婪 (lán) is a Chinese character meaning “greedy”. It is written from 林 (woods; grove (two trees side by side)) and 女 (woman; female), one above the other, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “greedy”
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Structure
林 + 女
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 说文解字·女部：婪，贪也。从女林声。Modern form ⿱林女 verified against hanzi-writer-data stroke medians (strokes 0–7 = 林, 8–10 = 女)
Memory aid
A woman (女) standing under a whole grove of trees (林) still wants more wood — that is greed.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 贪婪tān lángreedy; avaricious婪 = lán
Questions people ask about this character
What does 婪 mean?
婪 (lán) means greedy; avaricious.
How do you pronounce 婪?
It is pronounced lán.
What parts is 婪 made of?
林 (woods; grove (two trees side by side)) and 女 (woman; female), one above the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字·女部：婪，贪也。从女林声。Modern form ⿱林女 verified against hanzi-writer-data stroke medians (strokes 0–7 = 林, 8–10 = 女). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 婪 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 婪?
女. 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 婪?
Common ones are 贪婪. The reading of 婪 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.