翰 meaning and stroke order
Pen, pencil, writing brush
How to write 翰, 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 翰
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- writing brush
- writing
- pen
How 翰 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Plume.
羽 gives the meaning and 倝 hints at the sound.
Radical: 羽 (feather), shared by 26 characters on this site.
How to remember 翰
On the right is 羽 (yǔ, feather), the meaning part, which hints at a plume used for writing. On the left is 倝 (gàn), which gives the sound, so picture a feather pen next to its sound tag.
翰 is rarely used alone today and mostly appears in literary or formal words about writing and scholarship, such as 翰林 (hànlín, the imperial Hanlin Academy) and 书翰 (shūhàn, letters). It is also common in personal names. Example: 他在翰林院任职。(Tā zài Hànlín Yuàn rènzhí.) He served in the Hanlin Academy.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 翰 with 韩 (hán, Korea, a surname) or 瀚 (hàn, vast), which share a similar sound. Check the right side: 翰 has 羽, 韩 has 韦, and 瀚 adds 氵 on the left.
翰 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 翰
Learning 翰 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 翰
How many strokes are in 翰?
翰 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 翰 mean?
翰 (hàn) means pen, pencil, writing brush.
How do you pronounce 翰?
翰 is pronounced hàn, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 翰?
The radical of 翰 is 羽, which carries the idea of "feather". Dictionaries list 翰 under this radical.
Can I use 翰 to mean a modern pen or pencil?
No. In everyday Chinese a pen is 笔 (bǐ), as in 钢笔 (gāngbǐ) or 铅笔 (qiānbǐ). 翰 carries an old, literary sense of writing brush and writing.
Why is 翰 common in names?
Because it is linked to writing and learning, parents choose it to suggest scholarly talent. You will see it in names like 子翰 (Zǐhàn) and in the Chinese form of John, 约翰 (Yuēhàn).