The Chinese term for a “dot” stroke in calligraphy is dian, pronounced diǎn.
In traditional stroke terminology, diǎn describes a compact mark made by placing and controlling the brush rather than dragging it across the page. Its shape can vary with the script and the calligrapher’s technique, but it is usually short, weighted, and slightly directional rather than a geometric point.
Dian is one of the eight stroke principles practiced through the character 永, meaning “永” or “forever.” The Eight Principles of Yong were designed to train the essential movements of regular script, including horizontal heng, vertical shu, left-falling pie, and right-falling na. Learning these motions helps beginners coordinate pressure, speed, angle, and lifting.
The terms in the wrong options are genuine Chinese stroke names, which makes them easy to confuse. Pie is a left-falling stroke, shu is a vertical stroke, and heng is a horizontal stroke; none means “dot.”