汪 (wāng) is a Chinese character meaning “(of water) deep and vast”. It is written from 氵 (water (left-side form)) and 王 (king), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “vast expanse of water”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
氵 + 王
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字·水部（汪，深廣也。从水㞷聲；今字聲符作王）；现代字形以 hanzi-writer-data 核验：7 画 = 氵 3 画 + 王 4 画
Memory aid
Water (氵) that stretches as far as a king (王) can see from his tower — a vast expanse of water.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 汪洋wāng yángvast expanse of water; boundless ocean汪 = wāng
- 汪汪wāng wāngwoof woof (a dog's bark); (of eyes) brimming with tears汪 = wāng
Go deeper
All readings
vast expanse of water
(of water) deep and vast; a pool or puddle of liquid; (of a dog) to bark
水又深又广的样子；也指积聚的一小片液体，或狗叫的声音。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 汪洋wāng yángvast expanse of water; boundless ocean汪 = wāng
- 汪汪wāng wāngwoof woof (a dog's bark); (of eyes) brimming with tears汪 = wāng
Sound component
王 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 汪 mean?
汪 (wāng) means (of water) deep and vast; a pool or puddle of liquid; (of a dog) to bark.
How do you pronounce 汪?
It is pronounced wāng.
What parts is 汪 made of?
氵 (water (left-side form)) and 王 (king), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字·水部（汪，深廣也。从水㞷聲；今字聲符作王）；现代字形以 hanzi-writer-data 核验：7 画 = 氵 3 画 + 王 4 画. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 汪 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 汪?
水. 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 汪?
Common ones are 汪洋 and 汪汪. The reading of 汪 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.