How to Write Hanja: Stroke Order Rules and Practice

How to Write Hanja

Writing hanja is a separate skill from reading them, and you can leave it for later. The word for stroke order is 획순 (hoeksun), and one stroke is a 획 (hoek). A hanja is built from a small set of strokes drawn in a set order. The order is a convention, but a useful one: it helps your hand keep a steady balance and makes every character the same shape every time.

Before you start

• You can recognise the ten characters on this page, or you are ready to learn them.
• You have a pen or pencil and squared practice paper. A brush is optional.
• You have 10 to 15 minutes per session.
• You know that you are practising handwriting and not reading.

The page follows four steps: strokes, rules, ten practice characters and checking. For a method that builds reading first, see how to learn hanja.

Step 1: Learn the Basic Strokes

Learn six basic strokes first, because every character is made of them. The names are the same idea in Korean, Japanese and Chinese. The table gives a common Korean term for each one.

The turn is the one that needs care. In 日 the top line and the right side are one stroke because you do not lift the pen. The same holds for 口 and for the box in 月. Practise these six strokes in a row on squared paper before you move on.

Checkpoint: you can draw each of the six strokes in the right direction and say its name.

Step 2: Learn the Eight Order Rules

Eight rules cover most hanja. They are guides learned from many characters, not laws, and a few characters follow special orders. The rules are the same in Chinese and Japanese writing for the characters here. Learn the first four first, then add the rest.

A few more habits are worth knowing. Dots are often written last, as in 犬, though a dot at the top comes first, as in 六. A base such as 辶 in 道 is written last. These are also covered by dictionaries as stroke-order notes.

Many characters also have a radical (부수, busu). Radicals are written in their own place in the order, usually left before right, top before bottom. For a closer look at radicals, see hanja radicals.

Checkpoint: you can say which rule applies when you write 三, 川, 十 and 人.

Step 3: Practise Ten Basic Characters

Practise ten characters that cover all eight rules: 一 二 三 十 人 大 山 日 月 水. Each is a basic hanja you will meet in words such as 일월 and 삼월, and each is built from the basic strokes and their joined forms, such as the hook in 水. The table gives the stroke count and the order in words, so you can check yourself even when no animation is shown.

Try these in the order shown, writing each five times slowly. Say the reading aloud as you write, which links hand and ear.

Here are the ten characters as stroke-order demos. Each one steps through the strokes in order.

The ten also show the number sequence. 一 二 三 are the Sino-Korean numbers 일, 이, 삼, and 十 is 십. The basic hanja section teaches them in context, with 日 月 水 among the weekday characters.

Checkpoint: you can write all ten from the table without the animation, with the right stroke count.

Step 4: Check Your Result

Check your writing in three ways: stroke order, stroke count and shape. A quick routine is enough.

1. Count. Count your strokes and compare with the table. 日 should be 4, 人 should be 2.
2. Order. Watch the animation once more or follow the table in words.
3. Shape. Compare your character with a printed one. Is the box closed? Are the legs of 人 balanced? Is 十 centred?

If one fails, copy the character three more times and test again tomorrow without looking. A dictionary also shows stroke order in most hanja entries, so it can settle a doubt.

Checkpoint: three characters in a row pass all three checks.

Which Forms Should You Write?

Write the traditional forms that Korea uses. A learner who has seen simplified forms may be surprised that the Korean 學 has 16 strokes and the simplified 学 only 8. The same holds for 國 and 国. The table shows the difference. Some characters have small Korean standard-form differences from the traditional forms of Taiwan, such as 敎 and 教, so use a Korean source.

For a fuller comparison of forms, see hanja vs kanji vs hanzi. Do not mix forms in one character: 學 is right, and a half-simplified shape is wrong.

How Do You Write a Longer Character?

Write a long character by splitting it into parts, then applying the same rules to the parts. A part is a chunk you already know, such as a radical. Work from the top to the bottom and from the left to the right, and finish each part before the next.

The table does not give every stroke inside each part, because there are too many. For each new character, open a Korean hanja dictionary or a stroke-order tool and follow the numbered strokes once. After a few characters you will find the pattern: your eye sees the parts, and your hand follows the rules. This is why the ten basic characters come first. They are the parts of larger characters. 日 appears in 時, 木 in 校, 言 in 語 and 子 in 學.

Count first and write second. A 16-stroke character like 學 looks fearsome, but if you know it as three chunks, it is as simple as drawing three small pictures in a column. Practise the chunks separately for a few days and then join them.

Where Might You Ever Write Hanja by Hand?

You are unlikely to need handwriting in daily Korean life, but a few situations come up. Hanja tests ask candidates to write characters from a given reading. Calligraphy classes and exhibitions use brush-written hanja. Some people sign formal papers with a hanja name or use a name seal (도장, dojang) cut with characters. And a personal reason counts too: some learners just enjoy the shapes. If none of these applies to you, the best use of your time is more reading, and the right amount of writing is a few characters so you understand how they are built.

A Practice Routine: Trace, Copy, Recall, Compare

Use a four-phase routine for each new character. It takes about two minutes per character.

1. Trace. Place thin paper over a printed model and trace it three times, saying the reading.
2. Copy. Write it five times beside the model.
3. Recall. Cover the model and write it from memory, once.
4. Compare. Check your version against the model and note one thing to improve.

For five new characters a day, a session lasts 10 to 15 minutes (five characters × 2 to 3 minutes). At five new characters a day, 100 characters take 20 practice days. Use the next day to review the previous day's five before adding new ones.

What Mistakes Should You Avoid?

Five mistakes cause most trouble.

• Writing before reading. Learn the character in words first.
• Ignoring the count. A missing stroke can make a different character: 大 with a dot added is 太 (태, "very, great").
• Mixing traditional and simplified shapes. Pick the Korean form.
• Skipping the closing line. In 口, 日 and 月, draw the box the right way and finish with the bottom line.
• Practising too many at once. Five new characters a session is plenty.

Do Brush Strokes Differ from Pen Strokes?

The order is the same, but the look is different. A brush (붓, but) gives thick and thin lines, with a clear start and finish to each stroke, and it is used in calligraphy (서예, seoye). A pen gives lines of even width. Learn order with a pen, then add the brush if you want the art.

Which Hanja Are Worth Writing by Hand?

Write your own hanja name if you have one, the numbers 一 to 十, simple characters such as 人 大 山 日 月 水, and the characters on any list you must write for a test. Skip the rest. For reading, nearly all of the 1,800 characters on the school list never need your hand. If you are curious about tests, see how to learn hanja for study habits and the Korean hanja proficiency test page for the test levels.

Check Yourself

Six quick questions on rules, counts and forms.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does stroke order matter?

Yes, a little. A fixed order makes characters faster to write, more balanced and easier to remember, and it is what dictionaries and tests assume. A wrong order rarely changes how a finished character looks in print, but it slows you down and makes handwriting messy. Learn the eight rules once and most characters follow them.

Should I use traditional or simplified forms?

Use the traditional forms, as Korea does: 學 and 國, not 学 and 国. Korean dictionaries, school lists, signs and names show the traditional shapes. If you already know simplified or Japanese forms, learn the traditional ones next to them, since many are easy to recognise once you see both.

How do I count strokes?

Count every continuous pen movement as one stroke. A corner or hook made without lifting the pen is still one stroke, so the top and right side of 日 together count as one. 日 has four strokes in all. Check the count against a Korean hanja dictionary, because counts for more complex characters can differ by one between sources.

How long to learn to write 100 hanja?

About five to seven hours of practice, spread over four weeks, plus review. At five characters a day that is 20 practice days; at 15 to 20 minutes a day (10 to 15 minutes of new writing plus review) it comes to 5 to 6.7 hours. Writing from memory takes longer than recognising, so most people take longer than this at first. Treat it as an estimate, not a promise.

Do I need a brush?

No. A pen or pencil is enough for learning stroke order. A brush is for calligraphy (서예, seoye), where stroke thickness, entry and exit matter. The order of strokes is the same, so you can learn it with a pen and take up the brush later.

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