壕 meaning and stroke order
Ditch; trench; channel, moat
How to write 壕, stroke by stroke
17 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 壕
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- moat
- (military) trench
How 壕 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Earth.
土 gives the meaning and 豪 hints at the sound.
Radical: 土 (soil), shared by 183 characters on this site.
How to remember 壕
壕 is earth 土 (tǔ) on the left plus 豪 (háo) on the right, which gives the sound. Picture a trench dug into the earth, and the right side tells you it is read háo.
壕 rarely stands alone in modern Chinese. It appears mostly in words like 战壕 (zhànháo, trench) and 壕沟 (háogōu, trench or moat), often in military or historical contexts. Example: 士兵躲在战壕里。(Shìbīng duǒ zài zhànháo lǐ.) The soldiers hid in the trench.
Common mistake: Learners often write 豪 (háo, heroic, grand) when they mean 壕, because the two share a sound and a shape. If the meaning is a ditch or trench dug in the ground, you need the earth radical 土 on the left.
Common words with 壕
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 战壕 | zhànháo | trench; entrenchment | |
| 壕沟 | háogōu | trench; moat |
Questions about 壕
How many strokes are in 壕?
壕 is written with 17 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 壕 mean?
壕 (háo) means ditch; trench; channel, moat. A common word with it is 战壕 (zhànháo), meaning "trench; entrenchment".
How do you pronounce 壕?
壕 is pronounced háo, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 壕?
The radical of 壕 is 土, which carries the idea of "soil". Dictionaries list 壕 under this radical.
What is the difference between 壕沟 and 战壕?
壕沟 (háogōu) is a general word for a trench or moat, including ditches around a city or field. 战壕 (zhànháo) specifically means a military trench used in battle.
Why do people online call rich people 壕?
In internet slang, 土豪 (tǔháo) means a flashy rich person. People shortened it and sometimes wrote 壕 as a playful pun, as in 壕无人性. This is informal slang and is unrelated to the trench meaning.