藍 meaning and stroke order
Blue; indigo plant; surname
How to write 藍, stroke by stroke
18 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 藍
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- blue
- indigo plant
How 藍 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Plant.
艹 gives the meaning and 監 hints at the sound.
Radical: 艹 (grass), shared by 421 characters on this site.
How to remember 藍
藍 is a plant character: the grass radical 艹 on top tells you it was the indigo plant, used to make blue dye. The bottom part 監 (jiān) gives the sound, so picture a plant being watched over until its leaves turn into blue dye.
藍 means blue and usually appears in words like 藍色 (lánsè, blue) and 藍天 (lán tiān, blue sky). It also appears in borrowed or modern ideas like 藍圖 (lántú, blueprint) and 藍莓 (lánméi, blueberry). Example: 今天的天很藍。(Jīntiān de tiān hěn lán.) The sky is very blue today.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 藍 (lán) with 籃 (lán, basket, as in 籃球 lánqiú). They sound the same, but 籃 has the bamboo radical ⺮ on top, while 藍 has the grass radical 艹.
Common words with 藍
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
Questions about 藍
How many strokes are in 藍?
藍 is written with 18 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 藍 mean?
藍 (lán) means blue; indigo plant; surname. A common word with it is 蓝色 (lánsè), meaning "blue (color)".
How do you pronounce 藍?
藍 is pronounced lán, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 藍?
The radical of 藍 is 艹, which carries the idea of "grass". Dictionaries list 藍 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 藍?
藍 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 蓝, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What is the difference between 藍 and 青 for blue?
藍 (lán) is the everyday word for blue. 青 (qīng) is an older, broader color word that can mean blue, green, or even black depending on context, and it shows up mostly in fixed words like 青山 (qīngshān, green hills).
Is 藍 also used as a surname?
Yes, 藍 (Lán) is a Chinese surname. It is pronounced the same way, lán, with the second tone.