters 61-100)
1. Speed up writing while maintaining correct stroke order
2. Practice character combinations and simple words
3. Use spaced repetition: Review Day 1 characters on Day 5

Pro Tips:
• Grid paper: Use 田字格 (tián zì gé) practice sheets for proper proportions
• Slow first: Speed comes after correctness
• Daily practice: 20 minutes daily beats 2 hours weekly
• Write, don't trace: Active recall builds stronger memory

Common Stroke Patterns in Top 100

Many of these 100 characters share fundamental stroke patterns. Master these patterns once, apply them everywhere.

Pattern 1: Enclosures (口-based characters)

Characters with 口 (mouth) component: 和, 国, 可

Stroke rule: Left → Top → Right → Bottom (closure stroke last)

Pattern 2: Top-Bottom Structures

Characters: 是, 要, 字

Stroke rule: Always top component first, then bottom

Pattern 3: Left-Right Structures

Characters: 他, 们, 时

Stroke rule: Left radical first, then right component

Pattern 4: Horizontal vs. Vertical Priority

Horizontal first: 十 (shí - ten), 工 (gōng - work)
Vertical first: 川 (chuān - river)

Exception to learn: 王 (wáng - king) - Horizontal, vertical, horizontal, horizontal (not all horizontals first!)

Pattern Recognition Exercise:
Group characters by structure type from our Top 100 list. You'll find about 30% are left-right, 25% top-bottom, and 15% enclosure types.

Recommended Learning Sequence

Don't learn them in frequency order—learn them in structural complexity order for faster mastery.

Stage 1: Simple Strokes (Week 1)

Start with these fundamental characters:
• Single-stroke: 一 (one)
• 2-3 strokes: 二 (two), 三 (three), 十 (ten), 人 (person)
• 4-5 strokes: 大 (big), 小 (small), 上 (up), 下 (down)

*Why this order?* Build confidence with simple characters while learning basic stroke types.

Stage 2: Common Radicals (Week 2)

Learn characters with these radicals:
• 人 (person): 他, 们, 个
• 口 (mouth): 和, 可, 吗
• 木 (wood): 本, 来

*Why this order?* Radical recognition accelerates learning of complex characters.

Stage 3: Complex Structures (Week 3-4)

Tackle multi-component characters:
• 10+ strokes: 国 (country), 学 (study), 说 (speak)

*Why this order?* By now, you recognize components and can break down complex characters.

Download our optimized learning sequence: [Get Custom Practice Worksheet](/tools/chinese-worksheet-generator)

Quick Reference: Stroke Order Rules

These 7 fundamental rules govern stroke order for all Chinese characters, not just our Top 100.

1. Top to Bottom
三 (three): Write all three horizontals from top to bottom

2. Left to Right
八 (eight): Left stroke first, then right stroke

3. Horizontal Before Vertical (Usually)
十 (ten): Horizontal first, then vertical
*Exception*: When vertical is a central axis: 中 (middle) starts with vertical

4. Outside Before Inside
月 (moon): Write the left vertical, top and right side, then inside strokes

5. Enter the Room Before Closing the Door
国 (country): Write 口 (mouth), then 玉, then bottom closure

6. Middle Before Sides
小 (small): Vertical hook first, then two sides

7. Penetrating Strokes Last
母 (mother): Write the character, then the two horizontal strokes that cut through

Practice Test:
Can you apply these rules to write 本 (origin) correctly? Answer: Horizontal, vertical,撇, 捺 (following rules #1, #2, #3)

Master these rules and you'll know how to write thousands of characters, not just 100.

Need More Practice?

Use our custom worksheet generator to create personalized practice sheets with any characters you choose.

Generate Custom Worksheets

Continue Your Learning

Explore more related resources to further enhance your Chinese writing skills:

Basic Strokes of Chinese Characters: A Complete Guide

Have you ever looked at a Chinese character and felt overwhelmed? You see complex shapes, but don't know where to start? The secret to mastering Chinese writing lies in understanding the eight basic strokes that form the foundation of every character. In this comprehensive guide, we'll break down each stroke with clear examples and interactive demonstrations, giving you the tools you need to write Chinese characters with confidence.

Master Chinese Handwriting: The Ultimate Guide to Stroke Order & Character Practice

You've mastered Pinyin, but when you open a Chinese book, you still feel like you're staring at a wall of impenetrable symbols. It's frustrating to recognize the sound but not the meaning. The problem? You're treating reading as a passive skill. The solution? **Active stroke-by-stroke writing practice**. This guide covers the best graded resources and a proven 20-minute routine that uses **interactive stroke order animations** to lock characters into your long-term memory through muscle memory. **What You'll Learn:** - Why handwriting outperforms passive recognition by 3x for retention - A proven 20-minute daily routine backed by cognitive science - Common mistakes that create bad habits (and how to fix them) - The best tools and resources for systematic practice

Top 100 Chinese Characters: Complete Stroke Order Chart & Free PDF Worksheet