綱 meaning and stroke order
Program, outline; principle, guiding thread
How to write 綱, stroke by stroke
14 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
- 12
- 13
- 14
Meaning of 綱
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- head rope of a fishing net
- guiding principle
- key link
- class (taxonomy)
- outline
- program
How 綱 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Thread.
糹 gives the meaning and 岡 hints at the sound.
Radical: 糹 (silk), shared by 126 characters on this site.
How to remember 綱
The silk radical 糹 means thread, and 岡 (gāng) gives the sound. Picture the main rope of a fishing net, the thread you pull to lift the whole net, which is why 綱 means the key line or guiding principle.
綱 rarely stands alone in modern Chinese. It appears in words like 大纲 (dàgāng, outline), 纲领 (gānglǐng, program) and 纲要 (gāngyào, essential points). Example: 老师发了课程大纲。(Lǎoshī fā le kèchéng dàgāng.) The teacher handed out the course outline.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 綱 with 鋼 (gāng, steel) and 剛 (gāng, just now), which share the same sound part 岡 but have different radicals. Remember that only the thread radical 糹 gives the meaning of rope or outline.
Common words with 綱
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
Questions about 綱
How many strokes are in 綱?
綱 is written with 14 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 綱 mean?
綱 (gāng) means program, outline; principle, guiding thread. A common word with it is 大纲 (dàgāng), meaning "synopsis; outline".
How do you pronounce 綱?
綱 is pronounced gāng, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 綱?
The radical of 綱 is 糹, which carries the idea of "silk". Dictionaries list 綱 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 綱?
綱 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 纲, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What does 纲 mean in biology?
In taxonomy 纲 means class, the rank between phylum and order. For example, 哺乳纲 (bǔrǔ gāng) is the class Mammalia.
What is the saying 纲举目张 about?
纲举目张 (gāng jǔ mù zhāng) means when you lift the head rope, all the meshes of the net open. It describes how grasping the key point makes everything else fall into place.