The character 干 — “dry”: how to write it and what it means
dry; do
The Chinese character 干 is read gān and means “dry; do”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 干
干 has 3 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 干, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 干 is made of
Two readings: gān in 干净 and gàn, “do”.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 干
- 干净cleanHSK 3
- 饼干cookie, crackerHSK 4
- 干杯cheers!; drink a toast toHSK 4
- 干活儿work, do a job (colloq.)HSK 4
- 能干capable, competentHSK 5
- 干脆straightforward, decisive; simplyHSK 6
- 干燥dry (of climate, skin)HSK 6
- 干旱arid; droughtHSK 6
- 干扰interfere, disturbHSK 6
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 干?
干 has 3 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 干 mean?
干 means “dry; do”. It appears in 干净 (“clean”), 饼干 (“cookie”), 干杯 (“cheers!”), 干活儿 (“work”).
How do you pronounce 干?
干 is read gān. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 干 have?
3 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 干 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
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