Kanji stroke order rules
The rules Japanese schools teach for writing kanji, counted on JLPT N5 and N4, with examples and the well-known exceptions.
How we counted
Japan's school order goes back to the Ministry of Education's 1958 guide, 筆順指導の手びき. We checked its main rules against the 245 kanji of JLPT N5 and N4 using KanjiVG, which labels every stroke with its type, so the counts below are counts of strokes as KanjiVG draws them. Where N5 and N4 have fewer than three examples, the count widens to N3 and then to all levels, and says so.
Horizontal before vertical
Where a horizontal and a vertical cross, the horizontal comes first, as in 十 and 土. In N5 and N4: 81 kanji.
Center before the sides
A central stroke with smaller strokes on both sides is written first, as in 小. In N5 and N4: 7 kanji.
Left-falling before right-falling
The left sweep comes before the right one, as in 人 and 文. In N5 and N4: 52 kanji.
A vertical through the whole kanji comes last
A vertical that pierces the other strokes is the final stroke, as in 中 and 車. In N5 and N4: 7 kanji.
A horizontal through the whole kanji comes last
A horizontal that crosses the rest is the final stroke, as in 女 and 子. In N5 and N4: 5 kanji.
右 starts with the sweep
A short sweep crossing a long horizontal is written first. In all five JLPT levels: 4 kanji.
左 starts with the horizontal
A long sweep crossing a short horizontal comes second. In N5 and N4: 4 kanji.
辶 and 廴 last
The wrap at the bottom left is written after what it carries. In N5 and N4: 7 kanji.
Close the box last
A frame such as 囗 is opened, filled and closed with its last stroke. In N5 and N4: 3 kanji.
Exceptions you will meet
Some common kanji follow none of these rules and are taught by name: 必 starts with the dot over the hook, and 田 and 王 write a vertical before some horizontals. Their pages show the Japanese order and, where the Chinese order differs, the Chinese one too.