杆 meaning and stroke order
Stick; pole; lever
How to write 杆, stroke by stroke
7 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 杆
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- stick
- pole
- lever
- classifier for long objects such as guns
- (bound form) pole; shaft
How 杆 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Wood.
木 gives the meaning and 干 hints at the sound.
Radical: 木 (tree), shared by 388 characters on this site.
How to remember 杆
杆 is a pictophonetic character: 木 (mù, wood) on the left tells you it is made of wood, and 干 (gān) on the right gives the sound. Picture a straight wooden stick standing up like the vertical line in 干.
In the gān reading it appears in words for upright poles, like 栏杆 (lángān) railing, 电线杆 (diànxiàngān) telephone pole, and 桅杆 (wéigān) mast. In the gǎn reading it can be a classifier for long objects such as guns, as in 一杆枪 (yì gǎn qiāng) a rifle.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 杆 with 竿 (gān), which uses the bamboo radical ⺮ and appears in 竹竿 (zhúgān) bamboo pole and 鱼竿 (yúgān) fishing rod. Also do not confuse 杆 with 杠 (gàng), as in 杠杆 (gànggǎn) lever; the right sides are 干 and 工.
Common words with 杆
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 栏杆 | lángān | railing; banister | HSK 7-9 |
| 球杆 | qiúgān | club (golf); cue (billiards) | |
| 杆子 | gānzi | pole | |
| 电线杆 | diànxiàngān | electric pole; telephone pole | |
| 杠杆 | gànggǎn | lever; pry bar | |
| 铁杆 | tiěgān | iron (golf club) | |
| 杆菌 | gǎnjūn | bacillus (any rod-shaped bacteria) | |
| 桅杆 | wéigān | mast | |
| 操纵杆 | cāozònggǎn | joystick; control lever | |
| 挥杆 | huīgān | swing (golf) |
杆 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 杆
How many strokes are in 杆?
杆 is written with 7 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 杆 mean?
杆 (gǎn) means stick; pole; lever. A common word with it is 栏杆 (lángān), meaning "railing; banister".
How do you pronounce 杆?
杆 has more than one reading: gǎn and gān. The most common is gǎn, said in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 杆?
The radical of 杆 is 木, which carries the idea of "tree". Dictionaries list 杆 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 杆?
The traditional form of 杆 is 桿. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 杆 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 杆 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 杆 is part of the HSK 6 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
When is 杆 read gān and when is it read gǎn?
gān is the bound form used for poles and shafts in words like 栏杆, 桅杆 and 杆子 (gānzi). gǎn is used for sticks, levers and rod-shaped things, as in 杠杆 (gànggǎn) and 杆菌 (gǎnjūn), and for the classifier use.
How do you say golf club or billiard cue with 杆?
Both are 球杆 (qiúgān). A golf iron is 铁杆 (tiěgān), literally an iron stick.