蜡 meaning and stroke order
Candle; wax
How to write 蜡, 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.
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Meaning of 蜡
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- candle
- wax
How 蜡 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Insect.
虫 gives the meaning and 昔 hints at the sound.
Radical: 虫 (insect), shared by 197 characters on this site.
How to remember 蜡
蜡 combines 虫 (insect) as the meaning part with 昔 (xī) as the sound part. Picture bees, small creatures 虫, making wax since ancient times 昔, and that wax becomes candles.
蜡 (là) means wax and appears mostly in compounds rather than alone. The most common words are 蜡烛 (làzhú, candle) and 蜡笔 (làbǐ, crayon). Example: 停电了，点一根蜡烛吧。(Tíngdiàn le, diǎn yì gēn làzhú ba.) The power is out, let's light a candle.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 蜡 (là) with 腊 (là), as in 腊月 (làyuè, the twelfth lunar month) or 腊肉 (làròu, cured meat). They sound the same, but 腊 uses the flesh radical 月 and relates to curing meat, while 蜡 uses 虫 and means wax.
Common words with 蜡
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 蜡烛 | làzhú | candle | HSK 7-9 |
| 蜡笔 | làbǐ | crayon (wax type) |
蜡 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 蜡
How many strokes are in 蜡?
蜡 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 蜡 mean?
蜡 (là) means candle; wax. A common word with it is 蜡烛 (làzhú), meaning "candle".
How do you pronounce 蜡?
蜡 is pronounced là, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 蜡?
The radical of 蜡 is 虫, which carries the idea of "insect". Dictionaries list 蜡 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 蜡?
The traditional form of 蜡 is 蠟. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 蜡 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 蜡 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 蜡 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do you say to wax something, like a floor or skis, in Chinese?
Use 打蜡 (dǎlà), literally to apply wax. For example, 给车打蜡 (gěi chē dǎlà) means to wax the car.
Why does 蜡 sound like là when its sound part 昔 is read xī?
Sound components often drifted over centuries, so the modern reading does not always match. You can see the same 昔 family in 惜 (xī) and 错 (cuò), so treat 昔 as a loose hint rather than an exact guide.