柑 (gān) is a Chinese character meaning “mandarin orange”. It is written from 木 (tree; wood) and 甘 (sweet), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “mandarin orange”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
木 + 甘
Left–right structure
Structure from: 《广韵》柑、甘同为古三切（见母覃韵），柑从木甘声；现代字形以 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 核验：9 画 = 木 4 画 + 甘 5 画
Memory aid
A tree (木) that carries something sweet (甘) — the mandarin orange.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 柑橘gān júcitrus fruit; tangerines and oranges柑 = gān
Go deeper
All readings
mandarin orange
mandarin orange; a loose-skinned citrus fruit, and the tree it grows on
常绿小乔木，果实扁圆，果皮厚而松，味甜；也指这种果实。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 柑橘gān júcitrus fruit; tangerines and oranges柑 = gān
Sound component
甘 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 柑 mean?
柑 (gān) means mandarin orange; a loose-skinned citrus fruit, and the tree it grows on.
How do you pronounce 柑?
It is pronounced gān.
What parts is 柑 made of?
木 (tree; wood) and 甘 (sweet), side by side. The recorded source is: 《广韵》柑、甘同为古三切（见母覃韵），柑从木甘声；现代字形以 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 核验：9 画 = 木 4 画 + 甘 5 画. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 柑 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 柑?
木. 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 柑?
Common ones are 柑橘. The reading of 柑 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.