

Growth 成長
seichō2 characters14 strokes
成長 (seichō) means growth: a person or living thing growing up, and also the way our abilities grow as we learn.
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Meaning 意味
What 成長 means
The Japanese word for growth, written with 2 kanji and read seichō.
成長 means growing up and getting bigger, for people, animals and plants alike. It also describes growing as a person, as you become able to do more than before.
When people write it in Japan. People in Japan write 成長 for kakizome, the first calligraphy of the New Year, or for a piece that looks back on the year.
Japanese children know every kanji here by 4th grade.
How to write it 書き方
Brush tips for 成長
Three things to watch
- In 成, stretch the 4th stroke, the slanting curved stroke, long to the lower right and flick up at the end.
- Do not forget the final dot of 成.
- 長 has 4 horizontal lines. Space them evenly, and make the 5th stroke, a horizontal line, the longest.
Stroke order
Follow the vermilion stroke, frame by frame.
Stroke order data: KanjiVG by Ulrich Apel, CC BY-SA 3.0.
How to practice 練習
Trace first, then copy
- PrintPrint both pages at actual size, on US Letter or A4. Page 1 is the model. Page 2 is the tracing sheet.
- TraceTrace the outlines with a brush pen. Or lay thin hanshi paper over the page and trace with brush and ink.
- CopySet the model beside your paper and copy it stroke by stroke. Look at the model more than at your own paper.
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