Tian Zi Ge (田字格) Chinese character practice paper
Character practice squares divided into quarters by a dashed cross — the grid Chinese schoolchildren learn to write on.
Opens with these settings already loaded. Change anything you like, then download as PDF, PNG or SVG.
Tian Zi Ge and Mi Zi Ge
Tian Zi Ge (田字格) is named for the character 田, "field", which it resembles: a square divided into four by a cross. Mi Zi Ge (米字格) is named for 米, "rice", and adds both diagonals for eight sections. Tian Zi Ge is the everyday practice grid; Mi Zi Ge gives more reference points and is preferred for calligraphy and for learners struggling with proportion. Tick the diagonals option to switch between them.
Why the guides are dashed
The internal cross is a reference, not part of the character. Printing it dashed and light keeps it visually subordinate to what you write, so the page reads as your handwriting with faint guides rather than a grid with writing in it. The outer square stays solid because it defines the character's bounding box.
Choosing a box size
Chinese primary school practice books typically use squares between 12 and 20 mm. Larger boxes suit beginners and complex characters with many strokes; once your writing is confident, dropping to 12 or 13 mm gets far more practice on a page. For brush calligraphy, go considerably larger — 40 mm and up.
Printing it accurately
This only measures correctly if your printer doesn't rescale the page. In the print dialog set Scale: 100% — not "Fit to page" or "Shrink oversized pages". If you're not sure it worked, print the calibration page, measure the ruler on it with a real ruler, and it will tell you exactly what your printer is doing to the page.