# Kana stroke order: the 5 core rules

> Why stroke order matters, the 5 universal rules that apply to hiragana and katakana, and how to practice them efficiently.

- Page: https://www.darumoji.com/en/guide/ordre-des-traits
- Content written by Darumoji: https://www.darumoji.com
- Published 2026-04-29 (updated 2026-05-10)

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.

> **On Darumoji** Every animation shows the exact order stroke by stroke, paced slowly. You can replay it as many times as you need.

## See the order in motion

**き (ki)**: 4 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**.

> **Avoid** **Passive tracing.** If you just follow a provided path, your brain stores nothing. Expect 3 to 5 passes per character, spread across several micro-sessions.

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## Pick a kana, watch the animation, reproduce it.

- [Hiragana table](https://www.darumoji.com/en/kana/hiragana)
- [Katakana table](https://www.darumoji.com/en/kana/katakana)