柄 meaning and stroke order
Handle, lever, knob; authority
How to write 柄, stroke by stroke
9 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
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- 4
- 5
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- 9
Meaning of 柄
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- handle or shaft (of an axe etc)
- (of a flower, leaf or fruit) stem
- sth that affords an advantage to an opponent
- classifier for knives or blades
How 柄 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Tree.
木 gives the meaning and 丙 hints at the sound.
Radical: 木 (tree), shared by 388 characters on this site.
How to remember 柄
柄 combines 木 (mù, wood) with 丙 (bǐng), which gives the sound. Picture the wooden part of a tool you hold, like an axe handle, and remember it is pronounced like 丙.
柄 rarely stands alone in speech. It mostly appears in words like 把柄 (bǎbǐng), 笑柄 (xiàobǐng) and 手柄 (shǒubǐng), and as a formal classifier for blades. Example: 他抓住了我的把柄。(Tā zhuā zhù le wǒ de bǎbǐng.) He has something on me.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 柄 with 柯 (kē) or 病 (bìng), since 病 sounds similar and also contains 丙. Remember that 柄 has the wood radical 木 on the left, while 病 has the sickness radical 疒 on top. Also keep the third tone in bǐng, not the fourth tone of bìng.
Common words with 柄
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
柄 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 柄
How many strokes are in 柄?
柄 is written with 9 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 柄 mean?
柄 (bǐng) means handle, lever, knob; authority. A common word with it is 把柄 (bǎbǐng), meaning "handle; (fig.) information that can be used against sb".
How do you pronounce 柄?
柄 is pronounced bǐng, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 柄?
The radical of 柄 is 木, which carries the idea of "tree". Dictionaries list 柄 under this radical.
Is 柄 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 柄 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 把柄 mean when talking about people?
Literally it is a handle, but figuratively it means evidence or a weakness someone can use against you, like leverage or dirt. 被人抓住把柄 (bèi rén zhuā zhù bǎbǐng) means someone has something on you.
Can 柄 be used as a measure word?
Yes, it can count knives, swords and other bladed or handled tools, as in 一柄剑 (yì bǐng jiàn), a sword. This is literary in tone, and in everyday speech 把 (bǎ) is far more common, as in 一把刀 (yì bǎ dāo).