How to write in Japanese - A beginner's guide

@LupinIII

Published in 

AnimeDraw

 · 19 Nov 2023

To read and write Japanese, it is essential to memorize Kanji.

Sometimes over the kanji is written the pronunciation in small hiragana (as in many manga), but this is not always the case, so without knowing them you cannot read.

Try to study a few at a time and write them down many times so that they become automatic.

Kanji also follow a writing order.

Here are some general rules:

1: you trace from UPPER to LOWER

Write the Kanji character from UPPER to LOWER

2: they are drawn from LEFT to RIGHT

Write the Kanji character from left to right

3: when vertical and horizontal strokes cross, you draw the horizontal strokes first

Draw the horizontal strokes first

4: when a kanji is arranged symmetrically around a central element, it should be drawn first

Many Kanji character are symmetric. Draw the horizontal strokes first

5: a quadrilateral is drawn with three strokes

Draw the Kanji character following the numbers in the picture

6: when other strokes appear within a square, the stroke that closes the quadrilateral at the bottom should be drawn last

The stroke that closes the Kanji character quadrilateral at the bottom should be drawn last