铠 meaning and stroke order
Armor, chain mail
How to write 铠, stroke by stroke
11 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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- 11
Meaning of 铠
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- armor
How 铠 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Metal.
钅 gives the meaning and 岂 hints at the sound.
Radical: 钅 (gold), shared by 223 characters on this site.
How to remember 铠
The metal radical 钅 on the left shows this is something made of metal, and 岂 (qǐ) on the right gives a hint of the sound. Picture a soldier wrapped in metal plates: that is 铠 (kǎi), armor.
铠 almost never appears alone in modern Chinese. It mostly shows up in the word 铠甲 (kǎijiǎ), used for historical armor, in games, films, and fantasy stories. Example: 将军穿着一身铠甲。 (Jiāngjūn chuānzhe yì shēn kǎijiǎ.) The general is wearing a suit of armor.
Common mistake: Learners often read 铠 as qǐ because of the phonetic part 岂, but the correct reading is kǎi with a third tone. Also do not confuse it with 凯 (kǎi, triumphant), which sounds the same but has 几 instead of the metal radical.
Common words with 铠
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 铠甲 | kǎijiǎ | armor |
Questions about 铠
How many strokes are in 铠?
铠 is written with 11 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 铠 mean?
铠 (kǎi) means armor, chain mail. A common word with it is 铠甲 (kǎijiǎ), meaning "armor".
How do you pronounce 铠?
铠 is pronounced kǎi, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 铠?
The radical of 铠 is 钅, which carries the idea of "gold". Dictionaries list 铠 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 铠?
The traditional form of 铠 is 鎧. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 铠 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
What is the difference between 铠甲 and 盔甲?
盔甲 (kuījiǎ) covers both the helmet 盔 and the body armor 甲, so it means a full set of armor. 铠甲 focuses on the body armor itself, though in everyday speech the two are often used interchangeably.
Can 铠 be used in names or brand names?
Yes, 铠 appears in some names of game characters and products to suggest strength and protection. For example, the hero 铠 (Kǎi) in the mobile game Honor of Kings is named with this character.