Biang biang noodle is the hardest kanji to write
Executive summary
Claims that the biáng (used for biangbiang noodles) is "the hardest kanji to write" reflect a mix of facts and popular myth: the biáng character is unusually complex and has been reported with stroke counts ranging from the mid‑50s to high‑50s, but it is a Chinese character (not an official Japanese Jōyō kanji) and many language authorities point to other kanji (like 鬱 or Taito variants) as the most complex in standard lists [1] [2] [3] [4].
1. What people mean by "hardest" — stroke count vs. practical difficulty
When writers call a character the "hardest kanji," they usually mean visually complex (many strokes) or awkward to reproduce; stroke counts for biáng are reported around 56–58 strokes in several sources [2] [1], but other contenders for “most strokes in common lists” include 鬱 (often cited as the most complex Jōyō kanji) and dictionary curios like Taito with very high theoretical stroke totals [3] [4] [5]. So “hardest” depends on which list you consult and whether you count unofficial or regional characters.
2. The biáng character: a culinary oddity, not a standard kanji
Reporting on the noodle shows biáng is chiefly a Chinese character created or preserved as a local curiosity for Shaanxi’s biangbiang noodles; it’s famous for being unusually complex and for onomatopoeic origins, but it is not part of standard dictionaries historically and only more recently has been encoded (Unicode) in modern systems — sources describe its unusual status and multiple stroke counts [1] [2] [6]. Team Japanese and Wiktionary note the character’s cultural fame and that restaurants and menus commonly use the Latin spelling or simpler 麵/面 instead [7] [8].
3. Conflicting stroke counts and why they appear
Different sites list biáng with varying stroke totals—56, 57, 58, or even higher—because the character exists in several handwritten/folk variants and because counting strokes can differ by how subcomponents are grouped; also some sources conflate traditional versus simplified or decorative forms [2] [9] [10]. This explains the popular but inconsistent headlines claiming it’s “the most complex.”
4. What Japanese sources list as the hardest kanji in practice
Japanese‑centered lists and communities more often single out characters like 鬱 or the fanciful Taito for extreme complexity within official or commonly encountered kanji sets: 鬱 appears as the most complex among Jōyō kanji and Taito is celebrated in kanji‑fan lists for its huge stroke count [3] [4] [5]. Those are part of Japanese orthographic discussions, whereas biáng is primarily a Chinese cultural character that occasionally appears in Japanese media as a curiosity [11] [4].
5. How people actually handle these characters in daily life
Practical usage favors workarounds: restaurants and writers often use “biangbiang面” with Latin letters plus 面, or simply use the common kanji for noodle (麵/面) or kana, because the complex character is inconvenient to type and unfamiliar to many readers [12] [7]. Similarly, difficult Japanese kanji like 鬱 are often replaced with kana or simplified forms in informal contexts [11] [13].
6. Competing viewpoints and implicit agendas in reporting
Travel and food journalism tend to highlight the biáng character as a fun “most complex character” hook because it attracts readers (Chineasy, Mental Floss, restaurant pieces) and may emphasize its folkloric origin [6] [9]. Language‑learning sites and Japanese study communities stress official lists and everyday literacy (Jōyō, JIS), so they spotlight different characters like 鬱 or Taito [4] [5]. Both perspectives are valid but pursue different ends: cultural curiosity versus orthographic taxonomy.
7. Bottom line for your claim: "biang biang noodle is the hardest kanji to write"
Available sources show biáng is one of the most visually complex Chinese characters associated with a real word and often cited in popular media for that reason [1] [2], but authoritative Japanese lists point to other kanji (e.g., 鬱 or Taito variants) as the most complex within standard Japanese usage [3] [4]. Thus the statement is misleading unless you specify you mean “the famously complex Chinese character for biangbiang noodles” rather than the single hardest character across every official kanji list [1] [3].
Limitations: reporting varies on stroke counts and on whether you treat biáng as a "kanji" (Japanese term) or a Chinese character; sources do not offer a single, definitive ranking that covers all regional, historical, and unofficial characters [2] [5].