Mryntu

Context:

I am currently on a quest to learn how to hand write the 2000 most commonly used Kanji. This requires lots of memorization, so efficiency is important.

I have come across Kanji that have strokes with little "extra tails", created from a slightly extra-long stroke. I found that they are often referred to as はね. Or in English, they can be called "jumps". For example:

When splitting this kanji into three separate parts:

• the left part has two jumps on the bottom, with the left tail being slightly longer


• the upper right part has no jumps


• the lower right part has two jumps on the bottom, of equal length.

Question:

How important are the jumps?

When handwriting Kanji, does it matter if these jumps are of the correct length? Would the Kanji still be understandable without correct jumps? Would natives find it annoying, for example, if I didn't include the jumps at all?

I am asking because the less little things I have to memorize, the faster I can learn the Kanji.

These "jumps" that you brought up are not part of the kanji, they are part of the typeface.

(More specifically, they are serifs - or little decorations at the edge of certain lines)

When you are learning kanji, you should definitely not be copying or referencing printed characters. You should learn from hand-written characters. The basics of how to write kanji are not taught or learned from printed or typeface forms.

The best online reference I know of for hand-written Japanese characters is https://kakijun.jp/

• 唱　→　https://kakijun.jp/page/1118200.html
  

Notice how in some fonts, the letter "A" has little things that stick out, too:

But you wouldn't write those little tails in handwriting, would you?

Same thing with 唱. I don't think I've met anyone who writes them with the "jumps". This is how I'd write 唱:

This has more to do with strokes and stroke order. Some fonts will show these, others not. Some will even show such 'tails' in the middle of a stroke.

Pay attention only if it helps you to get the kanji (especially strokes and stroke order) right.