碌 meaning and stroke order
Rocky, rough, uneven; mediocre
How to write 碌, 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
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- 3
- 4
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- 13
Meaning of 碌
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- used in 碌碡[liu4 zhou5]
- Taiwan pr. [lu4]
- variant of 碌[liu4]
- used in 勞碌|劳碌[lao2 lu4], 忙碌[mang2 lu4] and 碌碌[lu4 lu4]
- used in 庸碌[yong1 lu4] and 碌碌[lu4 lu4]
- used in 骨碌[gu1 lu5]
How 碌 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Rock.
石 gives the meaning and 录 hints at the sound.
Radical: 石 (stone), shared by 114 characters on this site.
How to remember 碌
碌 combines 石 (shí, stone), which gives the meaning, with 录 (lù), which gives the sound. Picture someone busy hauling stones all day, rough and tiring work that never ends.
Today 碌 almost never appears alone. It lives inside set words like 忙碌 (mánglù, busy), 劳碌 (láolù, toiling) and 碌碌 (lùlù, mediocre, ordinary). Example: 他每天都很忙碌。(Tā měitiān dōu hěn mánglù.) He is very busy every day.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 碌 with 绿 (lǜ, green) and 录 (lù, record) because they share the 录 part. Check the left side: 石 for 碌, 纟 for 绿, and nothing extra for 录.
Common words with 碌
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 忙碌 | mánglù | busy; bustling | HSK 7-9 |
碌 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 碌
How many strokes are in 碌?
碌 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 碌 mean?
碌 (lù) means rocky, rough, uneven; mediocre. A common word with it is 忙碌 (mánglù), meaning "busy; bustling".
How do you pronounce 碌?
碌 is pronounced lù, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 碌?
The radical of 碌 is 石, which carries the idea of "stone". Dictionaries list 碌 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 碌?
The traditional form of 碌 is 磟. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 碌 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 碌 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 碌 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 碌碌无为 mean?
碌碌无为 (lùlù wúwéi) describes someone who lives an ordinary life and achieves nothing special. It is a somewhat critical idiom, often used in self-reflection, as in 不想碌碌无为地过一生 (I don't want to spend my life accomplishing nothing).
Is 碌 ever pronounced liù?
Yes. In the farming word 碌碡 (liùzhou), a stone roller used to flatten grain or ground, it is read liù in mainland standard Mandarin. In Taiwan it is read lù there too, and in all common words like 忙碌 it is lù.