Most Complicated Chinese Characters: A Deep Dive into Linguistic Wonders

Have you ever heard of a Chinese character with 50+ strokes—so complex that even native speakers rarely dare to write it by hand?
Welcome to the fascinating world of the most complicated Chinese character. These characters aren’t just linguistic curiosities; they’re cultural legends, internet celebrities, and proof that human writing systems can get wildly creative.

In this article, you’ll explore:

• The Most Popular Complicated Chinese Character: 𰻞 (biáng)
• The Most Complicated and Actually Used Chinese Character: 齉 (nàng)
• The Most Complicated and Official Record-Holder Chinese Character: 𱁬 (U+3106C)
• Complicated Chinese Characters Once Popular on the Internet: 龘 (dá) and 靐 (bìng)
• Fun cultural stories and origin behind each character

Let’s dive in—your brain is about to do a few push-ups.

Most Popular Complicated Chinese Character: 𰻞

Chinese Character 𰻞 (biáng)

• Character: 𰻞
• Pronunciation: biáng
• Stroke count: commonly said to be 58 strokes (varies by version)
• Meaning: Used in biángbiáng noodles, a famous dish from Shaanxi

Origin of 𰻞(Biang)

The character “biang” is a “self-invented character” originating from Shaanxi folklore, closely tied to the local noodle dish “biángbiáng miàn.” The most popular legend tells of a poor scholar who, unable to pay for his meal, improvised by creating this character on the spot. As he wrote, he recited a vivid rhyming口诀 that combined over ten components—such as “silk,” “long,” “horse,” and “carriage”—into a single, complex, and visually broad form. It has been called “the instruction manual for a bowl of noodles,” as it vividly depicts the noodle’s shape and the scene of its creation.

Culture of 𰻞（Biang)

This character not only vividly depicts the form of the noodles and the scene of their preparation but also embodies people’s aspirations for abundance and prosperity. Today, it has become the most distinctive totem symbol of Shaanxi’s culinary culture and folk wisdom.Despite its fame, biáng was not officially encoded in Unicode until recent years, which only added to its mystique.

To facilitate memorization, a local mnemonic is passed down: ‘A dot flies up to the sky, the Yellow River makes two bends, the mouth of the character 八 (ba) is wide open, the character 言 (yan) walks inside’, which combines the character’s structure with Shaanxi’s geographical and cultural elements.

Most Complicated and Actually Used Chinese Character: 齉

Chinese Character: 齉 (nàng)

• character:齉
• Stroke count: 36
• Pronunciation: nàng
• Meaning: nasal congestion; a stuffed-up nose

Origin of “齉” (nàng)

The character “齉” (nàng) is a classic example of a phono-semantic compound character that also carries ideographic meaning. Its origin can be traced back to Shuowen Jiezi, compiled by Xu Shenduring the Eastern Han dynasty, where it is defined as “illness caused by cold resulting in nasal blockage.”

Culture of “齉” (nàng)

It lacks legendary folk tales and instead functions like a plain slice of everyday life, sinking from ancient medical descriptions into folk language and remaining active in dialects of regions such as Northeast China to this day, describing the nasal congestion sound when one has a cold. Compared with the character ‘biang’, which has a dramatic origin, the character ‘nàng’ demonstrates another stable tradition of Chinese characters rooted in daily life and depicting specific life experiences.

Most Complicated and Official Record-Holder Chinese Character: 𱁬

Chinese Character: 𱁬 (U+3106C)

• character：𱁬
• Unicode: U+3106C
• Pronunciation: It is sometimes said to be pronounced Taito, though no authoritative or standardized pronunciation has been officially confirmed.
• Stroke count: A common saying is 84 strokes
• Status: officially encoded, extremely rare
• meaning:no clear meaning

This character is frequently referenced as the most complicated Chinese character ever recorded—at least in terms of raw stroke count.

Origin of 𱁬

There are few records of this character in ancient texts and literature. The earliest traces of the character 𱁬 discovered to date are from inscribed stone fragments of the Qin and Han dynasties unearthed in Shaanxi Province. Although the character form is blurred, its structure of “隹 + 巂” can be identified. Archaeologists speculate that it was used by the local populace or official authorities at that time for recording birds.

Culture of 𱁬

Linguists classify ‘taito’ as ‘yūrei moji’ (ghost characters), which are likely the result of misreading rather than intentional creation, hence their limited documentation in historical texts.

Complicated Chinese Characters Popular on the Internet: 龘 and 靐

Some characters don’t win by stroke count alone—they win by vibes.

🐉 龘 (dá)

• character:龘
• Stroke count: 48
• prouncation:(dá)
• Meaning: appearance of dragons flying together

This character is literally made of three dragons (龙) stacked together.

Origin of 龘 (dá)

Its origin can be traced back to the ultimate expression of the ancient ‘dragon’ culture. Through the method of overlapping characters for associative meaning, it superimposes the might and mystery of ‘dragon’ to an unparalleled degree. Although it is included in character dictionaries such as the Kangxi Dictionary, it has been a rarely used ritualistic obscure character since ancient times.

Culture of 龘 (dá)

During the 2024 Year of the Dragon, the term ‘Long Xing Da Da’ (Dragon Proceeds Mightily) became widely circulated, causing this originally obscure Chinese character to unexpectedly gain popularity and frequently appear in greetings and cultural creative products.

⚡ 靐 (bìng)

• character:靐
• Stroke count: 39
• prouncation:(bìng)
• Meaning: loud thunder; intense noise

Built from three thunder (雷) radicals, it looks as powerful as it sounds.

Origin of 靐 (bìng)

The character ‘靐’ (bìng) is composed of three ‘雷’ (léi, meaning ‘thunder’) characters stacked on top of each other. Its origin lies in the ancient ideographic method of ‘triple-stacked characters’, which was used to vividly depict the continuous rumbling of thunder. However, as a rare character, it was scarcely used in ancient times.

Culture of 靐 (bìng)

Its cultural story has been reborn in the internet age: thanks to its unusual structure and exaggerated meaning, the character was rediscovered by netizens and given a new, playful sense—“super shocking” or “ridiculously thunderous”—to express extreme astonishment or speechlessness. As a result, it has joined characters like “囧” as a representative member of the so-called “jiong character family” in online popular culture.

At the End

So—what is the most complicated Chinese character?

• Most used: 齉 (nàng)
• Most popular: 𰻞 (biáng)
• Most extreme on record: 𱁬 (U+3106C)
• Most internet-loved: 龘 (dá), 靐 (bìng)

Each tells a story about language, culture, and human creativity.If you love Chinese culture, these characters aren’t obstacles—they’re linguistic wonders.Try writing one of these characters by hand and share the experience.You won’t believe how many strokes this takes—and you’ll never look at Chinese characters the same way again.

Curious to explore more about Chinese language and culture? Keep digging. There’s always another character waiting to blow your mind.You are welcome to make a free reservation for Wukong Chinese courses.It uses free chinese character resources 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!

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.