敦 meaning and stroke order
Honest, candid, sincere; kind-hearted; to esteem
How to write 敦, stroke by stroke
12 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 敦
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- kindhearted
- place name
- variant of 敦[dun1]
How 敦 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Share.
享 gives the meaning and 攵 hints at the sound.
Radical: 攵 (to rap), shared by 36 characters on this site.
How to remember 敦
敦 combines 享 (xiǎng, to enjoy or share) on the left with 攵, a hand holding a stick, on the right. Picture someone who shares generously and acts with a steady hand, a kind and sincere person.
敦 rarely stands alone in modern Chinese. It appears in formal words like 敦厚 (dūnhòu, honest and sincere) and 敦促 (dūncù, to urge), and as a sound in place names. Example: 他为人敦厚。(Tā wéirén dūnhòu.) He is an honest and kind person.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 敦 with 孰 (shú) or 郭 (guō) because they share the 享-like top part, so check the right side for 攵. Also keep the first tone: dūn, not dùn as in 顿.
Common words with 敦
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
敦 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 敦
Learning 敦 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 敦
How many strokes are in 敦?
敦 is written with 12 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 敦 mean?
敦 (dūn) means honest, candid, sincere; kind-hearted; to esteem. A common word with it is 敦促 (dūncù), meaning "to press; to urge".
How do you pronounce 敦?
敦 is pronounced dūn, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 敦?
The radical of 敦 is 攵, which carries the idea of "to rap". Dictionaries list 敦 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 敦?
The traditional form of 敦 is 㪟. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 敦 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 敦 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 敦 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why is 敦 used in 伦敦 (Lúndūn)?
In 伦敦 (London), 敦 is used only for its sound. It carries no meaning of honesty there. Many foreign place names in Chinese work this way.
Is 敦促 a polite or a strong word?
敦促 is formal and fairly firm. It is common in news and official statements, such as urging a government to act. In casual speech people usually say 催 (cuī) instead.