扩 (kuò) is a Chinese character meaning “to expand”. It is written from 扌 (hand (radical form)) and 广 (wide; dotted cliff radical), side by side, and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “to expand; to enlarge”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
扌 + 广
Left–right structure
Structure from: 简化字形拆分 ⿰扌广（繁体「擴」：从手、廣聲）
Memory aid
A hand (扌) pushes against a wide, open shelter (广) and keeps pushing it outward — 扩 is to widen, to expand.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 扩大kuò dàto expand; to enlarge; to widen the scope of扩 = kuò
- 扩张kuò zhāngto expand; to spread out; to dilate扩 = kuò
Go deeper
All readings
to expand; to enlarge
to expand; to enlarge; to extend something beyond its former size or scope
使范围、规模、数量比原来更大。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 扩大kuò dàto expand; to enlarge; to widen the scope of扩 = kuò
- 扩张kuò zhāngto expand; to spread out; to dilate扩 = kuò
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 扩 mean?
扩 (kuò) means to expand; to enlarge; to extend something beyond its former size or scope.
How do you pronounce 扩?
It is pronounced kuò.
What parts is 扩 made of?
扌 (hand (radical form)) and 广 (wide; dotted cliff radical), side by side. The recorded source is: 简化字形拆分 ⿰扌广（繁体「擴」：从手、廣聲）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 扩 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 扩?
手. 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 扩?
Common ones are 扩大 and 扩张. The reading of 扩 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.