How stroke order works
Every kanji and kana character has a standard stroke order — a set order and direction for drawing each line. Two simple rules cover most cases: write top to bottom and left to right. Horizontal strokes usually come before crossing vertical ones, an enclosing box is closed last, and a character that cuts straight through the middle is often written last. Following the standard order is what makes a character look balanced and lets you eventually write fast, flowing handwriting.
Start with the two kana syllabaries — the 46 hiragana and 46 katakana are the building blocks of written Japanese — then move on to the 80 N5 and 167 N4 kanji, which together form the core vocabulary of beginner Japanese. Watch each character animate, step through it slowly, then head to the Kanji Practice Sheets to print a worksheet and write it by hand.
Frequently asked questions
What is stroke order and why does it matter?
Stroke order (筆順, hitsujun) is the fixed sequence and direction in which the strokes of a kanji or kana character are written. It matters because writing in the correct order makes the character come out balanced and legible, lets you write quickly and connect strokes naturally, and is the basis for how handwriting-recognition and dictionaries work. Japanese schools teach a standard order for every character, and these animations follow that standard.
Which characters are covered here?
This tool animates the 247 most common kanji for Japanese learners — all 80 JLPT N5 kanji and all 167 JLPT N4 kanji — plus every basic character in both kana syllabaries: 46 hiragana and 46 katakana. That is a complete foundation for reading and writing beginner Japanese. The JLPT does not publish official kanji lists, so the N5/N4 sets follow the widely used study lists most textbooks rely on.
How do I use the animation?
Open any character and press Play to watch it drawn stroke by stroke in the correct order. You can pause and reset, step forward and back one stroke at a time to practice at your own pace, switch the speed between 0.5×, 1× and 2×, and toggle stroke numbers to see exactly where each stroke begins. Then use “Practice writing this character” to print a tracing worksheet and write it yourself.
Related tools
- Kanji Practice Sheets — printable tracing worksheets for the same N5/N4 kanji and kana.
- Furigana Generator — add reading hints (furigana) to any Japanese text.
- Kanji & Kana to Romaji — convert Japanese text to Hepburn romaji.