Handwriting Chinese Adresses - The Easy Way :)

Here’s an old-fashioned method for how to write in an alphabet that you don’t write in - or in fact copy any old drawing - with just the help of a piece of paper, a pencil, and a ballpoint pen. Oh well, and a printer for starts…

  1. Print the address at a size small enough to squeeze into the address field, but as big as possible.

  2. Turn the paper round and cover the back of the space with the address on it with pencil. This is most comfortably done at a window:

  3. Put the paper with the address on the address field of the postcard and retrace the Chinese signs with a ballpoint pen:

  4. And voila - you have the address written on the postcard in pencil!

  5. Now retrace the signs once more in ballpoint pen:

And yes, I have read @PinkNoodle 's post on this subject. But this old-school method is sooooooo much simpler, I do believe it deserves a separate post - rather than to vanish among the discussion of Rebecca’s post once a few more comments are added. :slight_smile:

55 Likes

Wouldn’t things be easier if you use carbon paper instead of colouring the backside of the printout?

5 Likes

Can you print on carbon paper???

Oh, right, I see what you mean… put the carbon paper between the printout and the postcard?
That might work just as well :slight_smile:

4 Likes

If you have access to a printer & can print off the address, why wouldn’t you just either print it on a label or cut & paste the address onto the postcard? I admire creative solutions, but also simple ones, lol

14 Likes

I still think simply copying the adress from screen to card by hand is the simpliest method. One stroke after the other, seven minutes, and it’s done. (just like I did on Sunday with two cards to China)

More than a billion people use this script every day - I am quiet sure by taking some time, the outcome is in the league of these daily average notes. And if we assume that dyslexia does exist in China too, a wrong stroke* here and there won’t be a big catastrophe, just like it isn’t with Latin alphabet (where the mix of letters can produce ‘ugly’ words too).

*not that I’m not careful, but I’m also not paranoid about tiny mistakes

8 Likes

I think the tips is aimed at postcrossers who would try to write the address with pen (handwrite), because some may think printed address makes the card lose the feeling / aesthetic / sincerity / effort etc. Although printing is way easier (if you have printer)

Thanks for the tips @Ludek !
I have no problem writing Chinese address but this tips can make my Chinese writing look better :laughing:

4 Likes

Just esthetic reasons. Don’t know why, but it looks better to me :slight_smile:
However, I actually do it a simpler way. I just look at the address and copy it by hand. But then, I’m good at drawing - not everybody is.

6 Likes

Yes. And that’s what I usually do :slight_smile:

I was just a bit shocked by Rebecca’s post - realizing that this age-old method with a pencil seems to have been forgotten… Which really shouldn’t have come as a surprise - with all the new technology, I guess, there’s usually little reason to resort to such old-school methods, even for primary kids…
As a kid, by the way, using this method extensively was how I developed my drawing skills :slight_smile:

1 Like

I think your method is really interesting.
However, if you have a printed one, then, though both are readable, I would prefer reading the printed one if I was the post deliver, because it is easier to read.

2 Likes

Appreciate the lost art, but are you disclosing a real address? Recipient may not appreciate their info being posted like this.

2 Likes

No :slight_smile:

4 Likes

I appreciate this so much. Thank you alien pal! :smiley:

Whoa!!! this is very interesting!

That is indeed a good idea, it would definitely look better than just printing out the adress and glueing it on the Postcard…and it would work for kyrillic adresses too!
However, it is more work…honestly, I probably are too lazy to do it.
But for industrious people it surely is a great idea!

2 Likes

Such a great hack, thank you! :blush:

2 Likes

lol That is a creative method!

Much easier to just print it out or use the English one.

Cool idea, but I’m afraid I would still trace it wrongly and I’m sure I’ll miss something or draw it wrongly. And I don’t know if the mistake will be something significant or small. Sometimes one small line can change a lot in an address (I know in my language it will). I don’t feel confident enough to write it like that in Chinese. But still a good way for those who can.

1 Like

I have now started to enlarge the images of the characters on my computer and then try to copy them free hand. I am sure it looks strange to a Chinese person but so far all my cards have reached their destination. So it can’t be too bad.
However, it takes me ages to write the address :smiley:

I like to handwrite addresses as I think it’s a lot more personal than printing an address.

4 Likes

Most probably it looks like the handwriting of a very young school kid :slight_smile:

5 Likes