亥 (hài) is a Chinese character meaning “the twelfth of the twelve Earthly Branches”. It is written from 亠 (lid) and ㇜ (left-falling stroke turning upward (pie-zhe)) and ㇒ (left-falling stroke) and 人 (person), one above the other, and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “twelfth earthly branch — the hour 9–11 p.m.”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
亠 + ㇜ + ㇒ + 人
Top–bottom structure
- 亠 lid · tóu unknown
- ㇜ left-falling stroke turning upward (pie-zhe) unknown
- ㇒ left-falling stroke unknown
- 人 person · rén unknown
Structure from: hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph stroke inspection (上部 亠 两笔，下方撇折、长撇，右下撇捺呈 人 形)
Memory aid
A lid (亠) pulled over the top, one stroke turning back underneath, one long sweep falling to the left — and a small 人 standing at the bottom right, the last person walking home in the hour of 亥, 9–11 p.m.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 亥时hài shíthe hour of Hai, 9–11 p.m.亥 = hài
- 辛亥革命xīn hài gé mìngthe Xinhai Revolution of 1911, which ended dynastic rule in China亥 = hài
Go deeper
All readings
twelfth earthly branch
the twelfth of the twelve Earthly Branches; the hour 9–11 p.m.; used in traditional year and date names
地支的第十二位；亥时指夜里九点到十一点，也用于传统的纪年纪日。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 亥时hài shíthe hour of Hai, 9–11 p.m.亥 = hài
- 辛亥革命xīn hài gé mìngthe Xinhai Revolution of 1911, which ended dynastic rule in China亥 = hài
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 亥 mean?
亥 (hài) means the twelfth of the twelve Earthly Branches; the hour 9–11 p.m.; used in traditional year and date names.
How do you pronounce 亥?
It is pronounced hài.
What parts is 亥 made of?
亠 (lid) and ㇜ (left-falling stroke turning upward (pie-zhe)) and ㇒ (left-falling stroke) and 人 (person), one above the other. The recorded source is: hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph stroke inspection (上部 亠 两笔，下方撇折、长撇，右下撇捺呈 人 形). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 亥 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 亥?
亠. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 亥?
Common ones are 亥时 and 辛亥革命. The reading of 亥 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.