糙 meaning and stroke order
Coarse, harsh, rough; coarse rice
How to write 糙, stroke by stroke
16 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 糙
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- rough
- coarse (in texture)
How 糙 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Rice.
米 gives the meaning and 造 hints at the sound.
Radical: 米 (rice), shared by 50 characters on this site.
How to remember 糙
Rice 米 on the left tells you the meaning, and 造 (zào) on the right gives the sound. Picture rice that was just made 造 roughly, with the husks still on, so it feels coarse in your hand.
糙 (cāo) almost always appears in the word 粗糙 (cūcāo), meaning rough in texture or crude in quality or workmanship. It can describe surfaces, skin, materials, or sloppy work. Example: 这张纸很粗糙。(Zhè zhāng zhǐ hěn cūcāo.) This paper is very rough.
Common mistake: Learners often read 糙 as zào because of the phonetic 造, but the correct reading is cāo with a first tone. Also do not confuse it with 操 (cāo, to grasp or exercise), which sounds the same but has the hand radical 扌.
Common words with 糙
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 粗糙 | cūcāo | crude; gruff | HSK 7-9 |
糙 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 糙
How many strokes are in 糙?
糙 is written with 16 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 糙 mean?
糙 (cāo) means coarse, harsh, rough; coarse rice. A common word with it is 粗糙 (cūcāo), meaning "crude; gruff".
How do you pronounce 糙?
糙 is pronounced cāo, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 糙?
The radical of 糙 is 米, which carries the idea of "rice". Dictionaries list 糙 under this radical.
Is 糙 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 糙 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Can 糙 be used by itself without 粗?
Rarely in standard speech. You may hear it in casual phrases like 糙米 (cāomǐ, brown or unpolished rice) or 话糙理不糙 (the words are rough but the reasoning is sound).
Does 粗糙 only describe physical texture?
No. It can also describe careless or low-quality work, such as 做工粗糙 (zuògōng cūcāo, poor workmanship), or rough, unrefined manners.