漆 meaning and stroke order
Paint; lacquer; to paint (furniture, walls etc)
How to write 漆, stroke by stroke
14 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
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
Meaning of 漆
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- paint
- lacquer
- to paint (furniture, walls etc)
How 漆 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. The sap 氵 of the varnish tree 桼; 桼 also provides the pronunciation.
Radical: 氵 (water), shared by 467 characters on this site.
How to remember 漆
The water radical 氵 stands for the liquid sap, and 桼 (qī) is the varnish tree that drips it. Liquid from the lacquer tree gives you 漆 (qī), lacquer or paint, and 桼 also gives the sound.
漆 appears mostly in compounds like 油漆 (yóuqī, paint) and 喷漆 (pēnqī, spray paint), and it can also be a verb meaning to paint furniture or walls. It is common in 漆黑 (qīhēi), pitch-black. Example: 房间里一片漆黑。(Fángjiān lǐ yí piàn qīhēi.) The room was pitch-black.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 漆 with 膝 (xī, knee), which shares the same right side but uses the flesh radical 月. Remember that paint is a liquid, so it takes 氵.
Common words with 漆
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
漆 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 漆
How many strokes are in 漆?
漆 is written with 14 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 漆 mean?
漆 (qī) means paint; lacquer; to paint (furniture, walls etc). A common word with it is 油漆 (yóuqī), meaning "oil paints; lacquer".
How do you pronounce 漆?
漆 is pronounced qī, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 漆?
The radical of 漆 is 氵, which carries the idea of "water". Dictionaries list 漆 under this radical.
Is 漆 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 漆 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Is 漆 the same as 刷 when talking about painting a wall?
刷 (shuā) means to brush on, so 刷漆 (shuā qī) is a very common way to say paint a wall. 漆 alone can also be a verb, but it sounds more formal or written.
Is 漆 used as a surname?
Yes, 漆 (Qī) is a rare Chinese surname. You may see it in names, but most of the time the character means paint or lacquer.