枉 meaning and stroke order
Useless, in vain; crooked, bent
How to write 枉, 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.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
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- 8
Meaning of 枉
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to twist
- crooked
- unjust
- in vain
How 枉 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Wood.
木 gives the meaning and 王 hints at the sound.
Radical: 木 (tree), shared by 388 characters on this site.
How to remember 枉
枉 combines 木 (wood, tree) with 王 (wáng), which gives the sound. Picture a tree that grows twisted and crooked, so its wood is useless and all the effort to straighten it is in vain.
枉 appears mostly in set words and written phrases meaning "wrongly" or "in vain," such as 冤枉 (yuānwang, to treat unjustly) and 枉费 (wǎngfèi, to waste). Example: 你冤枉我了。 (Nǐ yuānwang wǒ le.) You have wronged me.
Common mistake: Learners often read 枉 as wáng because of the 王 part, but it is third tone wǎng. In 冤枉 the second syllable is usually said in the neutral tone, yuānwang.
Common words with 枉
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 冤枉 | yuānwang | to accuse wrongly; to treat unjustly | HSK 7-9 |
Questions about 枉
How many strokes are in 枉?
枉 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 枉 mean?
枉 (wǎng) means useless, in vain; crooked, bent. A common word with it is 冤枉 (yuānwang), meaning "to accuse wrongly; to treat unjustly".
How do you pronounce 枉?
枉 is pronounced wǎng, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 枉?
The radical of 枉 is 木, which carries the idea of "tree". Dictionaries list 枉 under this radical.
Is 枉 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 枉 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 枉费 mean and how is it used?
枉费 (wǎngfèi) means to waste something or do it in vain, often effort or money. A common phrase is 枉费心机 (wǎngfèi xīnjī), to scheme in vain.
How is 枉 different from 往 (wǎng)?
They sound the same but 往 has the 彳 walking radical and means "toward" or "to go." 枉 has the 木 tree radical and means crooked, unjust, or in vain.