蔡 meaning and stroke order
A species of tortoise; surname
How to write 蔡, 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
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- 9
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- 14
How 蔡 is built
Components of the character.
Radical: 艹 (grass), shared by 421 characters on this site.
How to remember 蔡
Grass 艹 on top of 祭 (jì, to offer sacrifice): picture an old family offering grass and gifts at a shrine, and remember the family name 蔡 (cài). The bottom part 祭 also hints at the sound, since both end in a similar way.
Today 蔡 is used almost only as a surname, and it is a common one in China, Taiwan and among overseas Chinese. The tortoise meaning appears only in classical texts. Example: 我的老师姓蔡。(Wǒ de lǎoshī xìng Cài.) My teacher's surname is Cai.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 蔡 (cài) with 菜 (cài, vegetable, dish) because they sound the same and both have 艹 on top. Remember that 菜 has 采 underneath, while the surname 蔡 has 祭 underneath.
Characters that contain 蔡
Learning 蔡 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 蔡
How many strokes are in 蔡?
蔡 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 蔡 mean?
蔡 (cài) means a species of tortoise; surname.
How do you pronounce 蔡?
蔡 is pronounced cài, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 蔡?
The radical of 蔡 is 艹, which carries the idea of "grass". Dictionaries list 蔡 under this radical.
How do you address someone surnamed 蔡 politely?
Put a title after the surname, such as 蔡老师 (Cài lǎoshī) for a teacher or 蔡先生 (Cài xiānsheng) for Mr. Cai. Among friends, people may say 小蔡 (Xiǎo Cài) for a younger person or 老蔡 (Lǎo Cài) for an older one.
Why is 蔡 sometimes written as Tsai or Choi in English?
Different romanization systems and dialects spell it differently. Tsai comes from the Wade-Giles system used in Taiwan, while Choi reflects Cantonese pronunciation, and Cai is standard Mandarin pinyin.