Japanese Kanji Stroke Order: 7 Rules for Beginners
Learn seven practical Japanese kanji stroke-order patterns, common exceptions, and a simple method for writing characters accurately.
Japanese kanji stroke order — 書き順（かきじゅん）, also called 筆順（ひつじゅん） — is more systematic than it first appears. Seven patterns cover most of the characters a beginner meets, so you can usually predict how a new kanji is written before you check the diagram.
These seven rules are practical guidelines. Some kanji have traditional exceptions, so confirm a reliable model when you learn a new character.
| # | Rule | Example kanji |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Write from top to bottom Finish upper components before lower ones. | 三 · 学 |
| 2 | Write from left to right Complete the left-hand component first. | 休 · 語 |
| 3 | Horizontal before crossing vertical The horizontal stroke usually comes before the vertical stroke that crosses it. | 十 |
| 4 | Center before symmetrical sides When two sides balance a clear center, the center stroke comes first. | 小 |
| 5 | Outside before inside Build the outer frame before the strokes inside it. | 日 · 月 · 田 |
| 6 | Close the enclosure last The stroke that seals the box is written after the contents. | 国 · 田 |
| 7 | Left-falling before right-falling The stroke sweeping left is written before the stroke sweeping right. | 人 · 大 · 文 |
1. Write from top to bottom
Upper components normally come before lower components. In 二 and 三, write the top horizontal stroke first. In 学, complete the upper part before the lower 子 component.
2. Write from left to right
When a kanji has clear left and right components, finish the left side first. In 休, write 亻 before 木. In 語, write the 言 side before the right component.
3. Horizontal strokes usually come before crossing vertical strokes
In 十, write the horizontal line before the vertical line. The same pattern appears inside many larger characters. Check the model when a component has a special order.
4. Write the center before symmetrical sides
When the left and right strokes balance around a clear center, the center may come first. 小 begins with the central stroke, followed by the left and right strokes.
5. Write outside before inside
For framed characters such as 日, 月, and 田, begin the outer shape before adding the inside strokes. Do not close the frame too early.
6. Close an enclosure last
The bottom stroke that seals 日, 田, or 国 is normally written after the inside is complete. Think of placing the content inside a box and then closing it.
7. Left-falling strokes often come before right-falling strokes
In 人, 大, and 文, the stroke falling toward the left is written before the stroke extending toward the right. Pay attention to where the strokes begin, not only where they end.
The seven rules as numbered diagrams
Each diagram shows every stroke of the finished character with a number at the point where that stroke starts. Follow the numbers in order, and notice where each stroke begins rather than only where it ends.
Top horizontal first, then the lower one.
Three horizontals, strictly top to bottom.
Horizontal before the vertical that crosses it.
The left-falling stroke comes before the right-falling one.
Horizontal, then left-falling, then right-falling.
The centre stroke first, then the two sides.
Top strokes, then left-falling before right-falling.
Frame first; the sealing stroke is written last.
Outer shape before the two inner horizontals.
Outside, then the inside cross, then the closing stroke.
Finish the left 亻 before starting the right 木.
The enclosure is closed only after the inside is done.
Stroke paths derived from KanjiVG by Ulrich Apel, used under CC BY-SA 3.0. The diagrams on this page are distributed under the same licence.
For twenty more characters written out the same way — the numbers, the weekday kanji and 人, 大, 小 — see JLPT N5 kanji stroke order.
| Kanji | Strokes | Reading (on / kun) | Meaning | Example word | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 二 | 2 | ニ / ふた(つ) | two | 二月 (にがつ) February | 1 |
| 三 | 3 | サン / み(っつ) | three | 三人 (さんにん) three people | 1 |
| 十 | 2 | ジュウ / とお | ten | 十月 (じゅうがつ) October | 3 |
| 人 | 2 | ジン・ニン / ひと | person | 日本人 (にほんじん) Japanese person | 7 |
| 大 | 3 | ダイ・タイ / おお(きい) | big | 大学 (だいがく) university | 7 |
| 小 | 3 | ショウ / ちい(さい) | small | 小さい (ちいさい) small | 4 |
| 文 | 4 | ブン / ふみ | writing, sentence | 文化 (ぶんか) culture | 7 |
| 日 | 4 | ニチ / ひ | day, sun | 日曜日 (にちようび) Sunday | 5, 6 |
| 月 | 4 | ゲツ / つき | moon, month | 月曜日 (げつようび) Monday | 5 |
| 田 | 5 | デン / た | rice field | 田中 (たなか) Tanaka | 5, 6 |
| 休 | 6 | キュウ / やす(む) | rest | 休日 (きゅうじつ) holiday | 2 |
| 国 | 8 | コク / くに | country | 外国 (がいこく) foreign country | 6 |
| 学 | 8 | ガク / まな(ぶ) | study, learning | 学校 (がっこう) school | 1 |
| 語 | 14 | ゴ / かた(る) | language, to tell | 日本語 (にほんご) Japanese | 2 |
Three stroke endings to notice
Stop（とめ）: finish the stroke firmly, as in parts of 口.
Hook（はね）: lift with a small hook at the end, as in the first stroke of 小.
Sweep（はらい）: let the stroke taper naturally, as in 人.
Correct order alone is not enough. Stroke direction and ending help handwritten kanji keep a readable shape.
A five-minute practice method
Look: follow the numbered model without writing.
Trace: trace two or three models slowly.
Copy: write beside the model while checking proportion.
Recall: cover the model and write from memory.
Check: compare stroke order, position, and balance before repeating.
For a longer routine built around recall rather than copying, see the JLPT N5 kanji practice guide.
Should you practice stroke order if JLPT does not test handwriting?
Yes, if writing helps you remember shapes. You do not need calligraphy-level handwriting for N5, but learning how a character is constructed can make reading and similar-kanji recognition easier.
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Common questions
Does stroke order ever change?
Standard Japanese forms have established orders, but fonts and handwritten styles can look different. Follow a Japanese educational reference when learning a character.
How many times should I write each kanji?
Quality matters more than filling a page automatically. A few careful traces followed by several recall attempts usually reveal more than copying the same model dozens of times.
Does stroke order matter for the JLPT?
The JLPT is a multiple-choice test and does not ask you to handwrite kanji, so stroke order is never graded directly. It still helps indirectly: writing a character in a fixed order makes its components easier to recognise, which supports reading speed and helps you separate similar-looking kanji such as 休 and 体.
Why do some kanji break these rules?
The seven patterns are strong tendencies, not laws. 右 and 左 look almost identical at the top, but 右 begins with the left-falling stroke (ノ) and 左 begins with the horizontal stroke. Pairs like this are learned individually, so check a model the first time you write any new character.
Is Japanese stroke order the same as Chinese stroke order?
For most characters, yes — the underlying principles are shared. National standards disagree on a small number of characters, and Japanese school order (筆順) is the one taught in Japanese textbooks. If you are studying Japanese, follow a Japanese reference rather than a Chinese one.
How do I check the stroke order of a character I am unsure about?
Look up the character in a dictionary that shows a numbered 書き順 diagram rather than a static image, and follow the numbers once slowly before writing. Trace it two or three times, then write it from memory and compare. Confirming the order once is faster than unlearning a habit later.