PURPOSE: To correctly segment a character image area, to improve the correct reading ratio and to do without performing the drop-out color printing by special ink with the mark sheet to be used.

CONSTITUTION: In the character segmenting system of a handwritten character recognizing device having a character segmenting processing part 15 to scan optically the mark sheet to print the rectangular character writing frame to designate the writing position of a character and a position information mark which becomes a reference to count the coordinates of the character writing frame and segment the handwritten character pattern for each one character, the position of the character writing frame is counted from the position information mark by a first segmenting processing part 15 and the rectangular pattern area including the image of the character writing frame is obtained. By a second segmenting processing 18, the condition of the picture element is successively investigated from 4 sides of the pattern area to the inside, the position of the 4 sides of the character writing frame is specialized, the image of the character writing frame and the character image area in the frame are separated, and the pattern of the character image area is obtained.