1.
character shape; letterform; glyph; form of a written character
The visual form or shape of a written character, whether kanji, kana, or alphabetic letters. Used when discussing handwriting, typography, calligraphy, or the structural components of characters.
Compound of 字 ('character; letter') and 形 ('shape; form'). A term used across calligraphy, typography, education, and kanji studies to discuss the visual appearance of written characters.
Usage
- In education, used when teaching students to write characters correctly: proper stroke order produces the right 字形
- In typography, refers to the design of character shapes in fonts
- In kanji studies, discusses differences between 旧字体 (old forms) and 新字体 (simplified forms)
Common collocations
- 字形が似ている: to have a similar character shape
- 字形が異なる: to differ in character form
- 正しい字形: correct character form
- 字形の変遷: evolution of character forms
Similar words
- 書体: typeface; font; script style — refers to a consistent design style (e.g., 楷書, 行書) rather than the shape of individual characters
- 筆跡: handwriting; penmanship — the characteristic style of a person's writing
- 字体: character form; variant form — focuses on different standard versions of the same character (old vs. new)