瑙 meaning and stroke order
Agate, cornelian
How to write 瑙, stroke by stroke
13 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
Meaning of 瑙
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- used in 瑪瑙|玛瑙[ma3 nao3]
How 瑙 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Jade.
王 gives the meaning.
Radical: 王 (king), shared by 104 characters on this site.
How to remember 瑙
The left side 王 is the jade radical, so 瑙 is a precious stone. The right side looks like 脑 (nǎo, brain) without the flesh radical, so think of agate as a stone with swirly bands like a brain, and it even sounds like nǎo.
瑙 almost never appears alone. It is used in the word 玛瑙 (mǎnǎo), meaning agate. Example: 她戴着一条玛瑙项链。(Tā dàizhe yì tiáo mǎnǎo xiàngliàn.) She is wearing an agate necklace.
Common mistake: Learners often write 脑 (nǎo, brain) or 恼 (nǎo, annoyed) instead of 瑙 because they share the same sound and right side. For the stone, always use the jade radical 王 on the left.
Questions about 瑙
How many strokes are in 瑙?
瑙 is written with 13 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 瑙 mean?
瑙 (nǎo) means agate, cornelian.
How do you pronounce 瑙?
瑙 is pronounced nǎo, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 瑙?
The radical of 瑙 is 王, which carries the idea of "king". Dictionaries list 瑙 under this radical.
Can 瑙 be used by itself as a word?
No. In modern Chinese it only appears in 玛瑙 (mǎnǎo). Saying 瑙 alone would not be understood as agate.
Why does 玛瑙 have the 王 radical on both characters?
Many words for jades and gemstones use the jade radical on each character, like 琉璃 (liúlí) and 珊瑚 (shānhú). It marks both syllables as belonging to a precious stone word.