Challenge 挑戦
chōsen2 characters22 strokes
挑戦 (chōsen) means challenge: making up your mind to take on something difficult, and facing it boldly instead of backing away.
Free practice sheet
Print at 100%, actual size. Enter your email once and every free sheet downloads right away.
Meaning 意味
What 挑戦 means
The Japanese word for challenge, written with 2 kanji and read chōsen.
挑戦 is the act of facing something hard with determination and giving it your best try. In Japanese the word means the act of taking something on, not the difficulty itself.
When people write it in Japan. In Japan, 挑戦 is a popular word for kakizome, the first calligraphy of the New Year, and for goals for the year ahead.
Japanese students learn the last of these kanji in junior high school.
How to write it 書き方
Brush tips for 挑戦
Three things to watch
- In the hand radical on the left of 挑 (tehen), bring the 2nd stroke, the vertical line, straight down and flick up to the left. Sweep the 3rd stroke up to the right.
- In 挑, keep the hand radical on the left narrow and write 兆 on the right large.
- On the right side of 戦, stretch the slanting curved stroke (the 11th stroke) long to the lower right and flick up. Do not forget the final dot.
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.
More free sheets
Heart & character
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.