乌 meaning and stroke order
Crow, rook, raven; black, dark
How to write 乌, stroke by stroke
4 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Meaning of 乌
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- crow
- black
- used in 烏拉|乌拉[wu4 la5]
- used in 烏拉草|乌拉草[wu4 la5 cao3]
How 乌 is built
Pictographic character. Simplified form of 烏; a crow; compare 鸟.
Radical: 丿 (slash), shared by 19 characters on this site.
How to remember 乌
乌 (wū) is 鸟 (niǎo, bird) missing one stroke: the dot for the eye. A crow is so black you cannot see its eye, so the eye stroke is gone.
乌 rarely appears alone in modern Chinese. It mostly shows up in words for dark things, like 乌云 (wūyún, dark clouds) and 乌鸦 (wūyā, crow). Example: 天上都是乌云。(Tiān shàng dōu shì wūyún.) The sky is full of dark clouds.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 乌 (wū) and 鸟 (niǎo) because they look almost the same. 鸟 has a dot inside the top part and 乌 does not. Count four strokes for 乌 and five for 鸟.
Common words with 乌
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 乌云 | wūyún | black cloud | HSK 6 |
| 乌鸦 | wūyā | crow; raven | |
| 乌龟 | wūguī | tortoise; cuckold | |
| 乌贼 | wūzéi | cuttlefish | |
| 乌拉 | wùla | leather shoe stuffed with Carex meyeriana 烏拉草|乌拉草[wu4 la5 cao3], worn in northeastern Chin | |
| 乌托邦 | wūtuōbāng | (loanword) utopia | |
| 乌龙 | wūlóng | black dragon; unexpected mistake or mishap | |
| 乌合之众 | wūhézhīzhòng | (idiom) rabble; disorderly band | |
| 化为乌有 | huàwéiwūyǒu | (idiom) to go up in smoke; to vanish | |
| 乌鸦嘴 | wūyāzuǐ | crow's beak; (fig.) person who makes an inauspicious remark |
乌 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 乌
Learning 乌 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 乌
How many strokes are in 乌?
乌 is written with 4 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 乌 mean?
乌 (wū) means crow, rook, raven; black, dark. A common word with it is 乌云 (wūyún), meaning "black cloud".
How do you pronounce 乌?
乌 is pronounced wū, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 乌?
The radical of 乌 is 丿, which carries the idea of "slash". Dictionaries list 乌 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 乌?
The traditional form of 乌 is 烏. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 乌 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 乌 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 乌 is part of the HSK 6 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why does 乌龙 (wūlóng) mean a mistake?
Literally it means black dragon, and it is also the name of oolong tea. In everyday speech, 乌龙 means an embarrassing mix-up or blunder, as in 摆了个乌龙 (bǎi le ge wūlóng), to make a silly mistake. In sports, 乌龙球 (wūlóngqiú) is an own goal.
Is 乌龟 (wūguī) safe to use?
Yes, when you mean a tortoise or turtle, it is a normal word. Be careful calling a person 乌龟, though. It can be an insult meaning a man whose wife is unfaithful.