郎 meaning and stroke order
Gentleman, young man; husband
How to write 郎, stroke by stroke
8 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 郎
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (arch.) minister
- official
- noun prefix denoting function or status
- a youth
How 郎 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A man from a good 良 place 阝; 良 also provides the pronunciation.
Radical: 阝 (place), shared by 160 characters on this site.
How to remember 郎
A young gentleman is a man from a good 良 (liáng) place 阝. Picture a fine young man walking out of a pleasant town, and 良 also hints at the sound láng.
郎 rarely stands alone in modern Chinese. It mostly appears in words for men in certain roles, like 新郎 (xīnláng, groom) and 伴郎 (bànláng, best man). Example: 新郎和新娘一起敬酒。(Xīnláng hé xīnniáng yìqǐ jìng jiǔ.) The groom and bride toast the guests together.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 郎 (láng) with 朗 (lǎng, bright, as in 朗读). 郎 has the ear-shaped 阝 on the right, while 朗 has 月 (moon) on the right and a different tone.
Common words with 郎
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
郎 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 郎
Learning 郎 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 郎
How many strokes are in 郎?
郎 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 郎 mean?
郎 (láng) means gentleman, young man; husband. A common word with it is 新郎 (xīnláng), meaning "bridegroom; groom".
How do you pronounce 郎?
郎 is pronounced láng, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 郎?
The radical of 郎 is 阝, which carries the idea of "place". Dictionaries list 郎 under this radical.
Is 郎 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 郎 is part of the HSK 4 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why does 女郎 mean young woman if 郎 means young man?
In compounds, 郎 can mark a person's role or status, not only a male. So 女郎 (nǚláng) means a young woman, and 法郎 (fǎláng, franc) simply uses the sound.
Is 牛郎 safe to use in conversation?
牛郎 (Niúláng) is the cowherd in the famous folk tale with the Weaver Girl, and that meaning is fine. Be careful, though, because in modern slang it can mean a male prostitute, so context matters.