蕩 meaning and stroke order
Pond, pool; ripple, shake; to wash away, to wipe out
How to write 蕩, 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 蕩
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to wash
- to squander
- to sweep away
- to move
- to shake
- dissolute
How 蕩 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. Hot water 湯 wiping out plant life 艹; 湯 also provides the pronunciation.
Radical: 艹 (grass), shared by 421 characters on this site.
How to remember 蕩
Picture hot water 湯 (tāng) pouring over the grass 艹 on top and washing all the plants away. The water sloshes and sways, which gives you both "to wash away" and "to shake", and 湯 also hints at the sound dàng.
蕩 (simplified 荡) appears mostly in compounds about swaying, wandering, sweeping away, or loose behavior. Common words include 晃荡 (huàngdang, to sway), 游荡 (yóudàng, to roam), and 扫荡 (sǎodàng, to mop up). Example: 房间里空荡荡的。(Fángjiān lǐ kōngdàngdàng de.) The room is completely empty.
Common mistake: Learners often drop the grass top and write 湯 (tāng, soup), or read 蕩 as tāng because of that component. Remember that the 艹 on top changes both the meaning and the sound to dàng with a fourth tone.
Common words with 蕩
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 空蕩蕩 | kōngdàngdàng | empty; deserted | HSK 7-9 |
| 晃蕩 | huàngdang | to rock; to sway | HSK 7-9 |
| 傾家蕩產 | qīngjiā-dàngchǎn | to lose a family fortune (idiom) | HSK 7-9 |
| 蕩婦 | dàngfù | prostitute; floozy; slut | |
| 遊蕩 | yóudàng | to wander; to roam about | |
| 淫蕩 | yíndàng | loose in morals; lascivious | |
| 放蕩 | fàngdàng | licentious; wanton | |
| 掃蕩 | sǎodàng | (military) to mop up; to crack down on; to eradicate |
Questions about 蕩
How many strokes are in 蕩?
蕩 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 蕩 mean?
蕩 (dàng) means pond, pool; ripple, shake; to wash away, to wipe out. A common word with it is 空荡荡 (kōngdàngdàng), meaning "empty; deserted".
How do you pronounce 蕩?
蕩 is pronounced dàng, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 蕩?
The radical of 蕩 is 艹, which carries the idea of "grass". Dictionaries list 蕩 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 蕩?
蕩 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 荡, used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 蕩 a negative word?
It depends on the compound. 晃荡 (to sway) and 空荡荡 (empty) are neutral, but 放荡, 淫荡 and especially 荡妇 describe immoral or loose behavior and can be very insulting.
Why is the second syllable of 晃荡 written without a tone?
In 晃荡 (huàngdang) the 荡 is usually said with a neutral tone in everyday speech. On its own, and in most other words like 游荡 (yóudàng), it keeps its fourth tone.