锚 meaning and stroke order
Anchor
How to write 锚, stroke by stroke
13 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 锚
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- anchor
How 锚 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Metal.
钅 gives the meaning and 苗 hints at the sound.
Radical: 钅 (gold), shared by 223 characters on this site.
How to remember 锚
An anchor is a heavy metal 钅 (metal) object, and 苗 (miáo, sprout) gives the sound. Picture a metal anchor sinking into the seabed like a sprout's roots gripping the soil.
锚 (máo) means a ship's anchor and appears mostly in compounds like 抛锚 (pāomáo, to drop anchor). 抛锚 is also used figuratively when a car or machine breaks down: 我的车在路上抛锚了。(Wǒ de chē zài lù shang pāomáo le.) My car broke down on the road.
Common mistake: Learners often read 锚 as miáo because of the phonetic 苗, but the correct tone and sound is máo, second tone. Also do not confuse it with 描 (miáo, to trace), which has the hand radical 扌 instead of the metal radical 钅.
Common words with 锚
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 抛锚 | pāomáo | to drop anchor; (fig.) (of a car etc) to break down |
锚 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 锚
How many strokes are in 锚?
锚 is written with 13 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 锚 mean?
锚 (máo) means anchor. A common word with it is 抛锚 (pāomáo), meaning "to drop anchor; (fig.) (of a car etc) to break down".
How do you pronounce 锚?
锚 is pronounced máo, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 锚?
The radical of 锚 is 钅, which carries the idea of "gold". Dictionaries list 锚 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 锚?
The traditional form of 锚 is 錨. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 锚 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Does 抛锚 always mean dropping an anchor?
No. In everyday speech it very often means a vehicle has broken down, as in 汽车抛锚了 (qìchē pāomáo le). Context tells you which meaning is intended.
How do you say to weigh anchor or set sail?
The common expression is 起锚 (qǐmáo), literally to raise the anchor. It is the opposite of 抛锚 in the nautical sense.