<p><strong>1. biang</strong></p>
<p>Well, the first one that came to my mind is <strong>biang</strong>, as in &quot;biang biang mian&quot; - which a quick <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bi%C3%A1ngbi%C3%A1ng_noodles" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Wikipedia search shows has 58 strokes</a>. This is still in some use (and I've seen it in restaurants), if that means anything to you. It is not, however, found in dictionaries.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/TNyAs.png" alt="biang" /></p>
<p><strong>2. zhe</strong></p>
<p>Sadly however, biang doesn't have the most strokes (although I would argue it's the most complex) - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_character#Rare_and_complex_characters" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Wikipedia has a page on complex characters as well</a>, and according to them <strong>zhe</strong>, meaning verbosity, was the most complex/has the most stroke orders - possibly the character you are referring to, as it is just <em>long</em> (龍) times four:</p>
<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/mwqxm.png" alt="zhe" /></p>
<p><strong>3. zheng</strong></p>
<p>It also mentions <strong>zheng</strong>, another 64-strokes character meaning flourish, as being equally as complex:</p>
<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/OYu28.png" alt="zheng" /></p>
<p>The page on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_character#Rare_and_complex_characters" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Wikipedia goes in to a lot more detail</a>, so I suggest you check it out.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-01-06T01:11:14.903Z
@Ciaocibai didn't see contact info in your profile. Hoping to ask for your thoughts on a startup idea making it easy to find & discuss interests (like discussing Chinese characters). Would you mind emailing info @ panabee.com?  Thanks!
Crashalot
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-06T01:24:52.957Z
In the unicode Unihan, there are only 2 characters with 64 strokes, the maximum amount it looks like,  and . There is no character with 128 strokes.
Lance Pollard
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-01-03T09:29:54.313Z
You could say that 'zhe' is in fact "really, really, really long".
Williham Totland
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-01-03T09:39:21.643Z
I'm sad to admit I lol'ed at that.
Ciaocibai
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-01-03T09:52:46.710Z
Intriguingly, there exists characters all the way through from one to four 'long'. I guess they ran out of characters, and had to start getting 'long'er and 'long'er.
Williham Totland
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-01-03T10:56:16.720Z
Made me giggle at work, funny stuff
Lars Andren
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-01-03T10:57:08.423Z
@Ciaocibai great answer! And many thanks for the link to the article
Lars Andren
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-01-03T10:58:16.360Z
@LarsAndren Glad to be of service, and well worth it for the great comments from Williham!
Ciaocibai
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-01-09T16:06:39.377Z
when i started studying chinese years and years ago, biang looked really complicated... it looks simple now. makes me think of this book: http://www.quaritch.com/NewsItem.asp?id=117
magnetar
CC BY-SA 4.0
2012-01-03T07:28:43.193Z
2021-10-17T19:39:39.643Z
2021-10-17T19:39:39.643Z
Ciaocibai
<p>I have seen an old and very rarely used character that consisted of four traditional dragons (龍). As I remember it meant "talkative."</p>

<p>That makes a total of 64 strokes, are there any other characters with more strokes?</p>

<characters><orthography>
What is the character with the greatest number of strokes?
# What is the character with the greatest number of strokes?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2012-01-03)

I have seen an old and very rarely used character that consisted of four traditional dragons (龍). As I remember it meant "talkative."

That makes a total of 64 strokes, are there any other characters with more strokes?

**Tags:** characters, orthography


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2012-01-03. Score: 12 | Accepted answer

**1. biang**

Well, the first one that came to my mind is **biang**, as in "biang biang mian" - which a quick [Wikipedia search shows has 58 strokes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bi%C3%A1ngbi%C3%A1ng_noodles). This is still in some use (and I've seen it in restaurants), if that means anything to you. It is not, however, found in dictionaries.

![biang](https://i.sstatic.net/TNyAs.png)

**2. zhe**

Sadly however, biang doesn't have the most strokes (although I would argue it's the most complex) - [Wikipedia has a page on complex characters as well](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_character#Rare_and_complex_characters), and according to them **zhe**, meaning verbosity, was the most complex/has the most stroke orders - possibly the character you are referring to, as it is just *long* (龍) times four:

![zhe](https://i.sstatic.net/mwqxm.png)

**3. zheng**

It also mentions **zheng**, another 64-strokes character meaning flourish, as being equally as complex:

![zheng](https://i.sstatic.net/OYu28.png)

The page on [Wikipedia goes in to a lot more detail](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_character#Rare_and_complex_characters), so I suggest you check it out.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: You could say that 'zhe' is in fact "really, really, really long".  
> **username_1**: I'm sad to admit I lol'ed at that.  
> **username_4**: Intriguingly, there exists characters all the way through from one to four 'long'. I guess they ran out of characters, and had to start getting 'long'er and 'long'er.  
> **username_0**: Made me giggle at work, funny stuff  
> **username_0**: @username_1 great answer! And many thanks for the link to the article  
> **username_1**: @username_0 Glad to be of service, and well worth it for the great comments from username_4!  
> **username_5**: when i started studying chinese years and years ago, biang looked really complicated... it looks simple now. makes me think of this book: http://www.quaritch.com/NewsItem.asp?id=117  
> **username_2**: @username_1 didn't see contact info in your profile. Hoping to ask for your thoughts on a startup idea making it easy to find & discuss interests (like discussing Chinese characters). Would you mind emailing info @ panabee.com?  Thanks!  
> **username_3**: In the unicode Unihan, there are only 2 characters with 64 strokes, the maximum amount it looks like,  and . There is no character with 128 strokes.  

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