晃 (huàng) is a Chinese character meaning “to sway”. It is written from 日 (sun; day) and 光 (light; bright), one above the other, and takes 10 strokes. It has a second reading, huǎng, which turns up in 晃眼 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.
Build the character for “to sway”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
日 + 光
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: IDS ⿱日光 (核对 hanzi-writer-data 笔顺 4+6=10 画)；说文解字：晄，明也。从日光聲
Memory aid
The sun (日) sits above its own light (光) — the light flickers and sways, so bright it dazzles your eyes.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 摇晃yáo huàngto sway; to shake; to rock晃 = huàng
- 晃动huàng dòngto sway; to rock back and forth晃 = huàng
Go deeper
All readings
to sway
to sway; to shake; to rock back and forth
摇动；摆动。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 摇晃yáo huàngto sway; to shake; to rock晃 = huàng
- 晃动huàng dòngto sway; to rock back and forth晃 = huàng
to dazzle; to flash past
to dazzle; to shine brightly; to flash past
光芒闪耀，刺眼；很快地闪过。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 晃眼huǎng yǎndazzling; to dazzle the eyes晃 = huǎngspoken ashuáng yǎn
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 晃 mean?
晃 (huàng) means to sway; to shake; to rock back and forth.
How do you pronounce 晃?
Its main reading is huàng. It also has a second reading, huǎng, which only shows up in certain words such as 晃眼 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.
Why is 晃 sometimes pronounced huǎng?
Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 晃眼 it is read huǎng.
What parts is 晃 made of?
日 (sun; day) and 光 (light; bright), one above the other. The recorded source is: IDS ⿱日光 (核对 hanzi-writer-data 笔顺 4+6=10 画)；说文解字：晄，明也。从日光聲. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 晃 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 晃?
日. 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 晃?
Common ones are 摇晃 and 晃动. The reading of 晃 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.