Hanzi Rush

Hanzi Rush is a free Chinese character writing game that tests how well you can recall characters from memory. Each level gives you eight clues made up of pinyin and English meanings. Write each character on a blank grid, earn points, build streaks, and work your way through 12 levels of 96 common Chinese characters.

No. Hanzi Rush has no character outlines, ghost characters, stroke-order animations, or reveal button during a run. You must recall the character from its pinyin and meaning. After your answer is checked, you can review the correct character and explore its stroke order and example words.

A correct character is worth 100 points. Consecutive correct answers add a streak bonus (10 points per step, capped at 50), and a character read cleanly on the first pass adds a 20-point bonus. The fourth miss ends the level. No misses earns three stars; one or two misses earn two; three earns one. The campaign board sums each player’s best run on every level.

No. Playing, checking, saving a score and sharing all work signed out. The leaderboard uses a nickname you choose the first time you save; after that, each cleared level saves itself. It stores one best row per player and is anonymous. Your campaign stars are kept in this browser only; the leaderboard is the part that follows the nickname.

Hanzi Rush uses the same browser-based handwriting recognition as the HanziPress Handwriting page. A character counts when the recognizer can identify it from your writing. If the recognizer cannot read it, you can try again without losing a heart. Recognition is not a perfect measure of your handwriting or Chinese knowledge.

The twelve levels use 96 common characters, grouped by theme and ordered roughly by difficulty: first strokes, pronouns, daily verbs, home objects, nature, seasons and time, the body, movement, feelings and qualities, harder shapes, animals, and the town around you. Each level takes a few minutes and can be replayed to improve your best score.

Yes. Level 1 is open from the start, and clearing a level opens the next one. A failed run unlocks nothing; a cleared level stays open so you can replay it for a better score. Unlock progress is stored in this browser, and a shared challenge link to a level you have not opened yet tells you which level to clear first instead of skipping ahead.