Correct order of horizontal and vertical strokes


Could someone explain to me why with kanji like 生 after the top horizontal
stroke I have to go on with the vertical one, while instead with kanji like 金
I have to draw the two horizontal strokes and then the vertical one? Is there
a simple rule to be applied?




The primary reason the stroke orders are what they are is that in Japanese,
lots of characters are optimised for writing efficiency and/or _cursive_
script. While they seem illogical at first, if you follow these stroke orders,
you will eventually start writing more efficiently with less tired hands for
longer pieces of writing (while simultaneously maintaining legibility).

> [![enter image description
> here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Bmoiv.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Bmoiv.png)
>
> This is「生」written in **one or two** strokes, which can only be achieved if
> you follow the hand motions of the Japanese stroke order.
>
> [![enter image description
> here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/F5GFi.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/F5GFi.png)
>
> * * *
>
> [![enter image description
> here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/uN9F0.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/uN9F0.png)
>
> This is「金」written in **three or four** strokes. Again, it follows the hand
> motions of the stroke order that you're taught.
>
> [![enter image description
> here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/spx9C.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/spx9C.png)
>
> * * *
>
> 「全」is no exception!
>
> [![enter image description
> here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/3Ktrk.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/3Ktrk.png)
>
> [![enter image description
> here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/HwlpK.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/HwlpK.png)

The secondary reason is that if you don't follow these stroke orders, you risk
getting marked wrong in your tests.

* * *

_All images from cidianwang.com and jisho.org._

