Writing • Stroke Rules
Stroke Order Rules — Part 2
Compound Characters & Special Cases
Once you know the six core rules, the next step is applying them to compound characters — characters made of two or more components. This page covers how to handle left-right and top-bottom compounds, enclosed characters, and the tricky dot stroke cases.
Left-Right Compound Characters
Write the entire left component before starting the right
When a character is made of two side-by-side components, finish writing the left component completely before beginning the right component. Do not intersperse strokes between the two sides.
明 míng — bright
Left: 日 (sun) / Right: 月 (moon)
Complete all strokes of 日 on the left first, then write 月 on the right.
休 xiū — rest
Left: 亻(person) / Right: 木 (tree)
The person radical 亻 (2 strokes) is written entirely before the tree component 木.
林 lín — forest
Left: 木 (tree) / Right: 木 (tree)
Two identical trees — left 木 is complete before the right 木 begins.
Top-Bottom Compound Characters
Write the top component entirely before the bottom
Characters stacked vertically are written top-to-bottom — not just stroke by stroke, but component by component. Complete every stroke of the upper component before writing the lower one.
字 zì — character, word
Top: 宀 (roof) / Bottom: 子 (child)
Roof radical 宀 (3 strokes) is completed before the child component 子 below it.
男 nán — male, man
Top: 田 (field) / Bottom: 力 (strength)
All strokes of the field 田 are written before the strength component 力.
花 huā — flower
Top: 艹 (grass) / Bottom: 化 (transform)
Grass radical at the top is written before the phonetic component below.
Enclosed Characters
Outer frame → inner content → bottom seal
Characters with an enclosing box or frame follow a three-phase sequence: (1) draw the enclosing strokes on the outside — typically the left side, top, and right side in one or two strokes; (2) write all the inner content; (3) draw the final bottom stroke to seal the box. Never close the box before writing what is inside.
国 guó — country
Outer frame (left+top+right), then 玉 inside, then bottom horizontal to close.
四 sì — four
Outer frame open at bottom first, then two vertical inner strokes, then bottom seal.
回 huí — return
Outer box frame first, inner small box, then bottom seal of outer box.
Dot Strokes — Usually Written Last
Top-right dots are typically written after the main structure
The dot stroke 点 (diǎn) is generally written last when it appears at the top-right of a component. This is because the dot sits outside the main flow of the character and is treated as a finishing touch after the main structure is complete.
犬 quǎn — dog
The main 大 structure is written first; the dot at the top-right is added last.
太 tài — too, very
Write 大 first (3 strokes), then add the dot at the lower right.
玉 yù — jade
Three horizontals + vertical first, then the dot on the right side last.
The 人 (rén) Component Rules
When 人 appears as a top or structural component
The character 人 (person, rén) appears frequently as a component in other characters, and its stroke order changes slightly depending on position. When 人 sits at the top of a character (as in 合 or 食), it is still written first — left-falling stroke (撇) then right-falling stroke (捺) — following Rule 4. But the proportions are compressed to leave space for what follows below.
合 hé — combine, together
人 at the top (piě then nà), then 一 horizontal, then 口 box at the bottom.
食 shí — eat, food
人 component at top written first, then the lower phonetic components.
今 jīn — today, now
人 at top (2 strokes), then the cover component, then the short stroke below.
Practice Characters for Part 2
Try writing each of these characters and identify which rules apply before checking the stroke count. Use the animated stroke order tool to verify your answer.