I was looking at the stroke order for 球, and I noticed that in the 求 component
there's a diagonal stroke that is written upwards, which is rather unusual to
me (fourth stroke):

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/cOtfI.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/cOtfI.png)

I would have drawn all of them from top to bottom, like in 商 that also has 4
small diagonal strokes (although they come from different components). Why is
it the case in 求? Is it an exception, or a rule that is applied in a way I
don't understand?

Interestingly, in 球 there's another "upstroke", but that one didn't surprise
me. The last stroke of the 王 component is slightly tilted to ease into the
next stroke:

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/07k4w.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/07k4w.png)

I also found it in the water radical 氵. Is this what happens in 求?

In general, when does a kanji stroke go up? Does it happen in other kanji?
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-21T21:03:23.660
93787
2022-04-04T22:03:28.920
20551
question
kanji handwriting
When does a kanji stroke go up?
Kanji stroke order is made so that the character is easy to write with a brush
(for calligraphy etc.) In the case of 求, the ending point of the 4th stroke
makes it easier to start the 5th stroke. If the 4th stroke was written from
top to bottom, the brush wouldn't flow that easily. As you noticed in 球, the
4th stroke goes upwards to flow into the next stroke. Same logic for 求。
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-04-04T22:03:28.920
93987
2022-04-04T22:03:28.920
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93787
answer