洱 meaning and stroke order
A lake in Yunnan province
How to write 洱, 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.
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Meaning of 洱
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- see 洱海[Er3 hai3]
How 洱 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Water.
氵 gives the meaning and 耳 hints at the sound.
Radical: 氵 (water), shared by 467 characters on this site.
How to remember 洱
The water radical 氵 on the left tells you it is about water, and 耳 (ěr, ear) on the right gives the sound. Picture a lake shaped like an ear: that is 洱海 (Ěrhǎi) in Yunnan.
洱 is almost never used alone. It appears in place names, mainly 洱海 (Ěrhǎi), a large lake near Dali in Yunnan, and 普洱 (Pǔ'ěr), a city famous for its tea. Example: 我想去大理看洱海。(Wǒ xiǎng qù Dàlǐ kàn Ěrhǎi.) I want to go to Dali to see Erhai Lake.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes write just 耳 and forget the water radical, or confuse 洱 with 饵 (ěr, bait), which has the food radical 饣. Both share the same sound, so check the left side.
Questions about 洱
How many strokes are in 洱?
洱 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 洱 mean?
洱 (ěr) means a lake in Yunnan province.
How do you pronounce 洱?
洱 is pronounced ěr, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 洱?
The radical of 洱 is 氵, which carries the idea of "water". Dictionaries list 洱 under this radical.
Is 普洱茶 written with this character?
Yes. Pu'er tea is 普洱茶 (pǔ'ěr chá), named after the area of 普洱 in Yunnan. This is probably the most common place you will see 洱 outside of maps.
Why is 洱海 called a 海 (sea) if it is a lake?
In some southwestern Chinese place names, large lakes are called 海 (hǎi). So 洱海 is a freshwater lake even though its name uses the word for sea.