坞 meaning and stroke order
Bank, entrenchment, low wall; dock
How to write 坞, 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 坞
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) low area within a surrounding barrier
- (literary) small castle; fort
- variant of 塢|坞[wu4]
How 坞 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Earth.
土 gives the meaning and 乌 hints at the sound.
Radical: 土 (soil), shared by 183 characters on this site.
How to remember 坞
Earth 土 on the left shows a mound or wall of soil, and 乌 (wū) on the right gives the sound. Picture an earthen wall piled up around a low area, like a dock where boats rest.
Today 坞 almost always appears in fixed words rather than alone. The most common is 船坞 (chuánwù), a dock or shipyard. Example: 这艘船正在船坞里维修。(Zhè sōu chuán zhèngzài chuánwù lǐ wéixiū.) This ship is being repaired in the dock.
Common mistake: Learners often read 坞 as wū because its sound part 乌 is wū, but 坞 is fourth tone, wù. Also watch the right side: 乌 has no dot inside, unlike 鸟 (niǎo, bird).
Common words with 坞
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 船坞 | chuánwù | dock; shipyard |
坞 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 坞
How many strokes are in 坞?
坞 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 坞 mean?
坞 (wù) means bank, entrenchment, low wall; dock. A common word with it is 船坞 (chuánwù), meaning "dock; shipyard".
How do you pronounce 坞?
坞 is pronounced wù, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 坞?
The radical of 坞 is 土, which carries the idea of "soil". Dictionaries list 坞 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 坞?
The traditional form of 坞 is 塢 and 隖. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 坞 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 坞 used in the Chinese name for Hollywood?
Yes. Hollywood is 好莱坞 (Hǎoláiwù), where 坞 is used for its sound. Bollywood is similarly 宝莱坞 (Bǎoláiwù).
What other words use 坞 besides 船坞?
You may see 山坞 (shānwù), a low hollow among hills, and 花坞 (huāwù), a sunken flower garden sheltered on all sides. Both reflect the sense of a low area surrounded by higher ground.