How to write Wishing you prosperity (Gong Xi Fa Cai, 恭喜发财)
The greeting heard most in Malaysia and Singapore at New Year, Gong Hei Fat Choy in Cantonese. Often said back before the red packet comes out. 4 characters, 34 strokes.
Write it in your own hand
The grey guide and the red arrow show where each stroke starts and which way it goes. What you write is kept exactly as you wrote it: nothing is corrected. Go slowly for a thick, wet stroke, quickly for a thin one.
Stroke order, character by character
Respectfully (gōng, 恭)
10 strokes
12345678910
- Horizontal (héng, 横): Left to right, rising very slightly
- Vertical (shù, 竖): Top to bottom
- Vertical (shù, 竖): Top to bottom
- Horizontal (héng, 横): Left to right, rising very slightly
- Left-falling (piě, 撇): Down and to the left, lifting the brush as you go
- Right-falling (nà, 捺): Down and to the right, pressing harder, then lift to a point
- Vertical hook (shù gōu, 竖钩): Top to bottom, then a small hook up to the left
- This stroke: Down to the left
- Dot (diǎn, 点): A short press, usually down to the right
- Dot (diǎn, 点): A short press, usually down to the right
Congratulate (xǐ, 喜)
12 strokes
123456789101112
- Horizontal (héng, 横): Left to right, rising very slightly
- Vertical (shù, 竖): Top to bottom
- Horizontal (héng, 横): Left to right, rising very slightly
- Vertical (shù, 竖): Top to bottom
- Horizontal-turn (héng zhé, 横折): Left to right, then turn sharply down
- Horizontal (héng, 横): Left to right, rising very slightly
- Dot (diǎn, 点): A short press, usually down to the right
- Left-falling (piě, 撇): Down and to the left, lifting the brush as you go
- Horizontal (héng, 横): Left to right, rising very slightly
- Vertical (shù, 竖): Top to bottom
- Horizontal-turn (héng zhé, 横折): Left to right, then turn sharply down
- Horizontal (héng, 横): Left to right, rising very slightly
Make (fā, 发)
5 strokes
12345
- Left-falling then turn (piě zhé, 撇折): Down to the left, then turn up to the right
- Left-falling (piě, 撇): Down and to the left, lifting the brush as you go
- Horizontal then left-falling (héng piě, 横撇): Left to right, then sweep down to the left
- Right-falling (nà, 捺): Down and to the right, pressing harder, then lift to a point
- Dot (diǎn, 点): A short press, usually down to the right
Wealth (cái, 财)
7 strokes
1234567
- Vertical (shù, 竖): Top to bottom
- Horizontal-turn (héng zhé, 横折): Left to right, then turn sharply down
- Left-falling (piě, 撇): Down and to the left, lifting the brush as you go
- Dot (diǎn, 点): A short press, usually down to the right
- Horizontal (héng, 横): Left to right, rising very slightly
- Vertical hook (shù gōu, 竖钩): Top to bottom, then a small hook up to the left
- Left-falling (piě, 撇): Down and to the left, lifting the brush as you go
More greetings to write
- Happy New Year (Xin Nian Kuai Le, 新年快乐)
- May everything go as you wish (Wan Shi Ru Yi, 万事如意)
- Wishing you good health (Shen Ti Jian Kang, 身体健康)
- May your wishes come true (Xin Xiang Shi Cheng, 心想事成)
- Abundance year after year (Nian Nian You Yu, 年年有余)
- Peace and safety, year after year (Sui Sui Ping An, 岁岁平安)
- Happiness to the whole family (He Jia Xing Fu, 阖家幸福)
- Great luck and great gain (Da Ji Da Li, 大吉大利)
- The vigour of a dragon-horse (Long Ma Jing Shen, 龙马精神)
Stroke shapes and order from Make Me a Hanzi, as packaged by Hanzi Writer, used under the Arphic Public License. Stroke names checked by hand, character by character.