Biang Biang Noodle is the character with most strokes originating from china

Checked on November 26, 2025
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Executive summary

Biáng (the character used for Biang Biang noodles) is widely described in reporting and reference pages as unusually complex — commonly cited with about 56–58 strokes in traditional forms and fewer in simplified variants (e.g., 42–52 strokes) — and is called "one of the most complex" characters in modern use [1] [2] [3]. However, multiple sources note other characters with higher stroke counts (for example 齉) and experts caution that "most complex" depends on counting method, variant, and whether invented or historic characters are included [4] [5].

1. Why Biáng became the poster child for complexity

The Biáng character is attached to a popular Shaanxi noodle (biángbiáng miàn) and local mnemonics and poems exist to teach its construction; those cultural stories help the character travel beyond its region, so people repeatedly encounter and remark on its stroke count (commonly given as 58 strokes in traditional form or 42 in simplified) — hence its meme-like reputation as "very complex" [1] [6] [3]. Wikipedia and allied pages emphasize the 58-stroke traditional variant and the existence of many regional variants with 56–70 strokes, which reinforces the public impression [1].

2. How stroke counts vary and why that matters

Counting strokes is not absolute. Different published accounts give 56, 58, or other totals for "biáng" depending on which traditional variant or mnemonic is used; simplified forms are reported with markedly fewer strokes (42–52) [1] [7] [8]. Language-log and community discussion pages explicitly note that stroke totals fluctuate with conventions and the way components are grouped, so a single number can be misleading without specifying which variant is meant [5] [9].

3. Is Biáng the Chinese character with the most strokes?

Available sources state that biáng is "one of the most complex" characters commonly encountered, but they also report other characters with higher stroke counts. For example, at least one high-school list and language-community answers identify 齉 as having more strokes and being a candidate for "most strokes" [4]. Thus, claims that Biáng is unequivocally the single character with the most strokes in Chinese are not supported by the materials provided here [4] [5].

4. Complications from invented, rare, and Unicode-encoded characters

Reporting highlights that many ultra-complex characters are rare, dialectal, newly invented, or historically attested only in specialized dictionaries; some aren't in standard references like the Kangxi dictionary or common digital fonts. Biáng itself was historically hard to typeset but has been encoded in Unicode in recent years [1]. Community threads stress distinctions between “used in the wild” characters (like biáng on menus and signs) and characters that are curiosities in lists or creative inventions [4].

5. Different viewpoints from the citations

Wikipedia and popular sites present Biáng as an iconic example of a high-stroke-count character and commonly quote 58 strokes for the traditional form [1] [6]. Educational and popular blogs likewise promote 56–58 (or simplified counts of 42–52) and emphasize the cultural mnemonic angle [3] [7] [8]. By contrast, language-community sources and academic-minded commentary warn against treating any single figure as definitive and point to other characters (e.g., 齉) that exceed biáng in stroke count [4] [5].

6. Practical takeaway for readers

If you mean "most strokes among characters people actually see on menus, signs, and in modern use," Biáng is a leading candidate and the best-known example, widely cited with ~56–58 strokes in many accounts [1] [2] [3]. If you mean "absolute maximum stroke count across all Chinese characters including obscure, historical, or deliberately constructed ones," available reporting notes other characters with higher counts, so Biáng should not be declared the uncontested record-holder based on the current sources [4] [5].

Limitations and note on sources: All factual statements above are drawn from the supplied results; the sources show variation on stroke totals and explicitly discuss competing candidates, so a definitive single-winner claim is not supported by the available reporting [1] [4].

Want to dive deeper?
What is the full Chinese character for 'biang' and why does it have so many strokes?
How did the 'biang' character originate and what is its historical usage in Shaanxi cuisine?
Are there simpler ways to write or input the 'biang' character on computers and smartphones?
How do learners and calligraphers practice writing the complex 'biang' character correctly?
Has the 'biang' character ever been included in official Chinese dictionaries or Unicode?