10 Most Complicated Chinese Characters Mandarin Learners Should Know

Have you ever wondered why some Chinese characters look like complex puzzles? Some even have 58 different ways of being written. Sometimes,it is difficult even for native speakers. So do you know the top 10 most compicated Chinese characters?Let me tell you!The most widely known complicated Chinese characters is Biang.

Through this article, Wukong Education provides you with ten complex Chinese characters, along with their related pronunciations and spellings

Ready to tackle these character challenges? Let’s dive in!

Top 10 Most Complicated Chinese Characters：From 58-Stroke Biáng Character to Ancient Dragons

1: Biáng (58 Strokes) – The Legendary Biáng Noodles

Meaning: A legendary noodle dish from Shaanxi.

Cultural Fun Fact! The biáng character is one of China’s most complicated Chinese characters—it’s linked to a traditional noodle dish! It’s so complex that it wasn’t even included in Unicode until 2020!

Complexity Breakdown:

With 58 strokes, biáng is definitely the most complicated Chinese character here! It’s not just the huge number of strokes that makes it hard—its design is super intricate too. This character has several parts: on the left, there’s the “酉” (wine) radical. It stands for ancient brewing or fermentation. On the right, there’s the “辶” (movement) radical. It makes the character feel lively—just like the swirling motion of pulling or twisting noodles!

Learning Tips:

• Break it down: Focus on the 酉 radical (wine) and 辶 radical (movement) first. These form the “core” structure of the character, so mastering these components will make the rest of the character easier to remember.
• Mnemonic: “The noodle twists through the air, pulling you into a whirlwind of flavour.”
• Wukong Education Tip: Practice this character in stages and learn this Chinese character online. Break it down into smaller parts and watch the character come to life one stroke at a time. After mastering each section, piece them together until you’re confident writing biáng from memory.

2: Zhé/Zhèng (Traditional: 64 Strokes) – Flourish of Dragons and Ancient Kings

Meaning: A type of flourish or ornate character.

Cultural Fun Fact! This old character,as one of the most complicated Chinese characters, is often used in history-related stuff—it.It stands for royal orders or important documents.

Complexity Breakdown:

With 64 strokes, to learn the character is as complex as they come. Its structure includes multiple repeating dragons, making it both visually fascinating and challenging.

Learning Tips:

• Focus on visualising the components before writing.
• Mnemonic: “Dragons wind their way through ancient scrolls.”
• Wukong Education Tip: Master the strokes in parts, focusing on smaller sections.

3: 齾 (Yà) – Chipped Teeth of the Past (34 Strokes)

Meaning: Chipped teeth.

Cultural Fun Fact: This most complicated Chinese character is used in medical contexts to describe chipped or broken teeth, and it’s a common term in ancient medical texts.

Complexity Breakdown:

With 34 strokes, 齾 may be difficult for beginners because it includes multiple radical components. This character looks like a detailed image of damaged teeth.

Learning Tips:

• Break down the radicals into manageable sections.
• Mnemonic: “A cracked tooth shows the wisdom of age.”
• Wukong Education Tip: Try tracing the character first to get a feel for the flow.

4: 麤 (Cū) – The Roughness of Nature (33 Strokes)

Meaning: Rough, crude.

Cultural Fun Fact: Often used in historical and poetic texts, this character symbolizes roughness or the untamed nature of life.

Complexity Breakdown:

This character has several parts, including the “鹿” (deer) radical. It’s linked to ancient Chinese symbolism!It’ s a character you may find in classical texts to describe ruggedness or rawness.

Learning Tips:

• Focus on the radicals for easier recall.
• Mnemonic: “A rough path through the wild deer’s domain.”
• Wukong Education Tip: Our app’s interactive quizzes help you recall characters faster

5: 䨻 (Bā) – The Thunder’s Roar (52 Strokes)

Pinyin: Bā

Meaning: Thunder

Cultural Fun Fact: This character symbolizes the powerful and unrelenting nature of thunder, often used in classical Chinese texts to evoke a sense of force or power.

Complexity Breakdown:

It contains the radical 雷 (thunder), with added strokes that make it visually overwhelming.The character doesn’t have a simplified form, which makes it all the more challenging for beginners to learn this Chinese character.

Learning Tips:

• Focus on the radical: The 雷 radical is crucial and can help you break down the character.
• Mnemonic: “Imagine thunder breaking apart the sky in a burst of energy.”
• Wukong Education Tip: Use our progressive stroke practice tool to tackle high-stroke characters one step at a time.

6: 龘 (Dá) – The Flight of the Dragon (48 Strokes)

Meaning: Dragon flight (associated with the powerful image of a dragon)

Cultural Fun Fact: One of the most complicated Chinese character represents the grandeur and mystery of dragons in Chinese mythology.

Complexity Breakdown:

The repetition of radicals in this character is meant to represent the grandeur and dynamic nature of a dragon’s flight.

Learning Tips:

• Focus on the radicals: The repeated parts can be a clue to remembering the character’s form.
• Mnemonic: “The dragon soars through the sky, leaving a trail of elegance.”
• Wukong Education Tip: Visual learners will appreciate our animated dragon GIFs to help cement the structure.

7: 齉 (Nàng) – The Nasal Sound (36 Strokes)

Meaning: Nasal sound, used in phonetics

Cultural Fun Fact: The hardest Chinese character for beginners is often associated with nasal pronunciation in Chinese. It’s also considered visually appealing, which adds to its complexity.

Complexity Breakdown:

This character is visually intricate, with multiple components stacked vertically.

Learning Tips:

• Segment the character: Break it into its parts—focus on the “mouth” radical and work your way down.
• Mnemonic: “A long nasal sound echoes through the Chinese character’s structure.”
• Wukong Education Tip: Our practice sheets focus on challenging characters like this, helping you master them in just 3 sessions.

8: 籲 (Yù) – Calling Out for Help (32 Strokes Traditional / 6 Strokes Simplified)

Meaning: Appeal, to plead or call out

Cultural Fun Fact:This most complicated Chinese character is about pleading or asking for help . Its meaning is deeply tied to Chinese calligraphy—where a nicely written character is just as important as what it means!

Complexity Breakdown:

This character’s structure is related to horses and the idea of an open call or plea.

Learning Tips:

• Simplify first: Learn the simplified version, and then build up to the traditional form.
• Mnemonic: “Picture a horse calling for help in the wind.”
• Wukong Education Tip: Use our stroke order videos to master the flow of this complex character.

9: 鑰 (Yào) – The Key to Unlocking Complexity (25 Strokes)

Meaning: Key (as in the key to something important)

Cultural Fun Fact: The key is a powerful symbol in Chinese culture, often used to represent unlocking secrets, wisdom, or treasures.

Complexity Breakdown:

The “钅” (metal) radical makes this character have lots of radical parts—and super hard to write! It mixes the metal radical with a key-like shape, which stands for “unlocking” something.

Learning Tips:

• Start with the radical: Focus on 钅 first, which is a common component.
• Mnemonic: “Imagine a giant key unlocking a treasure chest of wisdom.”
• Wukong Education Tip: Visual learners will love our interactive infographics for stroke breakdowns.

10: 龜 (Guī) – The Turtle’s Intricate Shell (16 Strokes) Pinyin: Guī

Meaning: Turtle (Symbol of longevity)

Cultural Fun Fact: The turtle is a symbol of wisdom and longevity in Chinese culture, and its detailed shell is a challenge even for experienced learners.

Complexity Breakdown:

Cultural Fun Fact! In Chinese culture, the turtle stands for wisdom and long life. Even learners who have experience find its detailed shell hard to draw in the character!

Learning Tips:

• Break into radicals: Master 亀 first—it’s the core of the character.
• Mnemonic: “The turtle hides in a boxy shell, but you can still spot its head and legs.”
• Wukong Education Tip: Our app’s daily drills build stroke confidence in just 5 minutes.

Why These Complex Characters Test Learners ?

For Chinese beginners, characters like “biáng” and “龘 (dá)” are super hard! They have tons of strokes and repeated parts—even Chinese people can find them difficult to learn sometimes!

If you are interested in Chinese characters, you are welcome to make a free reservation for Wukong Chinese courses.It uses fun interactive games and easy memory tips to help you get past these hurdles. Over 5,000 American learners have tried it already, and they say these methods help them remember Chinese characters better and learn faster!

FAQS about Learning Complex Chinese Characters

1. Which Chinese character is the hardest to write?

The most complicated Chinese character to write is ‘biáng’, which has 58 strokes! This character is related to the traditional Shaanxi noodle ‘biángbiáng mian’. It is so complicated that it was only included in the Universal Character Encoding in 2020. It is rarely used in daily communication. And even native Chinese speakers find it difficult to write. It is hard to write because it contains many different radicals, and the stroke order is long and winding.

2. What is the most complex word to write in Chinese?

The most difficult words to write are often composed of complex Chinese characters. The most complicated Chinese characters are often made of several hard-to-write characters. That makes them even trickier naturally! Words like ‘yàoshi’ (key) and ‘fántǐzì’ (traditional character) also contain hard-to-write characters. However, in terms of pure complexity, the ‘龘’ character stands out.It often appears in myths or ancient texts and is rarely used in daily life.

3. What is the most obscure Chinese character?

The most obscure Chinese character may be 𠀀 .It is one of the extremely rare characters in Chinese. This character belongs to the category of obscure logograms. It is rarely seen in modern reading materials. Moreover, its exact meaning has not been fully clarified to this day. It is almost never used in daily communication. So both people learning Chinese and many native Chinese speakers find it obscure and difficult to understand.

Conclusion

The most complicated Chinese characters carry Hanzi culture. Sure, they’re hardest character for beginners—but they help you learn the Chinese culture behind them!

Eager to conquer them? Sign up for Wukong Chinese’s free Hanzi Mastery Trial Class and build confidence stroke by stroke.While learning about the complex Chinese characters, children can enjoy learning Chinese.

Next time you encounter biáng character on a menu, you’ll recognize its genius—you’ve tamed the complexity!

Mao Ying | WuKong Chinese Teacher

Master’s degree in International Chinese Education from Peking University. Dedicated to the field of Chinese language education, with 7 years of experience as an international Chinese language teacher.