坤 meaning and stroke order
Earth; feminine
How to write 坤, 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.
- 1
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- 8
Meaning of 坤
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- one of the Eight Trigrams 八卦[ba1 gua4], symbolizing earth
- female principle
- ☷
- ancient Chinese compass point: 225° (southwest)
- variant of 坤[kun1]
How 坤 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Earth.
申 gives the meaning and 土 hints at the sound.
Radical: 土 (soil), shared by 183 characters on this site.
How to remember 坤
Picture 土 (tǔ, earth) on the left beside 申 (shēn) on the right, like the ground stretching out wide beneath the sky. 坤 is the earth itself, the broad, receiving side of the universe.
坤 is mostly seen in the word 乾坤 (qiánkūn), heaven and earth, and in set phrases built on it. It also appears in older words for women's items, like 坤包 (kūnbāo, lady's handbag), and in personal names. Example: 他一个人扭转了乾坤。(Tā yí gè rén niǔzhuǎn le qiánkūn.) He turned the whole situation around by himself.
Common mistake: Learners often read 坤 as shēn because of the 申 on the right, but it is kūn in the first tone. Also check the right side: it is 申 with the stroke going through both top and bottom, not 甲 or 由.
Common words with 坤
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 乾坤 | qiánkūn | yin and yang; heaven and earth; the universe |
坤 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 坤
How many strokes are in 坤?
坤 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 坤 mean?
坤 (kūn) means earth; feminine. A common word with it is 乾坤 (qiánkūn), meaning "yin and yang; heaven and earth; the universe".
How do you pronounce 坤?
坤 is pronounced kūn, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 坤?
The radical of 坤 is 土, which carries the idea of "soil". Dictionaries list 坤 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 坤?
The traditional form of 坤 is 堃. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 坤 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Why does 坤 mean feminine?
In the Eight Trigrams, 坤 (☷) is the earth trigram and stands for the receptive, female principle. It is paired with 乾 (qián), which stands for heaven and the male principle.
What does 扭转乾坤 mean?
扭转乾坤 (niǔzhuǎn qiánkūn) literally means to twist heaven and earth around. It is used for completely reversing a bad situation, often in sports or business.