叮 (dīng) is a Chinese character meaning “(of a mosquito or other insect) to sting or bite”. It is written from 口 (mouth) and 丁 (fourth; adult man), side by side, and takes 5 strokes.
Build the character for “to sting; to bite”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
口 + 丁
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分经 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 笔画核验（口 3 + 丁 2 = 5）；右侧 丁 dīng 与本字读音 dīng 一致，记为声符
Memory aid
A mouth (口) beside a nail-shaped 丁 — the mosquito's mouth goes in like a tack. Both parts are really in this character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
5 strokes
In real words
- 叮咬dīng yǎoto bite or sting (of insects)叮 = dīng
- 叮嘱dīng zhǔto urge again and again; to exhort叮 = dīng
Go deeper
All readings
to sting; to bite
(of a mosquito or other insect) to sting or bite; to urge someone repeatedly
蚊虫等用嘴刺人或动物。也指再三嘱咐。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 叮咬dīng yǎoto bite or sting (of insects)叮 = dīng
- 叮嘱dīng zhǔto urge again and again; to exhort叮 = dīng
Sound component
丁 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 叮 mean?
叮 (dīng) means (of a mosquito or other insect) to sting or bite; to urge someone repeatedly.
How do you pronounce 叮?
It is pronounced dīng.
What parts is 叮 made of?
口 (mouth) and 丁 (fourth; adult man), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分经 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 笔画核验（口 3 + 丁 2 = 5）；右侧 丁 dīng 与本字读音 dīng 一致，记为声符. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 叮 have?
5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 叮?
口. 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 叮?
Common ones are 叮咬 and 叮嘱. The reading of 叮 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.