啦 (lā) is a Chinese character meaning “used in sound words and cheers, as in 啦啦队 (cheerleading”. It is written from 口 (mouth) and 拉 (to pull), side by side, and takes 11 strokes. It has a second reading, la, which turns up in 得啦 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.
Build the character for “sound word, as in "cheerleading squad"”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
口 + 拉
Left–right structure
Structure from: IDS 现代字形拆分 ⿰口拉；与 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「口」（3 笔），笔画 3–10 为「拉」（8 笔），合计 11 笔
Memory aid
A mouth (口) beside 拉 (lā, "to pull"): 拉 lends the sound lā, and 口 says it is a sound made with the voice — the chant of a 啦啦队, a cheerleading squad.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 啦啦队lā lā duìcheerleading squad啦 = lā
- 哗啦huā lācrash; splash; the sound of rushing water啦 = lā
Go deeper
All readings
sound word (cheering, splashing)
used in sound words and cheers, as in 啦啦队 (cheerleading squad) and 哗啦 (splash, crash)
拟声字，用于「啦啦队」「哗啦」等词。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 啦啦队lā lā duìcheerleading squad啦 = lā
- 哗啦huā lācrash; splash; the sound of rushing water啦 = lā
sentence-final particle (了 + 啊)
sentence-final particle, a fusion of 了 (le) and 啊 (a): marks a change or completed action with a lively, exclamatory tone
语气词，是「了」和「啊」的合音，兼有两者的语气。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 得啦dé laall right; that's enough (said to stop or agree)啦 = la
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 啦 mean?
啦 (lā) means used in sound words and cheers, as in 啦啦队 (cheerleading squad) and 哗啦 (splash, crash).
How do you pronounce 啦?
Its main reading is lā. It also has a second reading, la, which only shows up in certain words such as 得啦 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.
Why is 啦 sometimes pronounced la?
Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 得啦 it is read la.
What parts is 啦 made of?
口 (mouth) and 拉 (to pull), side by side. The recorded source is: IDS 现代字形拆分 ⿰口拉；与 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「口」（3 笔），笔画 3–10 为「拉」（8 笔），合计 11 笔. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 啦 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 啦?
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 啦?
Common ones are 啦啦队 and 哗啦. The reading of 啦 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.