When writing hanzi, we use special paper called tianzige (田字格) — a square grid divided into four smaller squares. This helps us place each component in the correct position.

┌───┬───┐
│   │   │
├───┼───┤
│   │   │
└───┴───┘

The center lines help us balance our characters.

These are characters made of a single simple part:

Notice how 一, 二, and 三 are just horizontal lines stacked together.

These characters combine two parts side by side or top and bottom:

Example: Writing 日 (rì) — "sun"

1. First, draw the outer box (like a rectangle)
2. Then, draw the horizontal line inside the box

┌───┬───┐
│ ──┼── │
│   │   │
└───┴───┘

Example: Writing 山 (shān) — "mountain"

1. Draw the middle vertical peak
2. Draw the left vertical slope
3. Draw the right vertical slope
4. Draw the horizontal base

   │
───┼──
   │

Step 1: Look at the character carefully — count how many components it has.

Step 2: Visualize where each component goes in the grid (top, bottom, left, right).

Step 3: Trace the character first, then write it on your own.

Step 4: Check that your character fills the square properly and each component is clear.

Your teacher will say a character name in pinyin (for example: "yī", "èr", "rì", "shān"). You will write the correct hanzi in your tianzige grid.

Practice characters:

• 一 (yī) — one
• 二 (èr) — two
• 三 (sān) — three
• 日 (rì) — sun
• 月 (yuè) — moon
• 山 (shān) — mountain
• 水 (shuǐ) — water
• 火 (huǒ) — fire

• Each hanzi fits inside a square.
• Components can be placed top-bottom or left-right.
• Use the grid lines to help you balance your characters.
• Start with simple one-component characters, then move to two components.
• Practice writing each character several times.

In Tanzania, when trading with Chinese businesspeople at markets like Kariakoo or when buying goods imported from China, knowing how to read and write simple hanzi helps you recognize product labels, prices written in Chinese, and basic signs. For example, seeing the character 山 (shān) on a map might indicate a mountain area, or 水 (shuǐ) on a bottle label means "water" — useful when shopping for everyday items.