娄 meaning and stroke order
A constellation; to wear; surname
How to write 娄, 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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How 娄 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A woman 女 looking up at a star 米.
Radical: 女 (woman), shared by 156 characters on this site.
How to remember 娄
Picture a woman 女 at the bottom looking up at a star drawn like 米 above her head. She is gazing at a constellation, which is one meaning of 娄 (lóu).
Today 娄 is mostly seen as a surname and inside place names, such as 娄底 (Lóudǐ), a city in Hunan. It is also the name of one of the 28 traditional Chinese lunar mansions, the Bond constellation. Example: 我的老师姓娄。 (Wǒ de lǎoshī xìng Lóu.) My teacher's surname is Lou.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 娄 with 楼 (lóu, building) because they sound the same. 楼 adds the wood radical 木 on the left, and it is the character you need for 大楼 (dàlóu, tall building).
娄 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 娄
Learning 娄 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 娄
How many strokes are in 娄?
娄 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 娄 mean?
娄 (lóu) means a constellation; to wear; surname.
How do you pronounce 娄?
娄 is pronounced lóu, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 娄?
The radical of 娄 is 女, which carries the idea of "woman". Dictionaries list 娄 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 娄?
The traditional form of 娄 is 婁. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 娄 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Why does 娄 appear in so many other characters?
娄 works as a sound component in many characters read lou or lü, such as 楼 (lóu, building), 搂 (lǒu, to hug), 篓 (lǒu, basket) and 屡 (lǚ, repeatedly). Knowing 娄 helps you guess how those characters are pronounced.
What does 娄子 mean?
娄子 (lóuzi) is a colloquial word for trouble or a blunder. It is used in the phrase 捅娄子 (tǒng lóuzi), meaning to make a mess or cause trouble.