竿 meaning and stroke order
Bamboo pole; penis
How to write 竿, stroke by stroke
9 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 竿
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) pole; rod
How 竿 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Bamboo.
⺮ gives the meaning and 干 hints at the sound.
Radical: ⺮ (bamboo), shared by 149 characters on this site.
How to remember 竿
The bamboo radical ⺮ on top tells you the meaning, and 干 (gān) below gives the sound. Picture a straight bamboo stalk, as tall and stiff as the shape of 干, cut into a pole.
竿 is a bound form, so it almost always appears inside words like 竹竿 (zhúgān, bamboo pole), 鱼竿 (yúgān, fishing rod), and 旗竿 (qígān, flagpole). Example: 他拿着鱼竿去河边钓鱼。(Tā názhe yúgān qù hébiān diàoyú.) He took his fishing rod to the river to fish.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 竿 (gān) with 杆 (gān or gǎn), which has the wood radical 木 and also means pole or rod. Some words use one and not the other. For example, a fishing rod is usually 鱼竿, but a gun barrel is 枪杆 (qiānggǎn).
Common words with 竿
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 竹竿 | zhúgān | bamboo pole | HSK 7-9 |
竿 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 竿
How many strokes are in 竿?
竿 is written with 9 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 竿 mean?
竿 (gān) means bamboo pole; penis. A common word with it is 竹竿 (zhúgān), meaning "bamboo pole".
How do you pronounce 竿?
竿 is pronounced gān, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 竿?
The radical of 竿 is ⺮, which carries the idea of "bamboo". Dictionaries list 竿 under this radical.
Is 竿 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 竿 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Can 竿 be used alone as a word?
Not usually. In modern Chinese it needs to combine with another character, such as 竹竿 or 鱼竿. One exception is the counter use in set phrases like 日上三竿 (rì shàng sān gān), meaning the sun is already high and it is late in the morning.
What does 立竿见影 mean?
立竿见影 (lì gān jiàn yǐng) literally means set up a pole and see its shadow right away. It describes something that gets immediate results, for example a policy or method that works quickly.