<p>I'm afraid that the other answer missed the point here - the font that Duolingo displays is a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Asian_Gothic_typeface" rel="nofollow noreferrer">East Asian Gothic typeface</a>, which is a derivative of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ming_(typefaces)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Ming Typeface</a>. Gothic and Ming are <strong>print typefaces</strong>, and you don't use them to imitate handwriting (<em>orthography</em>, as specified in the question). Yes, your Duolingo does indeed show a Japanese or Korean printing font, but you don't imitate printing fonts in handwriting regardless (even if they're Chinese printing fonts).</p>
<p>Yellowbridge's font is a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regular_script" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Regular Script</a> typeface, which is a proper model for handwriting.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Japanese has a model handwriting font used in schools called <em>textbook font</em> (<em>Kyokashotai</em>, 敎科書體), which you can preview <a href="https://www.fonts.com/font/ricoh/hg-kyokashotai/hg-kyokashotai" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/gQEJd.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/gQEJd.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>「苹」is not a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C5%8Dy%C5%8D_kanji" rel="nofollow noreferrer">regulated character</a> in Japanese, so I wouldn't use it as a basis for comparison.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-12T18:23:57.743Z
Thanks, so if I understand you correctly, you, and Chinese people, would rather write and learn it by hand as it is displayed in 苹 (and maybe even Japenese people would, if they used that character in their language where it seems rare). Further, the right ethymology is also derived from that version (?) - which contains, so to speak, the right "move" for interpretation of its meaning.
Christoph Mark
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-13T07:30:13.630Z
@user66288 (1) `would rather write and learn it by hand as it is displayed in 苹` no, the schools teach it that way. The "Chinese people" generally would not have a preference unless they were taught since childhood in a certain way. (2) `the right ethymology is also derived from that version` absolutely not, handwritten character shapes are often less suitable than print shapes to describe character origins. If you're looking to learn through character origins, I recommend staying far away from Simplified Chinese. Anyway, have a look at questions tagged [tag:glyph-origin].
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-12T16:30:40.610Z
2019-05-12T16:30:40.610Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
dROOOze
<p>苹 is the only right writing in Mandarin.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-13T15:04:37.030Z
Thank you for your contribution. The downvotes (not from me) probably come because you did not explain or justify your opinion. I understand however that you prefer and use only this writing - which is an interesting information.
Christoph Mark
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-11-06T08:36:54.500Z
I am not the down voter. What people see from your post would be different as different fonts might be used to view the post. People may see a different writing from what you intend to show. A picture should be preferred here.
fefe
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-13T11:01:41.657Z
2019-05-13T11:01:41.657Z
Coral
<p>From a <a href="https://www.unicode.org/faq/han_cjk.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Unicode perspective</a> it is the same character. Depending on the font and the environment you are using it may look different. Take for instance a look at the <a href="https://www.unicode.org/charts/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">code charts</a> of <a href="http://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode12.0.0/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Unicode 12</a>:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/qf4ix.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/qf4ix.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>As can be seen above the Chinese and Japanese tend to write the same character slightly differently.</p>

<p>If you check what font and language that is used on Duolingo, you will probably find a Japanese version.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-12T13:34:07.580Z
You are right, thanks. I see minor differences also for the character 包. They do not involve a different "move", however, which might change the meaning.
Christoph Mark
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-12T16:39:09.357Z
Yellowbridge's character preview is in Regular Script and your example is in Ming typeface. You're comparing apples to [duckweed](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E8%8B%B9#Etymology_2) here.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-12T12:09:10.443Z
2019-05-12T12:09:10.443Z
Kess Vargavind
<p>I recently came across an anomaly in Chinese orthography which I can't explain myself. Please take a look at the following picture (screenshot from the Duolingo course on Chinese, I guess in lecture &quot;Hobbies 2&quot; but I am unsure about that)</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/tSZup.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/tSZup.png" alt="The orthography of 苹 proposed by Duolingo." /></a></p>
<p>and at the <a href="https://www.yellowbridge.com/chinese/character-stroke-order.php?word=%E8%8B%B9" rel="nofollow noreferrer">YellowBridge site</a>. What you see is that there is consensus missing in the orthography of 苹 (within Duolingo's writing, the writing of the Windows typesetting system, and the writing YellowBridge proposes as a stroke order diagram). The difference lies in the two diagonal strokes in the middle of the character. Sometimes they are written from top to bottom, sometimes from bottom to top.</p>
<p>At first, I thought these must be two different characters with the same pronunciation &quot;píng&quot;. But I found out to the better that they ought to be the same.</p>
<p>If I were to make a question out of this report, I would ask: Why is this? What should I think about this, and how should I write? When you write by hand, what orthography do you usually use? What do other people think about this anomaly? Do they understand both writings? Are they both likely common, and both generally equally understood/accepted?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-11-06T16:18:27.253Z
These strokes should never be written from bottom to top, regardless of the variant used. The difference is in the left-right directionality, not the top-bottom directionality.
Lionel Rowe
<characters><writing><handwriting><calligraphy><orthography>
What about the orthography of 苹 (like in 苹果)? It seems consensus is missing
# What about the orthography of 苹 (like in 苹果)? It seems consensus is missing

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-05-12)

I recently came across an anomaly in Chinese orthography which I can't explain myself. Please take a look at the following picture (screenshot from the Duolingo course on Chinese, I guess in lecture "Hobbies 2" but I am unsure about that)

[![The orthography of 苹 proposed by Duolingo.](https://i.sstatic.net/tSZup.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/tSZup.png)

and at the [YellowBridge site](https://www.yellowbridge.com/chinese/character-stroke-order.php?word=%E8%8B%B9). What you see is that there is consensus missing in the orthography of 苹 (within Duolingo's writing, the writing of the Windows typesetting system, and the writing YellowBridge proposes as a stroke order diagram). The difference lies in the two diagonal strokes in the middle of the character. Sometimes they are written from top to bottom, sometimes from bottom to top.

At first, I thought these must be two different characters with the same pronunciation "píng". But I found out to the better that they ought to be the same.

If I were to make a question out of this report, I would ask: Why is this? What should I think about this, and how should I write? When you write by hand, what orthography do you usually use? What do other people think about this anomaly? Do they understand both writings? Are they both likely common, and both generally equally understood/accepted?

**Tags:** characters, writing, handwriting, calligraphy, orthography
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: These strokes should never be written from bottom to top, regardless of the variant used. The difference is in the left-right directionality, not the top-bottom directionality.  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2019-05-12. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

From a [Unicode perspective](https://www.unicode.org/faq/han_cjk.html) it is the same character. Depending on the font and the environment you are using it may look different. Take for instance a look at the [code charts](https://www.unicode.org/charts/) of [Unicode 12](http://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode12.0.0/):

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/qf4ix.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/qf4ix.png)

As can be seen above the Chinese and Japanese tend to write the same character slightly differently.

If you check what font and language that is used on Duolingo, you will probably find a Japanese version.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: You are right, thanks. I see minor differences also for the character 包. They do not involve a different "move", however, which might change the meaning.  
> **username_2**: Yellowbridge's character preview is in Regular Script and your example is in Ming typeface. You're comparing apples to [duckweed](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E8%8B%B9#Etymology_2) here.  

---

### Answer by username_2 on 2019-05-12. Score: 2

I'm afraid that the other answer missed the point here - the font that Duolingo displays is a [East Asian Gothic typeface](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Asian_Gothic_typeface), which is a derivative of [Ming Typeface](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ming_(typefaces)). Gothic and Ming are **print typefaces**, and you don't use them to imitate handwriting (*orthography*, as specified in the question). Yes, your Duolingo does indeed show a Japanese or Korean printing font, but you don't imitate printing fonts in handwriting regardless (even if they're Chinese printing fonts).

Yellowbridge's font is a [Regular Script](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regular_script) typeface, which is a proper model for handwriting.

> Japanese has a model handwriting font used in schools called *textbook font* (*Kyokashotai*, 敎科書體), which you can preview [here](https://www.fonts.com/font/ricoh/hg-kyokashotai/hg-kyokashotai).
>
> [![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/gQEJd.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/gQEJd.png)
>
> 「苹」is not a [regulated character](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C5%8Dy%C5%8D_kanji) in Japanese, so I wouldn't use it as a basis for comparison.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks, so if I understand you correctly, you, and Chinese people, would rather write and learn it by hand as it is displayed in 苹 (and maybe even Japenese people would, if they used that character in their language where it seems rare). Further, the right ethymology is also derived from that version (?) - which contains, so to speak, the right "move" for interpretation of its meaning.  
> **username_2**: @user66288 (1) `would rather write and learn it by hand as it is displayed in 苹` no, the schools teach it that way. The "Chinese people" generally would not have a preference unless they were taught since childhood in a certain way. (2) `the right ethymology is also derived from that version` absolutely not, handwritten character shapes are often less suitable than print shapes to describe character origins. If you're looking to learn through character origins, I recommend staying far away from Simplified Chinese. Anyway, have a look at questions tagged [tag:glyph-origin].  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2019-05-13. Score: -2

苹 is the only right writing in Mandarin.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you for your contribution. The downvotes (not from me) probably come because you did not explain or justify your opinion. I understand however that you prefer and use only this writing - which is an interesting information.  
> **username_4**: I am not the down voter. What people see from your post would be different as different fonts might be used to view the post. People may see a different writing from what you intend to show. A picture should be preferred here.  

---

