柬 (jiǎn) is a Chinese character meaning “an invitation card”. It is written from 束 (a bundle; to tie up) and ㇔ (dot stroke) and ㇒ (left-falling stroke), and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “invitation card; note”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
束 + ㇔ + ㇒
Overlapping structure
Structure from: Unicode U+67EC; modern shape decomposition checked against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke geometry (strokes 1-3 and 6-9 form a complete 束; stroke 4 is a 点 ㇔ and stroke 5 a 撇 ㇒, both sitting inside the box)
Memory aid
A tied bundle (束) with two tiny marks slipped inside the box — a dot (㇔) and a sweep (㇒), like a folded card tucked into the parcel. 柬 is the written note you send out.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 请柬qǐng jiǎninvitation card柬 = jiǎnspoken asqíng jiǎn
Go deeper
All readings
invitation card; note
an invitation card; a short written note or letter
书信、帖子一类的东西，多指邀请人的帖子，如「请柬」。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 请柬qǐng jiǎninvitation card柬 = jiǎnspoken asqíng jiǎn
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 柬 mean?
柬 (jiǎn) means an invitation card; a short written note or letter.
How do you pronounce 柬?
It is pronounced jiǎn.
What parts is 柬 made of?
束 (a bundle; to tie up) and ㇔ (dot stroke) and ㇒ (left-falling stroke). The recorded source is: Unicode U+67EC; modern shape decomposition checked against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke geometry (strokes 1-3 and 6-9 form a complete 束; stroke 4 is a 点 ㇔ and stroke 5 a 撇 ㇒, both sitting inside the box). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 柬 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 柬?
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 柬?
Common ones are 请柬. The reading of 柬 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.