Many people have written this Chinese character’s stroke order incorrectly for decades, but both versions are acceptable

A discussion about how to write the character “放” has left many Taiwanese internet users wondering whether they have followed the wrong stroke order for decades.

The debate began after a parent looking at a child’s workbook realized that the order used for the character’s left-side component, “方,” differed from the one officially prescribed. The standard sequence is dot, horizontal stroke, horizontal-turning hook, then slant. Many people, however, write the slant before the hook.

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The final two strokes of ‘方’ may be written with the hook first and then the slant, or with the slant first and then the hook. Both are acceptable.

Online users found that the Ministry of Education had formally listed the hook-before-slant version in its 1996 handbook on standard stroke orders for commonly used Chinese characters. Some commenters said the reverse order reflected how they had been taught, while others said they used different sequences when writing with a brush.

The discussion also produced a less alarming conclusion. A question on Chinese language in a recent elementary-school teacher recruitment examination in Taichung said that for the final two strokes of “方,” writing the hook first or the slant first is acceptable. One elementary-school teacher commenting online likewise said both versions are correct.

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Elementary-school teacher here: writing the third stroke first or the fourth stroke first is correct.