Chinese Stroke Order, Animated and Interactive
Chinese stroke order is the set sequence in which the strokes of a character are written, and this tool lets you see it animated for any character and then practice it by hand. Type a hanzi, watch it drawn stroke by stroke, then trace it yourself with live feedback.
Writing strokes in the correct order makes your handwriting smoother, helps you recognise and remember characters, and keeps the proportions balanced. The tool moves you through three stages — Animate to watch, Practice to draw with hints, and Quiz to test yourself from memory.
How to Use Chinese Stroke Order
Choose a character
Type or paste any Chinese character into the search box, or tap one of the 52 preset characters grouped into Basic, Nature, People, and Practice. Only the first character is used.
Watch in Animate mode
Press Play to see the full character drawn in order, or Next stroke to advance one stroke at a time. Drag the speed slider from 0.5x to 3x, toggle the outline, and reset whenever you like.
Trace it in Practice mode
Draw each stroke on the canvas with your mouse, finger, or stylus. The outline guides you, and after two wrong tries a hint highlights the expected stroke. A "Well done!" message confirms when you finish.
Test yourself in Quiz mode
Write the character from memory with no hints. Correct strokes turn green, wrong ones turn red, and your total mistakes are tallied at the end — zero earns a "Perfect!" result.
Features
Three Learning Modes
Switch between Animate, Practice, and Quiz to match your stage — watch first, then practice with hints, then test from memory.
Animated Demonstrations
See each stroke drawn in the correct order, with a one-stroke-at-a-time step button for careful study.
Adjustable Speed
Slow the animation down to 0.5x or speed it up to 3x with the speed slider in Animate mode.
Guided Practice with Hints
Trace strokes on the canvas with real-time checking; a hint highlights the right stroke after two missed attempts.
Quiz Mode
Write from memory with no hints, get green or red feedback on every stroke, and see your total mistakes at the end.
Stroke Preview Panel
View the stroke count and every individual stroke in a numbered grid, with earlier strokes faded for context.
Click to Highlight
Tap any stroke in the preview panel to highlight that exact stroke on the main writing canvas.
52 Preset Characters
Jump to common characters across four groups — Basic numbers, Nature, People, and Practice — including the classic 永.
Character History
Your recently studied characters are saved in your browser so you can return to any of them in one click.
Calligraphy Grid
A traditional grid with center and diagonal guides helps you place each stroke with proper proportions.
The 8 Basic Strokes (永字八法)
The character 永 (yǒng, "eternal") is the classic teaching example because it contains all eight fundamental strokes of Chinese calligraphy in a single character. Master these and you can build almost any hanzi.
Horizontal — 横 (héng)
Drawn left to right.
Vertical — 竖 (shù)
Drawn top to bottom.
Left-falling — 撇 (piě)
From upper right to lower left.
Right-falling — 捺 (nà)
From upper left to lower right.
Dot — 点 (diǎn)
A short, emphasised stroke.
Hook — 钩 (gōu)
A stroke that turns sharply at the end.
Turning — 折 (zhé)
A stroke that changes direction.
Rising — 提 (tí)
From lower left to upper right.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the correct stroke order for Chinese characters?
Stroke order is the standard sequence for writing the strokes that make up a character. To see it for any character, type it into the search box and watch the animation in Animate mode, which draws each stroke in the official order.
What are the basic stroke order rules?
A few rules cover most characters: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical when strokes cross, outside before inside, close an enclosure last, and center before sides in symmetric characters. The animation always follows these conventions for you.
Why does stroke order matter?
Correct order gives your handwriting a natural flow that is faster and smoother, produces well-balanced proportions, and helps you recognise and remember characters. It also matters for dictionaries that index characters by stroke count and order.
How many characters are supported?
The underlying data covers thousands of common Chinese characters, with the best coverage for simplified forms. Many traditional characters are included too, though some rare or archaic characters may not have stroke data available.
Does it work for traditional characters?
The dataset is centred on simplified Chinese but includes many traditional forms as well. Coverage is more complete for simplified characters, so a few traditional characters may show no stroke data.
Why does the quiz say my stroke is "backwards"?
That means you drew the right shape in the wrong direction — for example a horizontal stroke from right to left instead of left to right. Watch the start and end points of each stroke in Animate mode to get the direction right.
Can I use this on a tablet or phone?
Yes. The canvas accepts both mouse and touch input, so drawing with a finger or stylus on a touchscreen feels the most natural — especially in Practice and Quiz modes.
Is my practice data saved?
Your recent-character history is stored locally in your browser so you can jump back to characters you have studied, and your drawing and quiz scoring run in the browser as well. The stroke data for each character is loaded on demand from a public character-data CDN.
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