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Darumoji
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Kana stroke order: the 5 core rules

Writing a kana well isn't just cosmetic: the right stroke order automatically produces the right proportions, the right rhythm, and it prepares you for the bigger thing that comes next, kanji.

Why stroke order matters

  • A kana written in the wrong order becomes unreadable once cursive.
  • Handwritten dictionaries and OCR software expect the standard order.
  • Stroke order is the key to tackling kanji: without automatic motion on kana, 15-stroke kanji are out of reach.

The 5 universal rules

  1. Top to bottom.
  2. Left to right.
  3. Horizontal strokes before the vertical ones that cross them.
  4. Closed shapes (enclosures) before anything inside.
  5. Strokes that cross the whole shape come last.

See the order in motion

ki4 clearly separated strokes in modern handwriting.

Hiragana も starts with the vertical stroke before the horizontals (rule 3 would suggest the opposite). Hiragana さ starts with the short top horizontal, then the long curve plunges down in a single stroke. Hiragana き (above) is written with four clearly separate strokes, even though many print fonts render the last two as a connected curve.

The right way to practice

  1. Open the kana's detail page and watch the slow animation twice.
  2. Switch to trace mode and reproduce blind on the empty canvas, no dotted guide.
  3. Hit "Verify": the card flips, the official animation plays, compare.