栋 meaning and stroke order
Classifier for houses or buildings; ridgepole (old)
How to write 栋, 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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- 9
Meaning of 栋
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- classifier for houses or buildings
- ridgepole (old)
How 栋 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Wood.
木 gives the meaning and 东 hints at the sound.
Radical: 木 (tree), shared by 388 characters on this site.
How to remember 栋
栋 combines 木 (wood) with 东 (dōng), which gives the sound. Picture the big wooden beam that runs along the top of a house, the main support everything rests on.
Today 栋 is mostly used as a measure word for buildings, especially tall or separate ones. It also appears in 栋梁 (dòngliáng), which literally means ridgepole and beams and figuratively means a pillar of society. Example: 那栋楼很高。(Nà dòng lóu hěn gāo.) That building is very tall.
Common mistake: Learners often read 栋 with the first tone like its sound part 东 (dōng), but 栋 is fourth tone, dòng. Also do not confuse it with 冻 (dòng, to freeze), which has the ice radical 冫 instead of 木.
Common words with 栋
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 栋梁 | dòngliáng | ridgepole; ridgepole and beams | HSK 7-9 |
栋 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 栋
How many strokes are in 栋?
栋 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 栋 mean?
栋 (dòng) means classifier for houses or buildings; ridgepole (old). A common word with it is 栋梁 (dòngliáng), meaning "ridgepole; ridgepole and beams".
How do you pronounce 栋?
栋 is pronounced dòng, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 栋?
The radical of 栋 is 木, which carries the idea of "tree". Dictionaries list 栋 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 栋?
The traditional form of 栋 is 棟. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 栋 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 栋 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 栋 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 栋 and 座 as measure words for buildings?
Both can count buildings. 栋 is common for houses and apartment blocks, while 座 is also used for mountains, bridges and large structures in general. For a single building, 一栋楼 and 一座楼 are both natural.
What does 国家栋梁 mean?
It means a pillar of the nation, a person of great talent who supports the country. It comes from the image of the ridgepole and beams holding up a house, and it is often said about promising young people.