I want to know the answer to the following question:
What have a characteristic shape?
All the background I'm provided with is that "Because of this, beginners often practise writing on squared graph paper, and the Chinese sometimes use the term "Square-Block Characters" (方块字 / 方塊字, fāngkuàizì), sometimes translated as tetragraph, in reference to Chinese characters.". Is that enough to answer the question?