卦 (guà) is a Chinese character meaning “a trigram or hexagram used in divination in the I Ching”. It is written from 圭 (jade ceremonial tablet) and 卜 (divination), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “divinatory trigram”
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Structure
圭 + 卜
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字（卦，筮也。从卜圭聲），与现代字形 IDS ⿰圭卜 一致；笔画数按 hanzi-writer-data 核验 6+2=8
Memory aid
A jade ceremonial tablet (圭) raised beside a divination stick (卜). Both parts are really in this character: perform the ritual and you get a 卦 — the trigram that answers the question.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 八卦bā guàthe Eight Trigrams (of the I Ching); (colloquial) gossip卦 = guà
- 卦象guà xiàngthe figure of a trigram or hexagram; the sign read in divination卦 = guà
Go deeper
All readings
divinatory trigram
a trigram or hexagram used in divination in the I Ching; a fortune-telling symbol
《周易》中用来占卜的符号，由阴阳爻组成，如八卦。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 八卦bā guàthe Eight Trigrams (of the I Ching); (colloquial) gossip卦 = guà
- 卦象guà xiàngthe figure of a trigram or hexagram; the sign read in divination卦 = guà
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 卦 mean?
卦 (guà) means a trigram or hexagram used in divination in the I Ching; a fortune-telling symbol.
How do you pronounce 卦?
It is pronounced guà.
What parts is 卦 made of?
圭 (jade ceremonial tablet) and 卜 (divination), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字（卦，筮也。从卜圭聲），与现代字形 IDS ⿰圭卜 一致；笔画数按 hanzi-writer-data 核验 6+2=8. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 卦 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 卦?
卜. 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 卦?
Common ones are 八卦 and 卦象. The reading of 卦 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.