骷 meaning and stroke order
Skeleton
How to write 骷, stroke by stroke
14 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 骷
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- used in 骷髏|骷髅[ku1 lou2]
How 骷 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Bone.
骨 gives the meaning and 古 hints at the sound.
Radical: 骨 (bone), shared by 21 characters on this site.
How to remember 骷
骷 combines 骨 (gǔ, bone) with 古 (gǔ, ancient). Picture very old bones left from ancient times, and you have a skeleton.
骷 almost never appears alone. It lives in the word 骷髅 (kūlóu), meaning a skeleton or skull, often in Halloween, pirate, or horror contexts. Example: 海盗旗上有一个骷髅。(Hǎidào qí shang yǒu yí gè kūlóu.) There is a skull on the pirate flag.
Common mistake: Learners often read 骷 as gǔ because both components are pronounced gǔ, but the correct reading is kū with a first tone. Also note the second syllable of 骷髅 is lóu with a second tone, not lòu.
Common words with 骷
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 骷髅 | kūlóu | human skeleton; human skull |
Questions about 骷
How many strokes are in 骷?
骷 is written with 14 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 骷 mean?
骷 (kū) means skeleton. A common word with it is 骷髅 (kūlóu), meaning "human skeleton; human skull".
How do you pronounce 骷?
骷 is pronounced kū, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 骷?
The radical of 骷 is 骨, which carries the idea of "bone". Dictionaries list 骷 under this radical.
Is 骷髅 the normal word for skeleton in biology class?
Not usually. In science and medicine, the skeleton is called 骨骼 (gǔgé) or 骨架 (gǔjià). 骷髅 has a spooky, visual feel and often suggests a skull or a dead person's bones.
How do you say skull and crossbones in Chinese?
A common way is 骷髅头 (kūlóu tóu) for the skull image, or 骷髅旗 (kūlóu qí) for a pirate flag. The word 头 (tóu, head) makes it clear you mean the skull.