Hanzi Sheets
Chinese Stroke Order Rules, Explained
Chinese characters are written in a fixed order, and nine rules cover almost every character your child will ever meet. Learn them once — with real examples — and homework stops being a guessing game.
The nine rules, each with a character to try
1. Top before bottom. Write the upper part first: 三 (sān, three) goes top line, middle line, bottom line.
2. Left before right. The left component comes first: 好 (hǎo, good) is 女 on the left, then 子 on the right.
3. Horizontal before vertical. When strokes cross, the horizontal usually comes first: 十 (shí, ten) is the horizontal line, then the vertical.
4. Left-falling before right-falling. The sweeping 撇 comes before the pressing 捺: 人 (rén, person) — left sweep, then right press. 八 (bā, eight) works the same way.
5. Outside before inside. For wrapping characters, build the frame first: 问 (wèn, to ask) starts with the gate 门, then 口 goes inside.
6. Inside before a wrapping stroke. One enclosure type flips the rule: characters with the walking radical 辶 (like 这, zhè, this) write the inside part first and the wrapping 辶 last.
7. Close the box last. Full enclosures seal at the end: 国 (guó, country) writes the top and sides of 囗, fills in 玉, then draws the bottom line to close it. 日 (rì, sun) works the same way — middle line, then the bottom line seals the box.
8. Center before sides. Symmetrical characters grow from the middle: 小 (xiǎo, small) writes the central hook first, then the two dots. 水 (shuǐ, water) does the same.
9. Dots come last. A lone dot is usually the finishing touch: in 玉 (yù, jade) the dot lands after everything else is done.
The three mistakes kids make most
Treating 口 as a circle. The mouth radical is three strokes — left side, top-and-right corner, then the bottom line — never one loop. The same logic scales up to the big box in 国.
Writing 火 like a person first. 火 (huǒ, fire) starts with its two small flame strokes (dot, short sweep), then the long 撇 and 捺. Kids love writing the "person" first and squeezing the flames in after.
Rushing the walking radical. In characters like 这 and 近, eager writers draw 辶 first because it sits on the left. Rule 6 says the inside goes first; the wrap waits.
How to practice rules without memorizing them
Pick one rule per week. Print a sheet of characters that all use it, with stroke-order diagrams switched on, and say the rule aloud once at the start: "today everything closes its box last." After a week of 国, 日 and 问, the hand knows the pattern — no reciting required. Rotate through the nine rules across a school term, then start again with harder characters.
Try it
Pre-filled with one character per rule: 三, 十, 人, 八, 小, 水, 问, 国 — stroke-order diagrams on.
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FAQ
How many stroke order rules are there?
Nine core rules cover nearly all characters: top before bottom, left before right, horizontal before vertical, left-falling before right-falling, outside before inside, inside before a wrapping stroke, close boxes last, center before sides, and dots last.
Are there exceptions to the rules?
A few characters break a rule or have accepted regional variants. When you are unsure, follow the stroke-order diagram on the practice sheet rather than reasoning from the rules — the diagram always wins.
Is stroke order the same for simplified and traditional characters?
The nine rules are the same. A small number of individual characters have different standard orders in mainland and Taiwan standards, so use sheets that match the standard your child's school teaches.
Should my child memorize the rules?
No. Introduce one rule at a time through characters that use it, and let the hand absorb the pattern through tracing. Kids who write a lot absorb the rules without ever reciting them.