堕 (duò) is a Chinese character meaning “to fall”. It is written from 陏 (a rare character (suí / duò); here the upper part of 堕, written 阝 + 有) and 土 (earth; soil), one above the other, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “to fall; to sink”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
陏 + 土
Top–bottom structure
- 陏 a rare character (suí / duò); here the upper part of 堕, written 阝 + 有 · suí unknown
- 土 earth; soil · tǔ unknown
Structure from: cjkvi-ids (IDS: ⿱陏土), 对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：陏[0–7] + 土[8–10]
Memory aid
Picture 陏 sitting on a ledge above the earth (土) — one slip and it falls down onto the ground. This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 堕落duò luòto degenerate; to go to the bad堕 = duò
- 堕入duò rùto fall into; to sink into堕 = duò
Go deeper
All readings
to fall; to sink
to fall; to sink; to degenerate
落下；掉下；比喻变坏。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 堕落duò luòto degenerate; to go to the bad堕 = duò
- 堕入duò rùto fall into; to sink into堕 = duò
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 堕 mean?
堕 (duò) means to fall; to sink; to degenerate.
How do you pronounce 堕?
It is pronounced duò.
What parts is 堕 made of?
陏 (a rare character (suí / duò); here the upper part of 堕, written 阝 + 有) and 土 (earth; soil), one above the other. The recorded source is: cjkvi-ids (IDS: ⿱陏土), 对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：陏[0–7] + 土[8–10]. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 堕 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 堕?
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 堕?
Common ones are 堕落 and 堕入. The reading of 堕 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.