Hiragana R-Row stroke order: ら り る れ ろ
The R-row is mostly one- and two-stroke characters, so direction matters more than order. る and ろ are the same single stroke until the very end, where る closes into a loop and ろ stays open. れ shares its first stroke with ね and わ.
R-Row characters
ら (ra) 2 strokes
- 1
- 2
A short dash on top, then the stroke that comes down and curves round.
り (ri) 2 strokes
- 1
- 2
Two strokes, left then right. The right one is longer and sweeps down.
る (ru) 1 stroke
- 1
One stroke that zig-zags and closes in a loop. Compare with ろ, which stays open.
れ (re) 2 strokes
- 1
- 2
The tall vertical first, then the zig-zag stroke that kicks out to the right at the end.
ろ (ro) 1 stroke
- 1
Like る without the loop. The stroke ends open.
Contracted sounds
Contracted sounds are two characters: the full-size base followed by a small ゃ, ゅ, ょ. Write the base exactly as usual, then the small character in the lower half of the next square, at about half size. Its strokes are the same as the full-size version, just smaller.
りゃ (rya) 5 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
りゅ (ryu) 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
りょ (ryo) 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Keep going
Learn what each character looks like and how to remember it in the hiragana R-Row mnemonics article, then drill recognition with R-Row flashcards. The same row in katakana is here.