寇 (kòu) is a Chinese character meaning “bandit”. It is written from 宀 (roof) and 元 (first; origin) and 攴 (to tap, strike lightly (a hand holding a stick)), one above the other, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “bandit; invader”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
宀 + 元 + 攴
Top–bottom structure
- 宀 roof · mián meaning
- 元 first; origin · yuán meaning
- 攴 to tap, strike lightly (a hand holding a stick) · pū meaning
Structure from: 说文解字: 寇，暴也。从攴从完。 + cjkvi-ids 现代字形 ⿱宀⿺元攴（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验）
Memory aid
Under the roof (宀) sits the first (元) person of the house — and a hand with a stick (攴) strikes at him. A raider breaking into a home: a bandit, an invader.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 敌寇dí kòuenemy invaders寇 = kòu
- 倭寇wō kòuJapanese pirates (historical raiders of the Chinese coast, 14th–16th c.)寇 = kòu
Go deeper
All readings
bandit; invader
bandit; robber; invading enemy; to invade
强盗；入侵的敌人；也指侵犯、入侵。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 敌寇dí kòuenemy invaders寇 = kòu
- 倭寇wō kòuJapanese pirates (historical raiders of the Chinese coast, 14th–16th c.)寇 = kòu
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 寇 mean?
寇 (kòu) means bandit; robber; invading enemy; to invade.
How do you pronounce 寇?
It is pronounced kòu.
What parts is 寇 made of?
宀 (roof) and 元 (first; origin) and 攴 (to tap, strike lightly (a hand holding a stick)), one above the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 寇，暴也。从攴从完。 + cjkvi-ids 现代字形 ⿱宀⿺元攴（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 寇 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 寇?
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 寇?
Common ones are 敌寇 and 倭寇. The reading of 寇 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.