Kanji stroke order

Kanji are written in a fixed stroke order. The basic rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before a crossing vertical, and an enclosing box is closed last. Type a kanji below to see its exact order.

Example – 書 (write), 10 strokes:

12345678910

Stroke order rules

  1. Top to bottom: 三 is written from the top stroke down.
  2. Left to right: 川 starts with the left stroke.
  3. Horizontal before vertical when they cross: 十 starts with 一.
  4. Outside before inside, but close the box last: 国 – frame, inside, bottom line.
  5. Centre before the sides when they are symmetrical: 小 starts in the middle.

These are guidelines; some kanji have exceptions, which the lookup shows.

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