藏 meaning and stroke order
To conceal; to hide away; to harbor
How to write 藏, stroke by stroke
17 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 藏
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to conceal
- to hide away
- to harbor
- to store
- to collect
- storehouse
- depository
- Buddhist or Taoist scripture
How 藏 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Grass.
艹 gives the meaning and 臧 hints at the sound.
Radical: 艹 (grass), shared by 421 characters on this site.
How to remember 藏
藏 is built from grass 艹 on top of 臧, which gives the sound. Picture something tucked away under a cover of grass so no one can find it.
As cáng it means to hide or to store, and it appears in words like 隐藏 (yǐncáng) and 收藏 (shōucáng). Example: 孩子们在玩捉迷藏。 (Háizimen zài wán zhuōmícáng.) The children are playing hide-and-seek.
Common mistake: Learners often read 宝藏 as bǎocáng, but here the character is zàng because it means a storehouse or treasure. A good rule: as a verb (to hide, to store) it is cáng, and as a noun (a store of treasure or scriptures) it is zàng.
Common words with 藏
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 隐藏 | yǐncáng | to hide; to conceal | HSK 6 |
| 收藏 | shōucáng | to collect (works of art, dolls, antiques etc); to put away for safekeeping; (Internet) to | HSK 6 |
| 宝藏 | bǎozàng | precious mineral deposits; hidden treasure | HSK 7-9 |
| 藏身 | cángshēn | to hide; to go into hiding | HSK 7-9 |
| 躲藏 | duǒcáng | to conceal oneself; to go into hiding | HSK 7-9 |
| 捉迷藏 | zhuōmícáng | to play hide-and-seek | HSK 7-9 |
| 藏匿 | cángnì | to cover up; to conceal | HSK 7-9 |
| 珍藏 | zhēncáng | a collection of rare and valuable items; to collect (such items) | HSK 7-9 |
| 埋藏 | máicáng | to bury; to hide by burying | HSK 7-9 |
| 藏品 | cángpǐn | museum piece; collector's item | HSK 7-9 |
| 蕴藏 | yùncáng | to hold in store; to contain (untapped reserves etc) | HSK 7-9 |
| 矿藏 | kuàngcáng | mineral resources | HSK 7-9 |
| 贮藏 | zhùcáng | to store up; to hoard | HSK 7-9 |
| 储藏室 | chǔcángshì | storeroom |
藏 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 藏
Learning 藏 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 藏
How many strokes are in 藏?
藏 is written with 17 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 藏 mean?
藏 (cáng) means to conceal; to hide away; to harbor. A common word with it is 隐藏 (yǐncáng), meaning "to hide; to conceal".
How do you pronounce 藏?
藏 is pronounced cáng, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 藏?
The radical of 藏 is 艹, which carries the idea of "grass". Dictionaries list 藏 under this radical.
Is 藏 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 藏 is part of the HSK 6 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why is Tibet called 西藏 in Chinese?
In 西藏 (Xīzàng) the character is read zàng, and the same reading is used for Tibetan things, as in 藏族 (Zàngzú), the Tibetan ethnic group. This is the zàng reading, not cáng.
What is the difference between 藏 and 躲?
躲 (duǒ) means to hide yourself or to dodge something, like 躲雨 (duǒ yǔ), to take shelter from the rain. 藏 can mean hiding yourself, but it also covers hiding or storing objects, as in 把钱藏起来 (bǎ qián cáng qǐlai), to hide the money.