TraceHanzi

盒 meaning and stroke order

hé

Small box; case

HSK 511 strokesRadical 皿
Strokes11
Pinyinhé
ToneTone 2
Frequency#1,644
Printable worksheetPractice all HSK 5 characters

How to write 盒, stroke by stroke

11 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. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11

Meaning of 盒

Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.

hésecond tone (rising)
  1. small box
  2. case

How 盒 is built

Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Container.

héto close+mǐndish

皿 gives the meaning and 合 hints at the sound.

Radical: 皿 (dish), shared by 28 characters on this site.

How to remember 盒

盒 is 合 (hé, to close or fit together) sitting on top of 皿 (a dish or container). Picture a lid that closes neatly over a dish, and you have a box.

盒 is most often used in words like 盒子 (hézi, box), 饭盒 (fànhé, lunchbox) and 盒饭 (héfàn, boxed meal). It also works as a measure word for things sold in boxes: 一盒牛奶 (yì hé niúnǎi), a carton of milk.

Common mistake: Learners sometimes write only 合 when they mean box, since both are read hé. Remember that the box needs the 皿 container at the bottom.

Common words with 盒

Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.

WordPinyinMeaningLevel
盒子hézibox; case; hezi – a savory turnover-like pie in northern Chinese and Mongolian cuisinesHSK 5
盒饭héfànmeal in a partitioned boxHSK 5
黑盒hēihéblack box; fig. system whose internal structure is unknown
饭盒fànhélunchbox; mess tin
音乐盒yīnyuèhémusic box

盒 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

盒hé子zi上shàng面miàn不bú要yào放fàng任rèn何hé东dōng西xī。
Don't put anything on top of the box.
“盒hé子zi里lǐ有yǒu什shén么me？”“什shén么me都dōu没méi有yǒu。”
"What's in that box?" "Nothing."
我wǒ发fā现xiàn那nà个ge盒hé子zi是shì空kōng的de。
I discovered that that box was empty.
主zhǔ机jī板bǎn的de包bāo装zhuāng盒hé在zài哪nǎ里lǐ？
Where's the box the motherboard came in?
电diàn源yuán转zhuǎn接jiē器qì的de包bāo装zhuāng盒hé在zài哪nǎ里lǐ？
Where's the box the power supply came in?

Questions about 盒

How many strokes are in 盒?

盒 is written with 11 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.

What does 盒 mean?

盒 (hé) means small box; case. A common word with it is 盒子 (hézi), meaning "box; case; hezi – a savory turnover-like pie in northern Chinese and Mongolian cuisines".

How do you pronounce 盒?

盒 is pronounced hé, in the second tone (rising).

What is the radical of 盒?

The radical of 盒 is 皿, which carries the idea of "dish". Dictionaries list 盒 under this radical.

Is 盒 on the HSK exam?

Yes. 盒 is part of the HSK 5 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.

What is the difference between 盒子 and 箱子?

盒子 (hézi) is usually a small box, like for jewelry, pens or food. 箱子 (xiāngzi) is a larger box or case, such as a suitcase or a shipping crate.

What is the difference between 盒饭 and 饭盒?

盒饭 (héfàn) is the meal itself, sold in a box. 饭盒 (fànhé) is the lunchbox container you put food in.

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