奖 meaning and stroke order
Prize; award; bonus; reward; (bound form) to encourage; to commend; to praise; to award; to give as a reward
How to write 奖, stroke by stroke
9 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 奖
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- prize; award; bonus; reward
- (bound form) to encourage; to commend; to praise
- to award; to give as a reward
How 奖 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Big.
大 gives the meaning and 丬 hints at the sound.
Radical: 大 (big), shared by 46 characters on this site.
How to remember 奖
The top left 丬 gives the sound, and the 大 (dà, big) at the bottom gives the meaning. Picture a big prize sitting under a night sky 夕 (xī), waiting for the winner.
奖 is used for prizes and awards, and in words about rewarding or praising people, such as 奖励 (jiǎnglì) and 夸奖 (kuājiǎng). It often appears in set phrases like 中奖 (zhòngjiǎng) and 获奖 (huòjiǎng). Example: 她得了一等奖。(Tā dé le yī děng jiǎng.) She won first prize.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 奖 (jiǎng) with 将 (jiāng), which has the same 丬 on the left but 寸 at the bottom instead of 大, and a first tone. Also note that 中奖 is read zhòngjiǎng with fourth tone on 中, not zhōng.
Common words with 奖
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 奖金 | jiǎngjīn | premium; award money | HSK 4 |
| 奖学金 | jiǎngxuéjīn | scholarship | HSK 4 |
| 获奖 | huòjiǎng | to win an award | HSK 4 |
| 中奖 | zhòngjiǎng | to win a prize (in a lottery etc) | HSK 4 |
| 抽奖 | chōujiǎng | to draw a prize; a lottery | HSK 4 |
| 奖励 | jiǎnglì | to reward; reward (as encouragement) | HSK 5 |
| 大奖赛 | dàjiǎngsài | grand prix | HSK 5 |
| 夸奖 | kuājiǎng | to praise; to applaud | HSK 7-9 |
| 奖杯 | jiǎngbēi | trophy cup | HSK 7-9 |
| 奖品 | jiǎngpǐn | award; prize | HSK 7-9 |
| 过奖 | guòjiǎng | to overpraise; to flatter | HSK 7-9 |
| 奖牌 | jiǎngpái | medal (awarded as a prize) | HSK 7-9 |
| 奖项 | jiǎngxiàng | award; prize | HSK 7-9 |
| 颁奖 | bānjiǎng | to confer an award | HSK 7-9 |
奖 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 奖
How many strokes are in 奖?
奖 is written with 9 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 奖 mean?
奖 (jiǎng) means prize; award; bonus; reward; (bound form) to encourage; to commend; to praise; to award; to give as a reward. A common word with it is 奖金 (jiǎngjīn), meaning "premium; award money".
How do you pronounce 奖?
奖 is pronounced jiǎng, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 奖?
The radical of 奖 is 大, which carries the idea of "big". Dictionaries list 奖 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 奖?
The traditional form of 奖 is 獎. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 奖 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 奖 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 奖 is part of the HSK 4 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
What is the difference between 奖金 and 奖学金?
奖金 (jiǎngjīn) is bonus or prize money in general, such as a work bonus. 奖学金 (jiǎngxuéjīn) is specifically a scholarship for students.
Can 奖 be used as a verb on its own?
In everyday speech it is usually part of a word like 奖励 (jiǎnglì) or 夸奖 (kuājiǎng). You may see it alone in formal phrases such as 奖给他一本书 (jiǎng gěi tā yì běn shū), to award him a book.