Standard (simplified) Chinese, mainland stroke order
Watch the animation, study each numbered stroke below, then print the tracing sheet to practice by hand. Correct stroke order makes your handwriting faster, neater, and easier to memorize.
Character evolution: 马 over 3,000 years
Oracle bone 甲骨文
c. 1250–1050 BC
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
→
Bronze 金文
c. 1000–221 BC
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
→
Small seal 小篆
221 BC –
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
→
Regular script 楷书
modern standard
马
Arphic Public License, via Make Me a Hanzi
马 (mǎ) is a Pictograph (象形) — a drawing of the thing itself. Simplified form of 馬, a horse galloping to the left. 马 is unusually well documented: forms survive from all three early stages — oracle bone, bronze and small seal — so you can watch the drawing slowly straighten into the modern character. The small seal script standardized under the Qin dynasty is the ancestor of every modern form; clerical script (隶书) later flattened its curves into straight strokes, giving the regular script we write today. Glyphs: Wikimedia Commons Ancient Chinese Characters project — per-file credits on our glyph attribution page.
How this character works
Formation
象形 Pictograph — a drawing of the thing itself
How it works
Simplified form of 馬, a horse galloping to the left
First cell shows the full character lightly; the following cells reveal one more stroke at a time. Print and trace with a pencil.
Frequently asked questions
How many strokes does 马 have?
The Chinese character 马 (mǎ) is written with 3 strokes. The correct stroke order is shown step by step above.
What is the pinyin of 马?
The pinyin of 马 is "mǎ" (ma without tone marks).
How do you write 马 in Chinese?
Write 马 by following the 3-step stroke order animation on this page, then practice with the printable tracing worksheet. Each stroke is numbered and drawn in the standard order used in mainland China.
