盖 meaning and stroke order
Lid; top; cover
How to write 盖, 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
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
Meaning of 盖
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- lid
- top
- cover
- canopy
- to cover
- to conceal
How 盖 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A dish 皿 with a lid 羊.
Radical: 皿 (dish), shared by 28 characters on this site.
How to remember 盖
The bottom part is 皿 (mǐn), a dish, and the top part looks like 羊 (yáng) but here it stands for a lid sitting on that dish. Picture a lid placed over a bowl, and you have 盖 (gài), to cover.
盖 works as a noun meaning lid or cover, often as 盖子 (gàizi) or 盖儿 (gàir), and as a verb meaning to cover or put on top. It also appears in words like 覆盖 (fùgài) to cover and 掩盖 (yǎngài) to conceal. Example: 请把锅盖上。(Qǐng bǎ guō gàishang.) Please put the lid on the pot.
Common mistake: Learners often write the top as a full 羊 with its long vertical stroke running down into 皿. In 盖 the top part is shortened and does not cut through the dish below. Also keep the fourth tone gài, not gāi as in 该 (gāi).
Common words with 盖
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 膝盖 | xīgài | knee; (Internet slang) to kneel down (in admiration) | HSK 7-9 |
| 覆盖 | fùgài | to cover | HSK 7-9 |
| 掩盖 | yǎngài | to conceal; to hide behind | HSK 7-9 |
| 盖子 | gàizi | cover; lid | HSK 7-9 |
| 涵盖 | hángài | to cover; to comprise | HSK 7-9 |
| 遮盖 | zhēgài | to hide; to cover (one's tracks) | HSK 7-9 |
| 盖上 | gàishang | to cover | |
| 盖儿 | gàir | cover; lid | |
| 盖世 | gàishì | unrivalled; matchless | |
| 引擎盖 | yǐnqínggài | (car) hood; bonnet | |
| 盖章 | gàizhāng | to affix a seal; to stamp (a document) | |
| 头盖骨 | tóugàigǔ | skull; cranium | |
| 冰盖 | bīnggài | ice sheet | |
| 盖饭 | gàifàn | rice with meat and vegetables |
盖 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 盖
How many strokes are in 盖?
盖 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 盖 mean?
盖 (gài) means lid; top; cover. A common word with it is 膝盖 (xīgài), meaning "knee; (Internet slang) to kneel down (in admiration)".
How do you pronounce 盖?
盖 is pronounced gài, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 盖?
The radical of 盖 is 皿, which carries the idea of "dish". Dictionaries list 盖 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 盖?
The traditional form of 盖 is 蓋. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 盖 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 盖 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 盖 is part of the HSK 4 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
Does 盖 mean to build a house?
Yes. In everyday speech 盖 also means to build or put up a building, as in 盖房子 (gài fángzi) to build a house. This sense is very common even though it is not in the short definition.
Why does 膝盖 mean knee?
膝盖 (xīgài) is literally the knee cover, referring to the kneecap area. Online, people sometimes say 膝盖 to mean they kneel down in admiration of someone.