羔 meaning and stroke order
Lamb
How to write 羔, stroke by stroke
10 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 羔
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- lamb
How 羔 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Sheep.
羊 gives the meaning and 灬 hints at the sound.
Radical: 羊 (sheep), shared by 23 characters on this site.
How to remember 羔
羔 is a sheep 羊 (yáng) sitting on top of 灬, the fire dots. Picture a little lamb curled up warm by the fire, and you have 羔 (gāo), lamb.
羔 rarely stands alone in modern Chinese. It usually appears in the words 羊羔 (yánggāo) and 羔羊 (gāoyáng), both meaning lamb. Example: 草地上有一只小羊羔。(Cǎodì shang yǒu yì zhī xiǎo yánggāo.) There is a little lamb on the grass.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 羔 (gāo) with 糕 (gāo, cake), which sounds the same and contains 羔 plus the rice radical 米. If the meaning is food like 蛋糕 (dàngāo, cake), you need 糕, not 羔.
Common words with 羔
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 羔羊 | gāoyáng | sheep; lamb | |
| 羊羔 | yánggāo | lamb |
羔 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 羔
Learning 羔 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 羔
How many strokes are in 羔?
羔 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 羔 mean?
羔 (gāo) means lamb. A common word with it is 羔羊 (gāoyáng), meaning "sheep; lamb".
How do you pronounce 羔?
羔 is pronounced gāo, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 羔?
The radical of 羔 is 羊, which carries the idea of "sheep". Dictionaries list 羔 under this radical.
What is the difference between 羊羔 and 羔羊?
Both mean lamb. 羊羔 (yánggāo) is the more everyday, spoken word. 羔羊 (gāoyáng) sounds more formal or literary and appears in set phrases such as 替罪羔羊 (tìzuì gāoyáng), scapegoat.
Can 羔 refer to the young of other animals?
Yes, in some words 羔 is extended to other young animals, such as 鹿羔 (lùgāo), fawn. In everyday speech, though, it almost always means a young sheep.