FAQ
How do I start a game?
Enter your challenges, choose whether to hide a stroke or a radical, turn pinyin on if needed, and click Play. You need to be signed in to use the online game.
How should I enter words?
Each entry can contain one to three Hanzi. Use a comma or press Enter to start the next word and a new game screen; the full set can contain up to 50 characters, including duplicates.
How does the online game work?
Each word appears on its own screen, and you complete its Hanzi from left to right. A hint appears after two misses on the current stroke, while the mistake counter keeps a running total for the whole game.
Why won’t the game start?
The game stops invalid entries before loading, including words longer than three Hanzi, more than 50 characters overall, unsupported symbols, or missing character or radical data. Fix the entries named in the message and try again.
How are PDF rows arranged?
Every word gets its own row. Its Hanzi fill the first boxes and the remaining boxes are left blank; the selected value from 5 to 10 is the total row length. When pinyin is enabled, each syllable is centered above its matching Hanzi.
What can I customize in the PDF?
Set the number of boxes, character and grid colors, grid style, and page design, with separate options to remove the background or emojis. PDF downloads are available to PRO members.
How do I include an answer key?
Enable Show answers before downloading. The PDF will add a separate section with the complete form and stroke order for every Hanzi, highlighting each newly added stroke in red.
Should I hide a stroke or a radical?
Stroke mode removes one random stroke from each Hanzi. Radical mode removes every stroke that belongs to its radical, and you restore those strokes one at a time.
Can I use the same Hanzi more than once?
Yes. Your original order and duplicates are preserved, and every occurrence receives its own randomized challenge.
What happens when I play again?
Play again starts a fresh game and randomizes the missing strokes once more. Downloading another PDF also creates a new set of challenges.
Characters
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Use a comma or a new line to start a new word
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What to hide
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PDF settings
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Number of cells
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Character color
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Grid color
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Character writing grids
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Design template (PDF)
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Donate!
Lost Stroke
Find and restore the missing stroke
Practice Chinese stroke order through play
Lost Stroke is an online exercise for Chinese character writing practice. After signing up, you can play for free: enter up to 50 characters, choose whether to hide one random stroke or a radical, and restore the missing part in the correct order. Turn pinyin on for an extra clue or leave it off to test your memory.
The game checks every stroke as you write. After two mistakes on the same stroke, a hint appears, while the overall counter tracks mistakes across the whole game. Duplicate characters stay in the list, and each occurrence is randomized independently, making focused repetition easy.
Practice online and create PDF worksheets
The online game helps you reinforce stroke order, notice character structure, and recognize radicals more confidently. PRO users can also generate printable PDF worksheets with a custom number of cells, grid type and colors, character color, design, pinyin, and an optional answer section. The exercise works well for self-study, homework, classroom warm-ups, and Chinese handwriting review.