島 meaning and stroke order
Island
How to write 島, stroke by stroke
10 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 島
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- island
How 島 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A bird 烏 perched atop a mountain 山.
Radical: 山 (mountain), shared by 111 characters on this site.
How to remember 島
Picture a bird 烏 perched on top of a mountain 山 rising out of the sea. The only place for the bird to land is that peak, which is an island.
島 (dǎo) is the traditional form used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, while mainland China writes 岛. It rarely stands alone in speech and usually appears in words like 島嶼 (dǎoyǔ, island) or 半島 (bàndǎo, peninsula). Example: 我們去小島玩。 (Wǒmen qù xiǎo dǎo wán.) We are going to the little island to have fun.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 島 with 鳥 (niǎo, bird), since the top part looks almost the same. In 島 the bottom four dots of the bird are replaced by 山, so look for the mountain underneath.
Common words with 島
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
Characters that contain 島
Learning 島 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 島
How many strokes are in 島?
島 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 島 mean?
島 (dǎo) means island. A common word with it is 岛屿 (dǎoyǔ), meaning "island".
How do you pronounce 島?
島 is pronounced dǎo, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 島?
The radical of 島 is 山, which carries the idea of "mountain". Dictionaries list 島 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 島?
島 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 岛, used in mainland China and Singapore.
Why does insulin 胰島素 (yídǎosù) contain the character for island?
The word comes from the islets of Langerhans, small island-like clusters of cells in the pancreas 胰 (yí) that produce the hormone. So 胰島素 literally means pancreas island substance.
What is the difference between 島 and 島嶼?
島 is the basic word and is common in names and compounds like 小島 or 荒島. 島嶼 (dǎoyǔ) is a more formal, general term for islands, often used in writing, geography and news.