块 meaning and stroke order
Lump; chunk; piece; classifier for pieces of cloth, cake, soap etc; (coll.) classifier for money and currency units
How to write 块, stroke by stroke
7 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 块
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- lump; chunk; piece
- classifier for pieces of cloth, cake, soap etc
- (coll.) classifier for money and currency units
How 块 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Earth.
土 gives the meaning and 夬 hints at the sound.
Radical: 土 (soil), shared by 183 characters on this site.
How to remember 块
块 is built from 土 (earth) on the left, which gives the meaning, and 夬 (guài) on the right, which hints at the sound. Picture a lump of earth broken off the ground, and you have a chunk or piece.
块 is a measure word for flat or solid pieces of things like cake, soap, cloth, and land. In everyday speech it is also the common word for a unit of money, like saying "bucks" for 元 (yuán). Example: 这个三块钱。(Zhège sān kuài qián.) This costs three yuan.
Common mistake: Learners often write 快 (kuài, fast) instead of 块, since they sound identical. Remember that money and chunks come from the ground, so use the earth radical 土, not the heart radical 忄.
Common words with 块
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 一块儿 | yīkuàir | erhua variant of 一塊|一块[yi1 kuai4] | HSK 1 |
| 板块 | bǎnkuài | slab; (geology) tectonic plate | HSK 7-9 |
| 一块 | yīkuài | a piece; a chunk; (fig.) (coll.) (typically preceded by a specifier such as 這|这[zhe4]) asp | |
| 冰块 | bīngkuài | ice cube; ice chunk | |
| 大块头 | dàkuàitóu | heavy man; fat man | |
| 石块 | shíkuài | stone; rock | |
| 方块 | fāngkuài | cube; block; square; diamond ♦ (in card games) | |
| 块头 | kuàitóu | size; body size | |
| 肿块 | zhǒngkuài | swelling; growth | |
| 模块 | mókuài | module (in software); functional unit | |
| 砖块 | zhuānkuài | brick |
块 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 块
How many strokes are in 块?
块 is written with 7 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 块 mean?
块 (kuài) means lump; chunk; piece; classifier for pieces of cloth, cake, soap etc; (coll.) classifier for money and currency units. A common word with it is 一块儿 (yīkuàir), meaning "erhua variant of 一塊|一块[yi1 kuai4]".
How do you pronounce 块?
块 is pronounced kuài, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 块?
The radical of 块 is 土, which carries the idea of "soil". Dictionaries list 块 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 块?
The traditional form of 块 is 塊. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 块 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 块 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 块 is part of the HSK 1 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 1.
What is the difference between 块 and 元 for money?
Both mean the basic unit of Chinese currency. 元 (yuán) is formal and appears on prices and receipts, while 块 is what people say in conversation. Smaller units are 毛 (máo) in speech and 角 (jiǎo) in writing.
What does 一块儿 mean besides "one piece"?
In spoken Chinese, 一块儿 (yīkuàir) often means "together," as in 我们一块儿去吧 (wǒmen yīkuàir qù ba), let's go together. It works like 一起 (yīqǐ) and is especially common in northern speech.