颅 meaning and stroke order
Skull
How to write 颅, 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.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
Meaning of 颅
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- forehead
- skull
How 颅 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Head.
页 gives the meaning and 卢 hints at the sound.
Radical: 页 (page), shared by 39 characters on this site.
How to remember 颅
The left part 卢 (lú) gives the sound, and the right part 页 means head. So 颅 (lú) is the part of the head that sounds like 卢: the skull.
颅 rarely stands alone and usually appears in words like 头颅 (tóulú, head, skull) and 颅骨 (lúgǔ, skull bone). It sounds formal or medical, so in daily speech people often just say 头 (tóu). Example: 医生检查了他的颅骨。(Yīshēng jiǎnchá le tā de lúgǔ.) The doctor examined his skull.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes write the left side as 卡 or 占 instead of 卢, which changes the sound and makes no real character. Also keep the second tone in lú. Do not read it like 炉 (lú) in meaning, since the two share a sound but 炉 means stove.
Common words with 颅
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 头颅 | tóulú | head; skull | |
| 颅骨 | lúgǔ | skull (of a dead body) |
Questions about 颅
How many strokes are in 颅?
颅 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 颅 mean?
颅 (lú) means skull. A common word with it is 头颅 (tóulú), meaning "head; skull".
How do you pronounce 颅?
颅 is pronounced lú, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 颅?
The radical of 颅 is 页, which carries the idea of "page". Dictionaries list 颅 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 颅?
The traditional form of 颅 is 顱. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 颅 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 颅 used in medical terms?
Yes. It appears in words such as 颅内 (lúnèi, intracranial) and 开颅手术 (kāilú shǒushù, craniotomy). These are common in hospital and science contexts.
What is the difference between 头颅 and 头?
头 (tóu) is the everyday word for head. 头颅 (tóulú) is more literary or dramatic and often refers to the head as a physical object, as in old stories or news reports.