<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/5gvxr.png" alt="enter image description here" /></p>
<h1><a href="http://baike.baidu.com/link?url=ThlU_fl6ylo5awXgQY_QLL2NYRmeD9ZHiRjEt2oqtgK-L4bfOw00p1TIxv2mX1icHkOHHWeXq14VBdK8dCZ6jK" rel="noreferrer">biáng 56 strokes</a></h1>
<p>as in biangbiang面, specialty noodles that can be easily found on the streets of Xi'an.</p>
<p>Some would say it isn't a real word (even though it refers to a real food).</p>
<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/xJkuK.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></p>
<p>Some would say there are characters with more strokes (<a href="http://baike.baidu.com/link?url=bIbtqTX4lnHYcdF_ZCeKqRVaD3d7MVo_D_4082I9-lCRQERm-qZbwVK0TpwsvAr3lvAP8og8SbqTQkbl2OBX_K" rel="noreferrer">and they would be right</a>).</p>
<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/o35XF.png" alt="enter image description here" /></p>
<p>Some would say that this character doesn't count because the question asks for the simplified character (and there is a simplified version of biang).</p>
<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/zHsGN.png" alt="enter image description here" /></p>
<p>But I argue that for the Chinese language learner in mainland China, the 56 stroke biang is the most complex character you will likely come across in real life. Most Chinese language learners who stay in China for any length of time will probably make it to Xi'an. And if you are in Xi'an one of the things &quot;to do&quot; is eat biangbiang面. The noodles are famous because of the character. And the character is famous because of its complexity. So you will commonly find even the unsimplified version there.</p>
<p>The question is ambiguous, but this is the least ambiguous answer I can give.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-04-22T21:02:40.347Z
I doubt whether the second biang is the simplified version of the first biang: the parts wrapped inside do not correspond to each other. But again there is even some variations between the two nonsimplified version.
Fan Zheng
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-04-23T01:37:48.477Z
Your're right. Thanks for pointing that out, @FanZheng. It's fixed now.
Suragch
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-04-23T15:40:10.013Z
 also mentioned in your **(and they would be right)** link
Mou某
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-04-22T18:06:41.547Z
2015-04-23T01:33:39.223Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
Suragch
<p>As discussed in the comments for the original post, two candidates are 攀 (19 strokes) and 蠢 (21 strokes).</p>

<p>Both of these are frequent: 攀 is #2439 in <a href="http://lingua.mtsu.edu/chinese-computing/statistics/char/list.php?Which=MO">a frequency list of hanzi</a>, and 蠢 is #2135.</p>

<p>EDIT: I also forgot 馕 (náng, 25 strokes), which I certainly saw many times on menus in Beijing. The right hand side itself is also a marvel: surely it would have been a candidate for systematic simplification.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-08-15T17:40:20.417Z
嚼 is also a frequently used character.
BertR
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-05-16T14:15:39.777Z
2012-05-16T14:15:39.777Z
jogloran
<p>That's really a hard question to answer. Because there may not be an answer.</p>

<p>龖(dá) (I'm not sure if this character can display in your browser. It's two 龍 together) Means two dragon to fly. And this is announced by an organization called "Chinese Academy of Languages"(I google translated it).</p>

<p>Also there must be more complicated characters such as 龘(dá). But don't pay attention to it, we Chinese ourselves don't know those characters. We only use a little characters(may be 5000? not sure).</p>

<p>PS. I noticed that you mentioned simplified characters, but you must know that not all the characters has it simplified form.</p>

<p>PPS. Another COMMON word 饕餮, mainly used in 饕餮盛宴, which means gluttonous feast, is used very widely and common.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-02-03T23:39:48.787Z
How about the character 龘?
Micah Walter
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-05-16T02:45:39.173Z
I understand my question was very ambiguous. I've updated it.
Michael Robinson
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-05-16T03:09:41.360Z
I have to say it become more complicated, maybe 蠢... means foolish.
lol.Wen
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-05-16T02:21:53.760Z
2012-05-17T07:57:33.063Z
2012-05-17T07:57:33.063Z
lol.Wen
<p><a href="http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%BE%98" rel="nofollow">Wikipedia does name a champion</a>: </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>龘（漢語拼音：dá/tà；注音符號：ㄉㄚˊ/ㄊㄚˋ；粵拼：daap6）字是現時Big5碼編碼當中筆劃最多的一個字，筆劃達48劃（大陆标准48画）。這個字亦是中華民國一般字典中筆劃最多的一個字。除此，該字也是全世界所有常用語言中，極為少見筆劃相當多的雙音節單字。</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Although this is by no means a 'simplified' character... or is it? If you absolutely want to write it in simplified style, you'll find that ⿱龙⿰龙龙 is not in Unicode, so you'd be forced to use 龘 anyway.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-04-23T15:17:32.960Z
2015-04-23T15:17:32.960Z
flow
<p> is the most complex unicode Chinese character by strokes (64).</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-21T08:03:10.673Z
2016-10-21T08:03:10.673Z
user15598
<p>龖 (dá) from lol.wen's answer has 32 strokes, but I can better that by a bit ;)</p>

<p>齉 (nàng) has 36 strokes, and my favourite dictionary, <a href="http://www.yellowbridge.com/chinese/chinese-dictionary.php" rel="noreferrer">YellowBridge</a>, defines it as:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>stoppage of the nose; to speak with a nasal twang; to snuffle (as in nose with a cold); snuffling</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I should however add that, like 龖, this character is the same in both simplified and traditional script.</p>

<p>Some other ones that appear in <a href="http://lingua.mtsu.edu/chinese-computing/" rel="noreferrer">Jun Da</a>'s character frequency list, taken from a corpus of modern Chinese, include 鱄 (Zhuān, 22 strokes), 襽 (lán, 23 strokes), and 鑪 (lú, 24 strokes).</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-04-23T01:44:43.363Z
爨 has 30 strokes. The top part could have been simplified to the top part of 学. Don't know why they didn't do that.
user58955
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-05-16T13:06:41.110Z
Some additional information: 齉 is actually listed in the "Contemporary Chinese Dictionary" （现代汉语词典), while 龖 is not.
fefe
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-05-16T19:30:51.123Z
齉 is in MDBG (my favourite): http://www.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php?page=worddict&wdrst=0&wdqb=%E9%BD%89
Michael Robinson
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-05-16T12:11:52.343Z
2012-05-16T18:03:31.803Z
2012-05-16T18:03:31.803Z
Cocowalla
<p>I'm interested in simplified only for this question - which simplified character retains the most complexity, defined by having the highest number of strokes?</p>

<p>To clarify: I'm after the most complicated character in use on the mainland - i.e. the most complicated character that remains in common use amongst the literate mainland population.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-05-16T14:00:33.803Z
I think 攀 is the best answer. It's quite highly ranked in all Chinese corpora I know. Characters such as 齉 and 龖 don't show up in any corpus. Here are other such seldomly used examples: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_character#Rare_and_complex_characters  (齉 and 龖 are also mentioned on that page). @jogloran: If you write an answer I'll vote for you.
BertR
<characters>
What is the most complex simplified character?
# What is the most complex simplified character?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2012-05-15)

I'm interested in simplified only for this question - which simplified character retains the most complexity, defined by having the highest number of strokes?

To clarify: I'm after the most complicated character in use on the mainland - i.e. the most complicated character that remains in common use amongst the literate mainland population.

**Tags:** characters

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I think 攀 is the best answer. It's quite highly ranked in all Chinese corpora I know. Characters such as 齉 and 龖 don't show up in any corpus. Here are other such seldomly used examples: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_character#Rare_and_complex_characters  (齉 and 龖 are also mentioned on that page). @username_5: If you write an answer I'll vote for you.  

---

## 6 answers

### Answer by username_10 on 2012-05-16. Score: 8 | Accepted answer

龖 (dá) from lol.wen's answer has 32 strokes, but I can better that by a bit ;)

齉 (nàng) has 36 strokes, and my favourite dictionary, [YellowBridge](http://www.yellowbridge.com/chinese/chinese-dictionary.php), defines it as:

> stoppage of the nose; to speak with a nasal twang; to snuffle (as in nose with a cold); snuffling

I should however add that, like 龖, this character is the same in both simplified and traditional script.

Some other ones that appear in [Jun Da](http://lingua.mtsu.edu/chinese-computing/)'s character frequency list, taken from a corpus of modern Chinese, include 鱄 (Zhuān, 22 strokes), 襽 (lán, 23 strokes), and 鑪 (lú, 24 strokes).

> **Comments:**
> **username_12**: Some additional information: 齉 is actually listed in the "Contemporary Chinese Dictionary" （现代汉语词典), while 龖 is not.  
> **username_0**: 齉 is in MDBG (my favourite): http://www.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php?page=worddict&wdrst=0&wdqb=%E9%BD%89  
> **username_11**: 爨 has 30 strokes. The top part could have been simplified to the top part of 学. Don't know why they didn't do that.  

---

### Answer by username_5 on 2012-05-16. Score: 6

As discussed in the comments for the original post, two candidates are 攀 (19 strokes) and 蠢 (21 strokes).

Both of these are frequent: 攀 is #2439 in [a frequency list of hanzi](http://lingua.mtsu.edu/chinese-computing/statistics/char/list.php?Which=MO), and 蠢 is #2135.

EDIT: I also forgot 馕 (náng, 25 strokes), which I certainly saw many times on menus in Beijing. The right hand side itself is also a marvel: surely it would have been a candidate for systematic simplification.

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 嚼 is also a frequently used character.  

---

### Answer by username_2 on 2015-04-22. Score: 5

![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/5gvxr.png)

# [biáng 56 strokes](http://baike.baidu.com/link?url=ThlU_fl6ylo5awXgQY_QLL2NYRmeD9ZHiRjEt2oqtgK-L4bfOw00p1TIxv2mX1icHkOHHWeXq14VBdK8dCZ6jK)

as in biangbiang面, specialty noodles that can be easily found on the streets of Xi'an.

Some would say it isn't a real word (even though it refers to a real food).

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

Some would say there are characters with more strokes ([and they would be right](http://baike.baidu.com/link?url=bIbtqTX4lnHYcdF_ZCeKqRVaD3d7MVo_D_4082I9-lCRQERm-qZbwVK0TpwsvAr3lvAP8og8SbqTQkbl2OBX_K)).

![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/o35XF.png)

Some would say that this character doesn't count because the question asks for the simplified character (and there is a simplified version of biang).

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

But I argue that for the Chinese language learner in mainland China, the 56 stroke biang is the most complex character you will likely come across in real life. Most Chinese language learners who stay in China for any length of time will probably make it to Xi'an. And if you are in Xi'an one of the things "to do" is eat biangbiang面. The noodles are famous because of the character. And the character is famous because of its complexity. So you will commonly find even the unsimplified version there.

The question is ambiguous, but this is the least ambiguous answer I can give.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: I doubt whether the second biang is the simplified version of the first biang: the parts wrapped inside do not correspond to each other. But again there is even some variations between the two nonsimplified version.  
> **username_2**: Your're right. Thanks for pointing that out, @FanZheng. It's fixed now.  
> **username_4**:  also mentioned in your **(and they would be right)** link  

---

### Answer by username_6 on 2012-05-16. Score: 2

That's really a hard question to answer. Because there may not be an answer.

龖(dá) (I'm not sure if this character can display in your browser. It's two 龍 together) Means two dragon to fly. And this is announced by an organization called "Chinese Academy of Languages"(I google translated it).

Also there must be more complicated characters such as 龘(dá). But don't pay attention to it, we Chinese ourselves don't know those characters. We only use a little characters(may be 5000? not sure).

PS. I noticed that you mentioned simplified characters, but you must know that not all the characters has it simplified form.

PPS. Another COMMON word 饕餮, mainly used in 饕餮盛宴, which means gluttonous feast, is used very widely and common.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: I understand my question was very ambiguous. I've updated it.  
> **username_6**: I have to say it become more complicated, maybe 蠢... means foolish.  
> **username_7**: How about the character 龘?  

---

### Answer by username_8 on 2015-04-23. Score: 0

[Wikipedia does name a champion](http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%BE%98):

> 龘（漢語拼音：dá/tà；注音符號：ㄉㄚˊ/ㄊㄚˋ；粵拼：daap6）字是現時Big5碼編碼當中筆劃最多的一個字，筆劃達48劃（大陆标准48画）。這個字亦是中華民國一般字典中筆劃最多的一個字。除此，該字也是全世界所有常用語言中，極為少見筆劃相當多的雙音節單字。

Although this is by no means a 'simplified' character... or is it? If you absolutely want to write it in simplified style, you'll find that ⿱龙⿰龙龙 is not in Unicode, so you'd be forced to use 龘 anyway.


---

### Answer by username_9 on 2016-10-21. Score: -2

is the most complex unicode Chinese character by strokes (64).


---

