荒 meaning and stroke order
Desolate; shortage; scarce
How to write 荒, 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.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
Meaning of 荒
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- desolate
- shortage
- scarce
- out of practice
- absurd
- uncultivated
How 荒 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Grass.
芒 gives the meaning and 川 hints at the sound.
Radical: 艹 (grass), shared by 421 characters on this site.
How to remember 荒
The top part 芒 (máng) has the grass radical 艹, and the bottom 川 looks like a riverbed of three lines. Picture wild grass spreading over dry land by a river where no one farms, and you get 荒 (huāng), wasteland.
荒 rarely stands alone in modern speech. It mostly appears in words about empty, neglected land, like 荒野 (huāngyě) and 荒凉 (huāngliáng), or about ideas that make no sense, like 荒谬 (huāngmiù) and 荒唐 (huāngtáng). Example: 这个说法太荒谬了。(Zhège shuōfǎ tài huāngmiù le.) This claim is completely absurd.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 荒 (huāng) with 慌 (huāng, flustered), which sounds the same but has the heart radical 忄 on the left. Write 惊慌 (jīnghuāng) for panic, but 荒地 (huāngdì) for wasteland.
Common words with 荒
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 荒谬 | huāngmiù | absurd; ridiculous | HSK 7-9 |
| 荒凉 | huāngliáng | desolate | HSK 7-9 |
| 荒诞 | huāngdàn | beyond belief; incredible | HSK 7-9 |
| 荒唐 | huāngtáng | beyond belief; preposterous | |
| 荒野 | huāngyě | wilderness | |
| 饥荒 | jīhuāng | crop failure; famine | |
| 荒废 | huāngfèi | to abandon (cultivated fields); no longer cultivated | |
| 荒芜 | huāngwú | left to return to unchecked growth; overgrown | |
| 荒漠 | huāngmò | desert; desolate wilderness; barren wasteland; vast and desolate | |
| 荒地 | huāngdì | wasteland; uncultivated land | |
| 荒岛 | huāngdǎo | barren or uninhabited island | |
| 荒原 | huāngyuán | wasteland |
荒 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 荒
Learning 荒 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 荒
How many strokes are in 荒?
荒 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 荒 mean?
荒 (huāng) means desolate; shortage; scarce. A common word with it is 荒谬 (huāngmiù), meaning "absurd; ridiculous".
How do you pronounce 荒?
荒 is pronounced huāng, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 荒?
The radical of 荒 is 艹, which carries the idea of "grass". Dictionaries list 荒 under this radical.
Is 荒 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 荒 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 荒谬 and 荒唐?
Both mean absurd. 荒谬 (huāngmiù) sounds more formal and is often used for arguments, claims or logic. 荒唐 (huāngtáng) is more everyday and can also describe silly behavior, as in 别做荒唐事 (bié zuò huāngtáng shì), do not do anything foolish.
How does 荒 mean out of practice?
The idea of land left unfarmed extends to skills left unused. In 荒废 (huāngfèi) you can neglect studies or a talent, for example 学业荒废了 (xuéyè huāngfèi le), my studies have been neglected.