Hiragana Vowels stroke order: あ い う え お
The five vowels are the first characters most people write, and they set up habits you will use everywhere else: horizontal strokes go left to right, vertical strokes go top to bottom, and small finishing marks come last. お is the clearest example. Its little dot at the top right is the final stroke, even though it sits at the top.
Vowels characters
あ (a) 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
The horizontal stroke comes first, then the vertical one through it. The big loop is last and is drawn in one movement.
い (i) 2 strokes
- 1
- 2
The left stroke is longer and ends with a small upward flick. The right stroke is short.
う (u) 2 strokes
- 1
- 2
A short dash on top, then one curving stroke. Don't split the curve in two.
え (e) 2 strokes
- 1
- 2
Top dash first. The second stroke zig-zags and finishes with a flat tail to the right, all in one motion.
お (o) 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Same start as あ, but the dot at the top right comes last. Writing it first is the most common mistake.
Common mistakes
The vowel I see written wrong most often is お. The dot sits at the top, so people draw it first, and the character comes out cramped. Write the crossbar and the looping vertical first, then add the dot last. あ starts the same way, with a crossbar and a stroke down through it, so getting お right fixes both. The other trap is い. Many fonts join its two strokes with a thin line, which makes it look like one stroke. In handwriting they are two separate strokes, and the gap between them is part of the shape. う and え both open with the same short dash. Keep it small and slanted rather than a full horizontal line, or う starts to look like ら.
Keep going
Learn what each character looks like and how to remember it in the hiragana Vowels mnemonics article, then drill recognition with Vowels flashcards. The same row in katakana is here.