<p>Unfortunately, there is no one universal correct stroke order. It differs:</p>
<ul>
<li>from country to country,</li>
<li>between radical, standalone and handwriting forms,</li>
</ul>
<p>It may be different in each of:</p>
<ul>
<li>Mainland China,</li>
<li>Hong Kong,</li>
<li>Taiwan,</li>
<li>Japan,</li>
<li>Korea,</li>
<li>Vietnam.</li>
</ul>
<p>&quot;The modern governments of mainland China, Hong Kong,Taiwan, and Japan have standardized official stroke orders to be taught in schools. These stroke order standards are prescribed in conjunction to each government's standard character sets. The various official stroke orders agree on the vast majority of characters, but each have their differences. No governmental standard matches traditional stroke orders completely. The differences between the governmental standards and traditional stroke orders arise from accommodation for schoolchildren who may be overwhelmed if the rules about stroke orders are too detailed, or if there are too many exceptions.&quot; - says <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroke_order#Stroke_order_per_polity" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Wikipedia</a>.</p>
<p>Even more to that differences, there may also be variants of the same character in different font sets.<br />
E.g.:<br />
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/60XlB.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/60XlB.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>Even in English there are differences in spelling, too, e.g.: theater vs. theatre.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-09-02T15:02:58.833Z
I don't see how variations of 次 have any indication to stroke order.
L Parker
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-09-02T15:20:17.150Z
They don't indicate that indeed.  It is just to illustrate that there is no single correct spelling rule set for all the characters.
Leonid
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-09-03T08:56:32.627Z
But you could have referred to standards in stroke order that are different instead, which would have been relevant for the question! How about various ways of writing 心字旁?
Olle Linge
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-09-05T13:17:55.627Z
Updated with the link to Wikipedia referring to standards.
Leonid
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-09-02T11:22:35.883Z
2021-09-05T13:16:12.277Z
2021-09-05T13:16:12.277Z
Leonid
<p>I believe for 印 the 1st one is correct. 氏 is written in this order: <img src="https://i.sstatic.net/cJr0G.jpg" alt="enter image description here">. The first 3 strokes are exactly same as those first 3 stroks in 印.</p>

<p>Consider the following characters: 卯, 留，齊(齐). We finish this part first, <img src="https://i.sstatic.net/RUaRZ.jpg" alt="enter image description here">, then add the next strokes, which are 丿, 丶, and ㇏ respectively.</p>

<p>But if you make the font of 印 like this, the 2nd order in your question is correct.</p>

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/hXQG9.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></p>

<p>The discussion above is for 楷书. But the stroke orders are sometimes different for 行书 or 草书, in order to write faster. See the following examples:</p>

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/8p2WW.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></p>

<p>Take <img src="https://i.sstatic.net/ksHNv.jpg" alt="enter image description here"> as an example, the stroke order is:<img src="https://i.sstatic.net/LaGOT.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-04-17T22:21:53.337Z
2013-04-18T17:16:32.800Z
2013-04-18T17:16:32.800Z
孤影萍踪
<p>I've seen two different stroke orders for this character:
<img src="https://i.sstatic.net/Uoeov.gif" alt="enter image description here"></p>

<p>and</p>

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/HCqHW.gif" alt="enter image description here"></p>

<p>Which one is more "correct" or widely used?</p>

<p>It seems to me that the fourth stroke in the latter picture is incorrect, and that it should be part of the second one. Is this right?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-04-17T21:55:43.903Z
I don't really see them as wrong or right. They are just alternative stroke orders to me.
deutschZuid
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-04-23T07:16:23.090Z
Maybe you should look in 康熙字典 and see what is the correct stroke number.
Derek 朕會功夫
<stroke-order><characters>
Stroke order for 印
# Stroke order for 印

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-04-17)

I've seen two different stroke orders for this character:
![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/Uoeov.gif)

and

![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/HCqHW.gif)

Which one is more "correct" or widely used?

It seems to me that the fourth stroke in the latter picture is incorrect, and that it should be part of the second one. Is this right?

**Tags:** stroke-order, characters

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I don't really see them as wrong or right. They are just alternative stroke orders to me.  
> **username_2**: Maybe you should look in 康熙字典 and see what is the correct stroke number.  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_6 on 2013-04-17. Score: 7 | Accepted answer

I believe for 印 the 1st one is correct. 氏 is written in this order: ![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/cJr0G.jpg). The first 3 strokes are exactly same as those first 3 stroks in 印.

Consider the following characters: 卯, 留，齊(齐). We finish this part first, ![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/RUaRZ.jpg), then add the next strokes, which are 丿, 丶, and ㇏ respectively.

But if you make the font of 印 like this, the 2nd order in your question is correct.

![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/hXQG9.jpg)

The discussion above is for 楷书. But the stroke orders are sometimes different for 行书 or 草书, in order to write faster. See the following examples:

![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/8p2WW.jpg)

Take ![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/ksHNv.jpg) as an example, the stroke order is:![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/LaGOT.jpg)


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2021-09-02. Score: -1

Unfortunately, there is no one universal correct stroke order. It differs:

* from country to country,
* between radical, standalone and handwriting forms,

It may be different in each of:

* Mainland China,
* Hong Kong,
* Taiwan,
* Japan,
* Korea,
* Vietnam.

"The modern governments of mainland China, Hong Kong,Taiwan, and Japan have standardized official stroke orders to be taught in schools. These stroke order standards are prescribed in conjunction to each government's standard character sets. The various official stroke orders agree on the vast majority of characters, but each have their differences. No governmental standard matches traditional stroke orders completely. The differences between the governmental standards and traditional stroke orders arise from accommodation for schoolchildren who may be overwhelmed if the rules about stroke orders are too detailed, or if there are too many exceptions." - says [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroke_order#Stroke_order_per_polity).

Even more to that differences, there may also be variants of the same character in different font sets.  
E.g.:  
[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/60XlB.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/60XlB.png)

Even in English there are differences in spelling, too, e.g.: theater vs. theatre.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: I don't see how variations of 次 have any indication to stroke order.  
> **username_3**: They don't indicate that indeed.  It is just to illustrate that there is no single correct spelling rule set for all the characters.  
> **username_5**: But you could have referred to standards in stroke order that are different instead, which would have been relevant for the question! How about various ways of writing 心字旁?  
> **username_3**: Updated with the link to Wikipedia referring to standards.  

---

