Do characters like 司, 习, and 可 have different first strokes?

Question

I'm interested in the first stroke of characters like 司, 习, and 可. This is how it looks on my computer (but I don't know if this is a matter of fonts):

• 可 starts off with a single horizontal stroke, whereas
• 司 and 习 do not (it starts off horizontal, then proceeds downwards, then hooks).

My handwriting of 可以, 学习, and 司机 (where I've deliberately used the two "styles"):

I'm not sure if it's simply wrong to write this, or if they're acceptable alternatives.

Question: Do characters like 司, 习, and 可 have different first strokes?

Answer 1

I'm not sure if it's simply wrong to write this, or if they're acceptable alternatives.

It's simply wrong. 横折勾 does not equal to 横 + 竖折勾. Even in artistic or decorative writing, they are clearly distinguished for the most of the time.

The answers about stroke order (笔顺) are not what was asked here.

Answer 2

We can use zdic's 笔顺 for this:

司

フ一丨フ一

习

フ丶一

可

一丨フ一丨

So technically 司 and 习 begin with a 折 stroke, while 可 begins with a 横 stroke.

笔顺 works like:

笔顺名称 一（横） 丨（竖） 丿（撇） 丶（点） 乛（折）

笔顺编号 1 2 3 4 5

Answer 3

The link has been provided to you for your reference in another answer.

However, there is a generic rule which I think it's good for you to know.

This is the one from the web:

新编笔顺规则歌诀

  从上到下为主，从左到右为辅。

  中央凸出先写，右上有点后补。

  横竖交叉先横，撇捺交叉捺收。

  上包下时先外，下包上时先内。

  三框首横末折，大口后封底部。

  多重复合结构，根据层次分组。

  特殊不合规则，源于从草从古。

  熟记规则特例，笔画正确无误。

  写字流畅美观，检字准确迅速。

I personally:

先上后下， 先左后右, 先中间后两边， ...