Stroke order 筆順 (笔顺)

bǐshùn · from Chinese

What is stroke order?

Stroke order is the conventional sequence for writing the strokes of a character, generally top to bottom and left to right.

Correct stroke order makes handwriting faster, neater and legible in cursive, and handwriting input on phones expects it. Rules include horizontal before vertical and outside before inside, closing last. Standards differ slightly between mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan.

Examples

十: 一 then 丨; 口: left side, top and right, then bottom closing stroke; 永 yǒng: the Eight Principles of Yong (永字八法) for basic strokes

Kungfucius says: Write it in the wrong order and the character still exists. Your calligraphy teacher, however, will not.