Stroke order is the part of handwriting you cannot see in a finished character, and the part that decides whether it looks right. This free printable worksheet makes it visible: each character is drawn across its row one stroke at a time — the first cell holds stroke one, the next holds strokes one and two, and so on until the character is whole — and blank 田字格 (tián zì gé) squares follow so you write it yourself. Every stroke gets its own cell, so a four-stroke character shows all four stages with nothing skipped.
The rules these ten characters teach
The set climbs from one stroke to four, and each row carries a rule. 一 is a single horizontal, drawn left to right. 十 adds the first rule everyone learns: horizontal before vertical. 人 puts the left-falling stroke before the right-falling one, and 大 repeats that pattern under a horizontal. 上 is the exception that trips people up, because its vertical comes first and the long horizontal closes the character. 口 and 日 show how enclosures work: build the frame, fill the inside, seal the bottom last. 女 surprises almost everyone — its long horizontal is the third stroke, not the first. 中 saves its long vertical for the end, and 水 starts down the middle before the sides.
Why the order is worth learning
A steady order keeps proportion and spacing even once you speed up, and phone handwriting input reads the strokes as you draw them, so a standard order is what it recognizes most reliably. Stroke counts are also how paper dictionaries index characters, so knowing where each stroke starts and stops pays off beyond the page. The stroke shapes and their sequence come from the hanzi-writer dataset; when a character has no entry there, the sheet says so and prints a normal tracing row instead of inventing a sequence.
Print the page free or save it as a PDF. You can practice the same characters on blank 田字格 writing grid paper, build a stroke sheet for any other characters with the printable Chinese worksheet generator, or work through the vocabulary these characters come from in free HSK 1 Chinese lessons.
Words on this worksheet: 一 (yī) — One; 十 (shí) — Ten; 人 (rén) — people; 上 (shàng) — upper; 口 (kǒu) — mouth; 女 (nǚ) — woman; 大 (dà) — big; 日 (rì) — date; 中 (zhōng) — middle, in; 水 (shuǐ) — water. See also:
Chinese Radicals List (214) ·
HSK 3.0 Handwriting Characters.
Hear these words in beginner Mandarin songs.
Frequently asked questions
Is this worksheet free to download as a PDF?
Yes. The Stroke Order Practice worksheet is free to print or save as a PDF, with no account or email needed. Press Print / Download PDF: on a computer the PDF opens ready to print or save, and on a phone it goes to your share sheet. A4 or US Letter follows your country.
What level is this worksheet?
It suits learners from about HSK 1. That is an editorial estimate for the Stroke Order Practice topic, not an official HSK word list, so a few of its 10 words may be harder. Each word prints with tone-marked pinyin and an English meaning to help.
Can I print copies for my class?
Yes. Print as many copies as you like — it's free. For a class set, press Change the words and open More options to add an answer key, a class line or a dictation page; the Student PDF leaves the key out. Test turns the sheet into a quiz.
Can I change the words or use traditional characters?
Yes. Press Change the words to open this sheet in the generator, then add, remove or replace words, up to 20 per sheet. Set Characters to Traditional to switch the whole sheet to traditional characters; a word with no verified traditional form stays as you typed it.
How should I practice with this worksheet?
Trace the gray guides first, saying each word aloud, then cover the model and write the characters from memory in the blank boxes. Scan the sheet's QR code or open the Practice tab to watch each stroke animate, trace it, then recall it without a guide. Revisit missed words a day or two later.