凑 (còu) is a Chinese character meaning “to gather together”. It is written from 冫 (ice; two dots of ice) and 奏 (to play music; to present to the throne), side by side, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “to gather; to put together”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
冫 + 奏
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字 水部：湊，水上人所會也。从水奏聲。「凑」为「湊」的俗体，氵省作冫。现代字形按 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：前两笔为「冫」，后九笔为「奏」
Memory aid
Two drops (冫) gather beside 奏, which tells you the sound (zòu → còu). Drops coming together: 凑, to gather or put together.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 凑巧còu qiǎoby coincidence; as luck would have it凑 = còu
- 紧凑jǐn còucompact; tightly packed凑 = còu
Go deeper
All readings
to gather; to put together
to gather together; to pool; to happen by chance; to move close to
聚集；拼合；碰上；接近。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 凑巧còu qiǎoby coincidence; as luck would have it凑 = còu
- 紧凑jǐn còucompact; tightly packed凑 = còu
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 凑 mean?
凑 (còu) means to gather together; to pool; to happen by chance; to move close to.
How do you pronounce 凑?
It is pronounced còu.
What parts is 凑 made of?
冫 (ice; two dots of ice) and 奏 (to play music; to present to the throne), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字 水部：湊，水上人所會也。从水奏聲。「凑」为「湊」的俗体，氵省作冫。现代字形按 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：前两笔为「冫」，后九笔为「奏」. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 凑 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 凑?
冫. 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 凑?
Common ones are 凑巧 and 紧凑. The reading of 凑 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.