划 (huà) is a Chinese character meaning “to mark off”. It is written from 戈 (dagger-axe (ancient pole weapon); Kangxi radical 62) and 刂 (knife (side form)), side by side, and takes 6 strokes. It has a second reading, huá, which turns up in 划船 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.
Build the character for “to mark off, to plan”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
戈 + 刂
Left–right structure
- 戈 dagger-axe (ancient pole weapon); Kangxi radical 62 · gē unknown
- 刂 knife (side form) · dāo meaning
Structure from: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核对：戈 4 画 + 刂 2 画 = 6 画）
Memory aid
A dagger-axe (戈) standing next to a knife (刂) — two blades, both really in this character. Put a blade to a surface and you cut a line: you scratch a mark, and you mark things off into a plan.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 计划jì huàplan划 = huà
- 划分huà fēnto divide; to demarcate划 = huà
Go deeper
All readings
to mark off; to plan
to mark off; to divide; to delimit; to plan out; to transfer (funds)
把整体分开成部分；也指事先拟定、拨给。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 计划jì huàplan划 = huà
- 划分huà fēnto divide; to demarcate划 = huà
to paddle; to scratch
to paddle; to row (a boat); to scratch or slit a surface
用桨拨水使船前进；也指用尖锐物在表面划出痕迹。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 划船huá chuánto row a boat; to paddle划 = huá
- 划桨huá jiǎngto paddle; to row with oars划 = huá
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 划 mean?
划 (huà) means to mark off; to divide; to delimit; to plan out; to transfer (funds).
How do you pronounce 划?
Its main reading is huà. It also has a second reading, huá, which only shows up in certain words such as 划船 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.
Why is 划 sometimes pronounced huá?
Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 划船 it is read huá.
What parts is 划 made of?
戈 (dagger-axe (ancient pole weapon); Kangxi radical 62) and 刂 (knife (side form)), side by side. The recorded source is: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核对：戈 4 画 + 刂 2 画 = 6 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 划 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 划?
刂. 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 划?
Common ones are 计划 and 划分. The reading of 划 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.