Stroke direction

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Reply #1 - 2008 April 05, 4:13 pm
Zarxrax Member
From: North Carolina Registered: 2008-03-24 Posts: 949

I'm getting fairly good at determining stroke order (though I still get mixed up on some particularly complex kanji), but I still struggle with the *direction* that some strokes are written in. How do you learn which way you are supposed to draw the strokes?
For example, take the character for temple, 寺. The last stroke is that little drop near the bottom. Do you write it from top-left to bottom-right, or from bottom-right to top-left? I always do it from bottom to top, almost as if it's a continuation of the previous stroke. I don't really know if I'm doing it right though.

I'm also left-handed, so I don't know if that might make me tend to do some things the wrong way.

Reply #2 - 2008 April 05, 4:35 pm
Ryuujin27 Member
Registered: 2006-12-14 Posts: 824

The "drop" would be from the top-left to bottom-right.

It follows that basic principle of "Northwest to Southeast".

At least I think that's how...

Reply #3 - 2008 April 05, 4:50 pm
Zarxrax Member
From: North Carolina Registered: 2008-03-24 Posts: 949

Well when heisig introduces the "drop", he says that its generally written from right to left.

Of course, when I right a kanji that uses the three water drops on the left, I normally do the first 2 from left to right, and then the last one from bottom to top...

I want to break these habits before I get them too ingrained in my head, if I'm not doing them right.

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Reply #4 - 2008 April 05, 5:31 pm
Nukemarine Member
From: 神奈川 Registered: 2007-07-15 Posts: 2347

At times like these, you may want to consider adding the stroke order font that's floating around there. Although I have not seen it, I assume the numbers are placed close to where the stroke will start.

By the way, as you get advanced (say your reviews are only 20 or 30 a day), you can actually let the stroke order (and direction) determine if you got a kanji correct. Seems to be a major benefit we have over native writers.

Reply #5 - 2008 April 05, 5:34 pm
Mcjon01 Member
From: 大阪 Registered: 2007-04-09 Posts: 551

In general, you'll write them top to bottom. So, when the drop slants to the left, like it does in 寺, you write it from left to right.  When it slants to the right, write it right to left.  Except, don't do that for the exceptions.

Reply #6 - 2008 April 05, 8:28 pm
atreya Member
From: India Registered: 2007-10-25 Posts: 177

http://www.yamasa.cc/ocjs/kanjidic.nsf/27B7295335B6B5EC49256A90002EC109/$FILE/1054_ani.gif

The answer is in the image. smile

Reply #7 - 2008 April 05, 8:38 pm
Zarxrax Member
From: North Carolina Registered: 2008-03-24 Posts: 949

Thanks, that site will be useful smile

Reply #8 - 2008 April 05, 10:01 pm
JimmySeal Member
From: Kyoto Registered: 2006-03-28 Posts: 2279

The third stroke in the water primitive is usually more like a checkmark than a drop: down first, and then up.

In this post, I discuss how you can tell a lot about stroke direction just by looking at an ordinary mincho font.

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