宫 (gōng) is a Chinese character meaning “palace”. It is written from 宀 (roof) and 吕 (two mouths stacked; a pitch-pipe name (also a surname)), one above the other, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “palace”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
宀 + 吕
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 宫，室也。从宀；modern form ⿱宀吕 checked against hanzi-writer-data strokes (宀 0–2, 吕 3–8)
Memory aid
Under one big roof (宀) sit rooms linked one after another (吕) — a palace full of chambers.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 宫殿gōng diànpalace宫 = gōng
- 宫廷gōng tíngroyal court; palace宫 = gōng
- 宫娥gōng épalace maid (in old times)宫 = gōng
Go deeper
All readings
palace
palace; temple; (music) the first note of the ancient pentatonic scale
帝王居住的房屋；某些庙宇或文化娱乐场所的名称；古代五音之一。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 宫殿gōng diànpalace宫 = gōng
- 宫廷gōng tíngroyal court; palace宫 = gōng
- 宫娥gōng épalace maid (in old times)宫 = gōng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 宫 mean?
宫 (gōng) means palace; temple; (music) the first note of the ancient pentatonic scale.
How do you pronounce 宫?
It is pronounced gōng.
What parts is 宫 made of?
宀 (roof) and 吕 (two mouths stacked; a pitch-pipe name (also a surname)), one above the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 宫，室也。从宀；modern form ⿱宀吕 checked against hanzi-writer-data strokes (宀 0–2, 吕 3–8). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 宫 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 宫?
宀. 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 宫?
Common ones are 宫殿 and 宫廷. The reading of 宫 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.