氧 (yǎng) is a Chinese character meaning “oxygen (chemical element O)”. It is written from 气 (air; gas; breath) and 羊 (sheep; goat), one enclosing the other, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “oxygen”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
气 + 羊
Enclosing structure
Structure from: IDS 现代字形拆分，已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画顺序核验（气 4 画包裹，羊 6 画在内下方）
Memory aid
A sheep (羊) sheltering under the curve of 气 (gas) — breathing in the one gas every animal needs: oxygen.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 氧气yǎng qìoxygen (gas)氧 = yǎng
- 缺氧quē yǎnglack of oxygen; oxygen deficiency氧 = yǎng
Go deeper
All readings
oxygen
oxygen (chemical element O)
气体元素，符号 O，是人和动物呼吸所需的气体。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 氧气yǎng qìoxygen (gas)氧 = yǎng
- 缺氧quē yǎnglack of oxygen; oxygen deficiency氧 = yǎng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 氧 mean?
氧 (yǎng) means oxygen (chemical element O).
How do you pronounce 氧?
It is pronounced yǎng.
What parts is 氧 made of?
气 (air; gas; breath) and 羊 (sheep; goat), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: IDS 现代字形拆分，已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画顺序核验（气 4 画包裹，羊 6 画在内下方）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 氧 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 氧?
气. 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 氧?
Common ones are 氧气 and 缺氧. The reading of 氧 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.