蠟 meaning and stroke order
Candle, wax; maggot
How to write 蠟, stroke by stroke
21 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 蠟
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- candle
- wax
How 蠟 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Insect.
虫 gives the meaning and 巤 hints at the sound.
Radical: 虫 (insect), shared by 197 characters on this site.
How to remember 蠟
蠟 combines 虫 (insect) with the sound part 巤. Think of bees, the insects that make wax, and you have the meaning wax or candle.
蠟 is the traditional form, and in mainland China you will see 蜡 instead. It mostly appears in words like 蜡烛 (làzhú, candle) and 蜡笔 (làbǐ, crayon). Example: 停电了，点个蜡烛吧。(Tíngdiàn le, diǎn ge làzhú ba.) The power is out, let's light a candle.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 蠟 (là, wax) with 獵 (liè, to hunt), which shares the same right side 巤 but uses 犭. The left side tells you the meaning, so wax goes with the insect radical 虫.
Common words with 蠟
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 蠟燭 | làzhú | candle | HSK 7-9 |
| 蠟筆 | làbǐ | crayon (wax type) |
Questions about 蠟
How many strokes are in 蠟?
蠟 is written with 21 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 蠟 mean?
蠟 (là) means candle, wax; maggot. A common word with it is 蜡烛 (làzhú), meaning "candle".
How do you pronounce 蠟?
蠟 is pronounced là, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 蠟?
The radical of 蠟 is 虫, which carries the idea of "insect". Dictionaries list 蠟 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 蠟?
蠟 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 蜡, used in mainland China and Singapore.
Why does the simplified form 蜡 look so different from 蠟?
Simplification replaced the complex sound part 巤 with the simpler 昔. The insect radical 虫 on the left stays the same, so the meaning hint is kept.
How do you say wax for skis, cars, or floors?
You can use 蜡 as a verb or noun, as in 打蜡 (dǎlà), to wax or polish with wax. For example, 给车打蜡 (gěi chē dǎlà) means to wax the car.