寡 meaning and stroke order
Widowed; friendless, alone
How to write 寡, stroke by stroke
14 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 寡
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- few
- scant
- widowed
How 寡 is built
Components of the character.
Radical: 宀 (roof), shared by 67 characters on this site.
How to remember 寡
Under a roof 宀 sits a head 頁 above a knife 刀. Picture one lonely person in an empty house, with only a knife for company, which is why 寡 (guǎ) means alone, widowed, and few.
寡 (guǎ) rarely stands alone in modern speech. It appears in set words like 寡妇 (guǎfu, widow) and idioms where it means "few" or "little". Example: 他沉默寡言。(Tā chénmò guǎyán.) He is quiet and says little.
Common mistake: Learners often miscopy the bottom part. It is 刀 (dāo), not 力 (lì) or 分 (fēn), and the middle 頁 is written in a compressed form without its full bottom strokes. Also remember 寡妇 is pronounced guǎfu with a neutral tone on 妇, not guǎfù.
Common words with 寡
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
寡 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 寡
How many strokes are in 寡?
寡 is written with 14 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 寡 mean?
寡 (guǎ) means widowed; friendless, alone. A common word with it is 寡妇 (guǎfu), meaning "widow".
How do you pronounce 寡?
寡 is pronounced guǎ, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 寡?
The radical of 寡 is 宀, which carries the idea of "roof". Dictionaries list 寡 under this radical.
Is 寡 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 寡 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why did ancient Chinese kings call themselves 寡人?
寡人 (guǎrén) literally means "the person of few (virtues)". Rulers used it as a humble way to say "I". You will mostly see it in historical dramas and classical texts.
How is 寡 used to mean "few" in modern Chinese?
It shows up in contrasts and fixed phrases, such as 多寡 (duōguǎ, amount, how many or how few) and 寡不敌众 (guǎ bù dí zhòng, the few cannot defeat the many). In everyday speech people use 少 (shǎo) instead.