垃 (lā) is a Chinese character meaning “Bound morpheme with no meaning on its own”. It is written from 土 (earth; soil) and 立 (to stand; upright), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “garbage (first half of 垃圾)”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
土 + 立
Left–right structure
Structure from: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（⿰土立），已对照 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 笔画核验：左「土」3 画 + 右「立」5 画 = 8 画；「立 lì」与「垃 lā」声母同为 l，判为声符。只描述今形构成，不追溯上古来源。
Memory aid
A bag left standing (立) on the ground (土) — nobody is coming back for it. That is 垃, the first half of 垃圾, garbage.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 垃圾lā jīgarbage; trash; rubbish垃 = lā
- 垃圾桶lā jī tǒngtrash can; rubbish bin; wastebasket垃 = lā
Go deeper
All readings
garbage (only in 垃圾)
Bound morpheme with no meaning on its own. It appears only in 垃圾 (lā jī) "garbage, trash" and words built on it, such as 垃圾桶 "trash can".
黏着语素，不单用。只出现在「垃圾」及由「垃圾」构成的词里，如「垃圾桶」。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 垃圾lā jīgarbage; trash; rubbish垃 = lā
- 垃圾桶lā jī tǒngtrash can; rubbish bin; wastebasket垃 = lā
Sound component
立 family diverged
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 垃 mean?
垃 (lā) means Bound morpheme with no meaning on its own. It appears only in 垃圾 (lā jī) "garbage, trash" and words built on it, such as 垃圾桶 "trash can"..
How do you pronounce 垃?
It is pronounced lā.
What parts is 垃 made of?
土 (earth; soil) and 立 (to stand; upright), side by side. The recorded source is: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（⿰土立），已对照 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 笔画核验：左「土」3 画 + 右「立」5 画 = 8 画；「立 lì」与「垃 lā」声母同为 l，判为声符。只描述今形构成，不追溯上古来源。. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 垃 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 垃?
土. 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 垃?
Common ones are 垃圾 and 垃圾桶. The reading of 垃 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.