刮 meaning and stroke order
To scrape; to blow; to shave
How to write 刮, stroke by stroke
8 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 刮
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to scrape
- to blow
- to shave
- to plunder
- to extort
- to blow (of the wind)
How 刮 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Knife.
刂 gives the meaning and 舌 hints at the sound.
Radical: 刂 (knife), shared by 71 characters on this site.
How to remember 刮
刮 is a knife 刂 on the right next to 舌, which here gives the sound. Picture a blade scraping across a surface the way a tongue licks a plate clean.
刮 covers scraping actions like shaving and scraping off paint, and it is also the everyday verb for wind blowing. Example: 今天刮大风。(Jīntiān guā dà fēng.) It is very windy today.
Common mistake: Learners often write 话 (huà) or 活 (huó) by mistake, since all three share 舌. Remember that 刮 has the knife 刂 on the right, not the speech radical 讠 or the water radical 氵 on the left.
Common words with 刮
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 刮风 | guā fēng | to be windy | HSK 7-9 |
| 刮胡子 | guāhúzi | to shave (facial hair) | |
| 刮目相看 | guāmùxiāngkàn | to have a whole new level of respect for sb or sth; to sit up and take notice (of sb's imp | |
| 刮掉 | guādiào | to scrape off; to shave off (whiskers etc) | |
| 搜刮 | sōuguā | to rake in (money); to plunder; to milk people dry | |
| 刮伤 | guāshāng | scratch (wound); scratch (damage to an object) |
刮 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 刮
How many strokes are in 刮?
刮 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 刮 mean?
刮 (guā) means to scrape; to blow; to shave. A common word with it is 刮风 (guā fēng), meaning "to be windy".
How do you pronounce 刮?
刮 is pronounced guā, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 刮?
The radical of 刮 is 刂, which carries the idea of "knife". Dictionaries list 刮 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 刮?
The traditional form of 刮 is 颳. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 刮 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 刮 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 刮 is part of the HSK 6 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why is 刮 used for wind?
In Chinese, wind is said to 刮 (blow), so 刮风 (guā fēng) is the normal way to say it is windy. You can also say 风刮得很大 (fēng guā de hěn dà), the wind is blowing hard.
What does 刮目相看 mean in daily speech?
It means to look at someone with new respect after they have improved or surprised you. For example, 他的进步让大家刮目相看 (tā de jìnbù ràng dàjiā guāmù xiāngkàn), his progress made everyone see him in a new light.