吭 (kēng) is a Chinese character meaning “to utter a sound”. It is written from 口 (mouth) and 亢 (high; haughty (used here as the sound part)), side by side, and takes 7 strokes. It has a second reading, háng, which turns up in 引吭高歌 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.
Build the character for “to utter a sound”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
口 + 亢
Left–right structure
Structure from: IDS 现代字形拆分 ⿰口亢，笔画数 3+4=7 经 hanzi-writer-data 核验
Memory aid
A mouth (口) with 亢 standing tall beside it — the mouth opens and lets a sound out.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 吭声kēng shēngto utter a sound; to speak up吭 = kēng
Go deeper
All readings
to utter a sound
to utter a sound; to speak up — almost always in 吭声, and usually negated
出声；说话。多用于「吭声」，常见于否定句。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 吭声kēng shēngto utter a sound; to speak up吭 = kēng
throat
throat (literary), as in 引吭高歌 "to sing at the top of one's voice"
咽喉（书面），如「引吭高歌」。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 引吭高歌yǐn háng gāo gēto sing loudly at the top of one's voice吭 = háng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 吭 mean?
吭 (kēng) means to utter a sound; to speak up — almost always in 吭声, and usually negated.
How do you pronounce 吭?
Its main reading is kēng. It also has a second reading, háng, which only shows up in certain words such as 引吭高歌 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.
Why is 吭 sometimes pronounced háng?
Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 引吭高歌 it is read háng.
What parts is 吭 made of?
口 (mouth) and 亢 (high; haughty (used here as the sound part)), side by side. The recorded source is: IDS 现代字形拆分 ⿰口亢，笔画数 3+4=7 经 hanzi-writer-data 核验. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 吭 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 吭?
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 吭?
Common ones are 吭声. The reading of 吭 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.