浪 (làng) is a Chinese character meaning “wave”. It is written from 氵 (water (left-side form)) and 良 (good; fine (often the sound part in compounds)), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “wave”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
氵 + 良
Left–right structure
- 氵 water (left-side form) · shuǐ meaning
- 良 good; fine (often the sound part in compounds) · liáng sound
Structure from: 说文解字：浪，滄浪水也。南入江。从水良聲（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：10 笔 = 左旁「氵」3 笔 + 右侧「良」7 笔）
Memory aid
Water (氵) beside 良 (good, fine): when the water is running fine and strong, it rises into waves. That is 浪, a wave, as in 波浪.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 波浪bō làngwave (on water)浪 = làng
- 浪费làng fèito waste浪 = làng
Go deeper
All readings
wave
wave; billow; unrestrained; wasteful (as in 浪费)
水面起伏的波浪；也指像波浪一样起伏的东西，或放纵、没有节制。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 波浪bō làngwave (on water)浪 = làng
- 浪费làng fèito waste浪 = làng
Sound component
良 family rime near
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 浪 mean?
浪 (làng) means wave; billow; unrestrained; wasteful (as in 浪费).
How do you pronounce 浪?
It is pronounced làng.
What parts is 浪 made of?
氵 (water (left-side form)) and 良 (good; fine (often the sound part in compounds)), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字：浪，滄浪水也。南入江。从水良聲（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：10 笔 = 左旁「氵」3 笔 + 右侧「良」7 笔）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 浪 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 浪?
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 浪?
Common ones are 波浪 and 浪费. The reading of 浪 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.