枪 meaning and stroke order
Gun; firearm; rifle
How to write 枪, 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 枪
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- gun
- firearm
- rifle
- spear
- thing with shape or function similar to a gun
- to substitute for another person in a test
How 枪 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Wood.
木 gives the meaning and 仓 hints at the sound.
Radical: 木 (tree), shared by 388 characters on this site.
How to remember 枪
The left side 木 (mù, wood) reminds you that the first 枪 was a wooden spear shaft. The right side 仓 (cāng) gives the sound, so picture a wooden spear stored in a granary 仓 and you get qiāng.
Today 枪 almost always means a gun, and it appears in many compounds like 手枪 (shǒuqiāng, pistol) and 步枪 (bùqiāng, rifle). It also names gun-shaped tools, such as 水枪 (shuǐqiāng, water gun). Example: 警察没有开枪。(Jǐngchá méiyǒu kāi qiāng.) The police did not open fire.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 枪 (qiāng) with 抢 (qiǎng, to grab or rob), which has the hand radical 扌 and a third tone. Remember: wood 木 for the weapon, hand 扌 for grabbing.
Common words with 枪
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 开枪 | kāi qiāng | to open fire; to shoot a gun | HSK 7-9 |
| 手枪 | shǒuqiāng | pistol | HSK 7-9 |
| 枪毙 | qiāngbì | to execute by firing squad; to shoot dead | HSK 7-9 |
| 枪杀 | qiāngshā | to shoot dead | |
| 枪击 | qiāngjī | to shoot with a gun; shooting incident | |
| 枪声 | qiāngshēng | crack; shooting sound | |
| 步枪 | bùqiāng | rifle | |
| 枪支 | qiāngzhī | a gun; guns in general | |
| 枪手 | qiāngshǒu | gunman; sharpshooter | |
| 中枪 | zhòngqiāng | to be hit by a gun; shot | |
| 持枪 | chíqiāng | to carry a gun | |
| 枪战 | qiāngzhàn | gun battle; firefight | |
| 机枪 | jīqiāng | machine gun | |
| 金枪鱼 | jīnqiāngyú | tuna |
枪 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 枪
How many strokes are in 枪?
枪 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 枪 mean?
枪 (qiāng) means gun; firearm; rifle. A common word with it is 开枪 (kāi qiāng), meaning "to open fire; to shoot a gun".
How do you pronounce 枪?
枪 is pronounced qiāng, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 枪?
The radical of 枪 is 木, which carries the idea of "tree". Dictionaries list 枪 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 枪?
The traditional form of 枪 is 槍 and 鎗. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 枪 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 枪 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 枪 is part of the HSK 5 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What measure word is used for 枪?
The usual measure word is 把 (bǎ), as in 一把枪 (yì bǎ qiāng, a gun). For a gunshot you can use 枪 itself as a count, as in 开了三枪 (kāi le sān qiāng, fired three shots).
What does 枪手 (qiāngshǒu) mean besides gunman?
It can mean a shooter or marksman, but in everyday talk it often means someone who takes a test for another person. This matches the dictionary sense of substituting for someone in an exam.