Chinese Stroke Order · Animated Guide & Writing Practice

The stroke order of Chinese characters is fixed: same strokes, same sequence, every time. Type a character below to watch it drawn, or type an English word and we translate it, then animate the result.

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How it works

Enter Chinese characters and each one is drawn stroke by stroke, in the correct order. Enter an English word and we translate it to Chinese first, then animate every character.

Tap any character to replay its animation. For a dedicated page per word (with examples and pronunciation), see the X in Chinese dictionary. Ready to test yourself? Try the Chinese stroke order quiz, or put pen to paper with a printable writing worksheet.

The 8 basic rules of Chinese stroke order

Almost every character follows these eight conventions. Learn them once and Chinese character stroke order stops feeling arbitrary.

  1. 三

    1. Top to bottom

    Stacked strokes are written top first, bottom last. 三 sān · three

  2. 你

    2. Left to right

    The left half of a character goes down before the right. 你 nǐ · you

  3. 十

    3. Horizontal before vertical

    When strokes cross, the horizontal one comes first. 十 shí · ten

  4. 人

    4. Left-falling before right-falling

    A left sweep 丿 lands before its right-falling partner ㇏. 人 rén · person

  5. 同

    5. Outside before inside

    Wrap the frame first, then fill what it encloses. 同 tóng · same

  6. 国

    6. Inside before closing

    Fill a box first; the stroke that seals it comes last. 国 guó · country

  7. 小

    7. Center before sides

    A central stroke precedes its symmetric side strokes. 小 xiǎo · small

  8. 玉

    8. Dots last

    Finishing dots go down only after the body is complete. 玉 yù · jade

One character trains most of these at once: 永 (yǒng): the reason calligraphy starts with the "eight principles of yǒng" (永字八法). Type it above and watch.

Chinese stroke order FAQ

What is Chinese stroke order?
Chinese stroke order is the fixed sequence in which a character's strokes are written. Every character has one correct order: the same strokes, placed the same way, in the same sequence.
Why does stroke order matter?
Writing in the correct order builds muscle memory, keeps handwriting legible, and is what handwriting input on phones uses to recognize characters. Stroke order errors also make balanced characters like 水 harder to write neatly.
What are the basic rules of Chinese stroke order?
Eight conventions cover almost every character: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, left-falling before right-falling, outside before inside, inside before closing, center before sides, and dots last. Each rule is shown with an example above.
How do I look up the stroke order of a Chinese character?
Type or paste the character above. Every character page, /hanzi/永 for example, also shows the same animation broken into step-by-step strokes.
Can I enter an English word?
Yes. The tool translates it to Chinese first, then animates every character. Try typing moon to see 月 drawn.
How do I practice writing Chinese characters?
Take the stroke order quiz: it shuffles a character's strokes and you tap them back in the right order. For pen-and-paper practice, generate a printable writing worksheet to trace.
Does stroke order differ between simplified and traditional Chinese?
The conventions are the same; only some characters' shapes differ. This site animates simplified characters, which is what mainland China, Singapore and Malaysia use.
Is this stroke order tool free?
Yes. Free, no sign-up, and it covers the full dictionary, not a fixed character list.