鞍 meaning and stroke order
Saddle
How to write 鞍, stroke by stroke
15 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 鞍
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) saddle
- variant of 鞍[an1]
How 鞍 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Leather.
革 gives the meaning and 安 hints at the sound.
Radical: 革 (leather), shared by 25 characters on this site.
How to remember 鞍
鞍 combines 革 (gé, leather) with 安 (ān, peace, calm). A saddle is a piece of leather that lets a rider sit calmly and securely on a horse, and 安 also gives the sound ān.
鞍 is a bound form, so it usually appears inside words rather than alone. The most common word is 马鞍 (mǎ'ān, saddle), and it also shows up in phrases like 鞍前马后 (ānqián mǎhòu), meaning to serve someone faithfully. Example: 他给马装上了马鞍。(Tā gěi mǎ zhuāng shàng le mǎ'ān.) He put the saddle on the horse.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes write 按 (àn, to press) or 安 (ān) when they mean saddle. Remember that 鞍 needs the leather radical 革 on the left, and it keeps the first tone like 安, not the fourth tone of 按.
Common words with 鞍
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 马鞍 | mǎ'ān | saddle |
Questions about 鞍
How many strokes are in 鞍?
鞍 is written with 15 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 鞍 mean?
鞍 (ān) means saddle. A common word with it is 马鞍 (mǎ'ān), meaning "saddle".
How do you pronounce 鞍?
鞍 is pronounced ān, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 鞍?
The radical of 鞍 is 革, which carries the idea of "leather". Dictionaries list 鞍 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 鞍?
The traditional form of 鞍 is 鞌. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 鞍 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Can I say 鞍 by itself to mean saddle?
In everyday speech people say 马鞍 (mǎ'ān) or 鞍子 (ānzi) rather than 鞍 alone. Using 鞍 on its own sounds incomplete in most sentences.
Is 鞍 used in any place names?
Yes. The city 鞍山 (Ānshān) in Liaoning province uses this character. It is a well known steel-producing city.