Stroke Order and Kanji Structure

What You Will Learn in This Unit

You will learn the principles for writing kanji and kana in the correct stroke order. You will also divide characters into radicals and components to analyze their structure, and you will be able to tell apart characters with similar shapes by counting strokes. Stroke order is a rule learned by hand, so trace the characters in the example words below yourself to check it.

Basic Principles of Stroke Order

Stroke order is the sequence in which the strokes of a character are written. Four principles serve as the basis.

• Write from top to bottom. Write the upper strokes first and the lower strokes later. 三(さん) is written by drawing its three horizontal strokes in order from top to bottom.
• Write from left to right. Write the left strokes first and the right strokes later. 人(ひと) is written by drawing the left falling stroke first and the right sweeping stroke later.
• Write horizontal strokes first and vertical strokes later. 十(じゅう) is written with its horizontal stroke first and its vertical stroke later. 木(き) also has a horizontal stroke as its first stroke.
• Write the central vertical stroke first. 小(ちいさい) is written with the central vertical stroke first, and the left falling stroke and right dot later.

In characters where more than one principle applies, apply the principles together. 日(ひ) is written by drawing the left vertical stroke and the top horizontal stroke first, then the middle horizontal stroke, and closing with the bottom horizontal stroke. The order of writing the outer frame first and the inner strokes afterward appears clearly here.

Falling, Sweeping, and Hooked Strokes

Strokes are distinguished by three shapes. 삐침 (ノ) is a stroke drawn diagonally downward from the top toward the lower left. 파임 (㇏) is a stroke drawn downward to the lower right that presses with force at its end. 갈고리 (亅) is a vertical stroke drawn from top to bottom whose end is hooked upward to the right.

人(ひと) is a character made of a falling stroke and a sweeping stroke, and the two strokes run in opposite directions. The left falling stroke goes down to the lower left, and the right sweeping stroke goes down to the lower right. If you cannot tell these two strokes apart, you will write their directions incorrectly.

Radicals and Structure

A radical is a shared part that serves as a clue to the meaning or sound of a character. Structure is the way the radical and the remaining part are arranged, and the basic forms are left-right (左右) and top-bottom (上下). This unit covers the forms of 人, 木, 口, 日, and 水. 人 changes to the form 亻 when it appears on the left, and 水 changes to the form 氵 when it appears on the left.