# Kanji stroke order animation

Animated stroke-by-stroke diagrams for any kanji or kana, with meanings and readings.

## Basic stroke order rules

Five rules cover most of the kanji you'll write.

| Example | Rule |
| --- | --- |
| 三 | Top to bottom |
| 川 | Left to right |
| 十 | Horizontal before vertical |
| 国 日 | Outside frame first, closed last |
| 小 水 | Center before the sides |

*One kanji for each rule*

## Common questions

### What are the basic stroke order rules?

Top to bottom: 三 is written from the top line down. Left to right: 川 is written from the left stroke across. Horizontal before vertical when they cross: 十 starts with the horizontal line. The outside frame before the inside, and close the frame last: 国, 日. The center before the sides when they're symmetrical: 小, 水.

### Does stroke order matter?

Yes. Correct stroke order makes kanji easier to remember, keeps your handwriting readable, and helps handwriting input on phones recognize what you write.

### Why doesn't a character show?

Diagrams come from KanjiVG, which covers the common kanji and all kana. A few rare characters have no diagram.

### How do I use it?

Play the animation or step through the strokes, with the meaning and readings below.

**Sources**
- [Stroke order diagrams from KanjiVG, © Ulrich Apel, CC BY-SA 3.0](https://kanjivg.tagaini.net/)
- [JMdict, KANJIDIC2 and RADKFILE, © the Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group, used under CC BY-SA 4.0](https://www.edrdg.org/edrdg/licence.html)