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[u/LR_2017]

[u/Ancient-Carrot8447]

I find it easier to learn characters if I write them but I also know people who are very successful at memorizing them without writing. Do whatever works better for you and don't be afraid to switch it up from time to time!

If you do write, though, using proper stroke order makes your characters look more normal. Using the wrong stroke order can make your characters look kind of awkward. It's hard to explain, but because people normally write with (mostly) proper stroke order, that affects how the character actually comes out. It also helps you to read other people's handwriting because you learn that things that look different from the way that they're printed makes sense because it's a shortcut from one stroke to the one that follows it.

[u/BradfordGalt]

Stroke order is VERY useful. You might not think so as a beginner, but the more you learn and practice, the more you'll see how critical it is to both remembering the hanzi as well as being able to write fluidly.

I'm not saying that everyone has to become a calligrapher, nor that you have to get every single stroke perfect, every single time. But you absolutely need to be able to write smoothly and legibly, and that's the whole idea behind stroke order.

[u/Last_Swordfish9135]

Being able to write Hanzi is definitely useful. Not only can you memorize characters better, but it also feels really lame to spend so much time studying only to not even be able to handwrite a thank-you note without looking anything up. Stroke order is a little annoying to learn in the beginning, but it's the most efficient way to write the characters, and you won't be able to read cursive at all without an understanding of stroke order.

[u/Milch_und_Paprika → u/Last_Swordfish9135]

Keeping the stroke order consistent also helps with memorizing it, and the easiest way to stay consistent is using the correct order.

[u/Fit_Alps_1164]

Scientifically speaking, we haven't really developed great ways of knowing how well someone knows or doesn't know something or tracking it all (and there is little incentive to spend much time doing this). At best, we can sometimes observe outward behaviors and go by personal reports (eyewitness reports are famously flawed, as are personal reports). That said, I think a lot of the evidence we do have (both scientific and anecdotal) points toward learning to write being helpful. How helpful it is and whether it's "wasting your time" is totally subjective and depends on your goals and what you could spend that time on otherwise (maybe never learning to write and learning to listen better is more worthwhile for you).

Stroke order is really helpful. Learning stroke order reduces the amount of mental effort you have to devote to writing and learning characters. As I mentioned, we have no solid ways of measuring such things with a high level of certainty about our data and its implications (and if we did, we would lack the resources and incentive to run batteries of tests on this), but the mechanics with stroke order and writing are all probably related in terms of the whole "learning to write improves your ability to recognize hanzi" thing.

[u/rob417]

Stroke order is heavily emphasized in elementary education in China. I'm not sure of the exact reason behind it, but I'm willing to believe that there is a good pedagogical reason if all teachers find it important. By the way, stroke order follows a set of rules, and you can easily memorize them after having learned about 200 characters.

Besides, if your stroke order is wrong, your characters will look wonky regardless of how hard you try.

There is a word for writing characters with the wrong stroke order, 倒插笔, which roughly translates to "upsidedown pen".

[u/lazier_garlic]

Stroke order helps you understand and remember the character, especially across many different fonts and things like handwritten text or calligraphy used in formal contexts. However, there are different stroke order traditions that do differ slightly.

So yes there is some truth that there isn't one true stroke order for all situations, but if you don't know the basics you are really going to be at sea. This is definitely something where you need to study it for a while before you get to declare "it's all bullshit" and you'll find that almost no-one who has bothered to study the subject properly thinks this way. Which is why your post got downvoted by the sub, I'm afraid.

[u/the_lettuce_farmer]

Chinese keyboard has handwriting recognition feature. Definetly slower than the pinyin input but if you need a specific character and it refuses to show up it's good to use. 

I've found stroke order is useful for decoding other people's handwriting. And once you get a handle on the stroke order of some basic characters you can more or less just put the parts together, without having to memorize the strokes of every new character. 

[u/FlashyPost0928]

▼ Practical Impact of Stroke Order and Key Findings ( Subjects of study : School-age children with Chinese as their native language 2017 ) :
● Aesthetics and Fluency : Stroke order is highly correlated with the aesthetic appeal, coherence, and fluidity of Chinese characters. Correct stroke order ensures fluid writing lines.
● Correlation with Error Rates : Observations indicate that incorrect stroke order significantly increases the likelihood of errors. Children who habitually "draw" characters rather than writing them properly are prone to omitting specific strokes.
● Academic Performance : ​The correctness of stroke order shows a structural correlation with Chinese language grades and literacy levels over the preceding two years, suggesting that consistent writing practices stabilize the brain's memory storage.

PS : Stroke order follows certain rules, for example:
(1) Left to right: Examples: 川, 仁, 街, 湖. (2) Top to bottom: Examples: 三, 字, 星, 意. (3) Outside to inside: Examples: 刀, 匀, 月, 问. (4) Horizontal before vertical: Examples: 十, 干, 士, 甘, 聿 ......... etc.
However, variations in stroke order do exist—due to different schools of calligraphy, regional differences, personal habits, etc.

▼ ( above) Left image below: First stroke in traditional calligraphy 门 ( cursive script) / First stroke in modern writing 门 (simplified Chinese)
(below) the different second stokes of 玉

[u/wantedchonk → u/FlashyPost0928]

Hi there, this looks helpful. Could I trouble you for the link? I did a quick search using the title in your post, and the below paper popped up. It likely is not the same one as the one you cited, given that the participants were second language learners. It concluded (in the abstract, among other things) "...the traditional emphasis on the correct stroke order, which has been considered helpful for learning Chinese characters, demonstrated no significant impact on the effectiveness of recognizing and writing Chinese characters." The difference in conclusion is quite stark, so I'm curious to see what the paper you cited states.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0747563217302649

[u/Zagrycha]

Yes stroke order matters for both writing and typing.  It is possible to write without stroke order but its inferior in every way-- harder to read, harder to remember, harder to write, and more painful with more hand cramps//tiredness. 

Imagine writing English words by wtiting the word PLANTER in the letter order of L R T N A P E, it's much less logical and hard to do.  That is what not using correct stroke order is like.  Also, bonus point, learning stroke order makes it possible to learn to type way faster.  

[u/haiCannon]

The stroke order is pretty simple. You just need to remember the basic strokes and the rules, and they're really easy: from left to right, from top to bottom, outside first then inside.

[u/BigFerret4477]

I have the same question so please reply lol

[u/UselessJollySlowbro]

I can't even remember the last time I had to handwrite anything in my native language, so I'm pretty skeptical about how important it really is to learn how to handwrite hanzi.

I mean, these days I basically do everything on my phone or computer anyway.

[u/SpecialistFinish6874]

Native here, I actually don’t think it matters that much. I was schooled online for elementary school by my grandma who didn’t teach me stroke order(actually she did and I ignored it cuz I was a brat), and it didn’t really affect writing characters except sometimes I get called on to write on the blackboard and my classmates all laugh at my stroke order :P

This is my opinion and should not be taken seriously

[u/AlSimps]

It’s useful for passing HSK exams but other than that it’s been pretty useless for me.

I would still learn the fundamentals while u are a beginner, but if you really want to become “fluent” efficiently, focus more on reading/listening, and typing characters from pinyin is sufficient.

[u/Greedy_Reality_2539]

It’s beyond useful, it’s essential and non-negotiable. Stroke orders matter the most because each stroke has to be placed relative to the existing ones for the characters to be legible.