Are you guys planning to make Skritter recognize if you've written either 力 or 刀 as a part of a character?

For now it accepts both and I start to realize I'm catching Skritter's bad habit - I don't care if it ends up as 刀 or 力 (more often the latter, it's quicker to scribble)
But my laoshi isn't so happy about that ;-)

It's something we'd have to do a lot of work to make happen, since the stroke recognition engine doesn't take into effect interactions between strokes (like "this stroke must start at least 15% higher than that stroke"). So for now, you'll have to pay attention and catch yourself manually.

I've found that, the more I learn, the more natural it is to differentiate between the two. In most cases, it simply doesn't make sense to substitute 刀 for 力 or vice-versa. In my opinion, as you write and learn, this habit will correct itself.

I don't think it's so easy. For example, these two 券 and 劵 have tripped up many people.

Those are two ways of writing the same thing...

i swear there is a difference between the two... the first means tickets and bonds... the second... >.<

... waiting for pts to drop some deep science ...

It looks like two ways to write the same character to me... What am I missing?

http://www.nciku.com/search/zh/detail/%E5%88%B8/1312438

券 [quàn] means tickets or bonds. This one is easy. zdic.net defines 劵 [juàn] as 倦 (tired, exhausted). In the tab 康熙字典, we can find the following:《說文》勞也。《徐曰》今俗作倦。《正字通》與契券之券異。券从刀，此从力。(It is different from the 券 as used in 契券 (carved contract). 券 is related to 刀. This is related to 力.) So, 券 and 劵 are different characters. They have different meanings and pronunciations.

Then in the year 1995, mainland China decreed that one should stop using 劵 (http://www.china-language.gov.cn/wenziguifan/managed/003.htm) .

So, superficially, this is very simply. If one is using simplified characters, just forgets about 劵 and uses only 券 for both 券 and 劵. For those using traditional characters, the distinction should still be clear. Contracts are carved and so requires a knife. 'Tired' is about physical strength. There should be no confusion between them. But in the real world, peoples do not seem to correct themselves and everybody just seem to randomly pick a character.

So I don't think that the students will correct themselves if the laoshis are not doing their jobs properly.

@DavidChung nciku is correct in pointing out that 券 is a simplified form of 劵, because 券 now does indeed represent both of the traditional characters 券 and 劵. It only failed to also point out that 劵 have a different reading and meaning to 券.

Thanks, pts! :)

Yes, thanks pts, good to know!

... and once again we are all enlightened by the mighty pts. I particularly like the "knife for carving" mnemonic.

James

In the ancient time, contracts were made by inscribing the content on wooden tablets or bamboo slips and then cutting them into halves with each side keeping one half as a proof. So a knife is required. The character 券 was in used much earlier than paper was invented.