橄 meaning and stroke order
Olive
How to write 橄, stroke by stroke
15 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 橄
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- used in 橄欖|橄榄[gan3 lan3]
How 橄 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Tree.
木 gives the meaning and 敢 hints at the sound.
Radical: 木 (tree), shared by 388 characters on this site.
How to remember 橄
橄 is a tree 木 (mù) on the left plus 敢 (gǎn, brave) on the right, which gives the sound. Picture a brave tree that dares to grow olives.
橄 almost never appears alone. It is used in 橄榄 (gǎnlǎn, olive) and words built from it, such as 橄榄油 (gǎnlǎnyóu, olive oil) and 橄榄球 (gǎnlǎnqiú, rugby or American football). Example: 我做菜用橄榄油。(Wǒ zuò cài yòng gǎnlǎnyóu.) I cook with olive oil.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes write the right side as 取 or drop the left 木 and write just 敢. Remember that both 橄 and 榄 (lǎn) take the 木 radical because they name a tree.
Common words with 橄
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
橄 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 橄
How many strokes are in 橄?
橄 is written with 15 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 橄 mean?
橄 (gǎn) means olive. A common word with it is 橄榄球 (gǎnlǎnqiú), meaning "football played with oval-shaped ball (rugby, American football, Australian rules etc)".
How do you pronounce 橄?
橄 is pronounced gǎn, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 橄?
The radical of 橄 is 木, which carries the idea of "tree". Dictionaries list 橄 under this radical.
Why is rugby called 橄榄球 in Chinese?
The ball used in rugby and American football is oval, like an olive. So the name literally means olive ball. Soccer is a different word, 足球 (zúqiú).
Is 橄榄 the same as the Western olive?
Traditionally 橄榄 referred to the Chinese olive, a different fruit often eaten candied or dried. Today it is also the everyday word for the Mediterranean olive, as in 橄榄油.