拦 meaning and stroke order
To block sb's path; to obstruct; to flag down (a taxi)
How to write 拦, stroke by stroke
8 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 拦
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to block sb's path
- to obstruct
- to flag down (a taxi)
How 拦 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Hand.
扌 gives the meaning and 兰 hints at the sound.
Radical: 扌 (hand), shared by 342 characters on this site.
How to remember 拦
拦 is a hand 扌 plus 兰 (lán), which gives the sound. Picture putting out your hand to stop someone in their path.
拦 means to physically block someone or something, and it often appears in 拦住 (lánzhù) or 阻拦 (zǔlán). It is also the everyday verb for flagging down a taxi: 我在路边拦了一辆出租车。(Wǒ zài lùbiān lán le yí liàng chūzūchē.) I flagged down a taxi by the road.
Common mistake: Learners confuse 拦 (lán) with 栏 (lán, railing), which has the wood radical 木 because a railing is a wooden barrier. Use 扌 when a person does the blocking, and 木 for the fence itself, as in 栏杆 (lángān).
Common words with 拦
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
拦 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 拦
How many strokes are in 拦?
拦 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 拦 mean?
拦 (lán) means to block sb's path; to obstruct; to flag down (a taxi). A common word with it is 阻拦 (zǔlán), meaning "to stop; to obstruct".
How do you pronounce 拦?
拦 is pronounced lán, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 拦?
The radical of 拦 is 扌, which carries the idea of "hand". Dictionaries list 拦 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 拦?
The traditional form of 拦 is 攔. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 拦 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 拦 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 拦 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 拦 and 挡 (dǎng)?
拦 stresses stopping someone from moving forward, like blocking a path or stopping a car. 挡 stresses shielding or getting in the way of something, like blocking wind or blocking a view, as in 挡风 (dǎng fēng).
How do you say 'don't stop me' in Chinese?
You can say 别拦我 (bié lán wǒ). It is common in speech when someone is determined to go or do something.