New Spring 新春
shinshun2 characters22 strokes
新春 (shinshun) means the New Year, literally the "new spring," a classic word for the start of the year and its greetings.
Free practice sheet
Print at 100%, actual size. Enter your email once and every free sheet downloads right away.
Meaning 意味
What 新春 means
The Japanese word for New Spring, written with 2 kanji and read shinshun.
新春 means the beginning of a new year, especially the New Year holiday. It is called the "new spring" because in the old Japanese calendar the year began in early spring.
You will often see it on New Year cards, in greetings such as 新春のおよろこびを申し上げます, "Wishing you joy in the new spring."
When people write it in Japan. People in Japan write 新春 for kakizome, the first calligraphy of the New Year, and for brush practice in January. It is also a natural word for a New Year card.
Both kanji are taught in 2nd grade in Japan.
How to write it 書き方
Brush tips for 新春
Three things to watch
- 新 is made of 立 and 木 on the left and 斤 on the right. Keep the whole left side a little narrow.
- In the 木 on the left of 新, do not sweep the last stroke out to the right. End it as a dot and stop firmly.
- 春 has three horizontal strokes. Make the third, lowest one the longest, then spread the sweeps to the left and right wide.
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.
Free for personal practice and classroom use. Please do not sell or re-post the files. Share a link to this page instead.
While the sets are on their way
The book is out now.
Japanese Calligraphy for Beginners takes you from holding the brush to writing whole words, step by step, in English. Every model inside was brushed by our teachers.
Starter Set, $72.99 with the book, brush, ink and paper: coming soon.