涌 (yǒng) is a Chinese character meaning “to gush”. It is written from 氵 (water (left-side form)) and 甬 (walled passage (as in 甬道); a common sound component), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “to gush; to surge”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
氵 + 甬
Left–right structure
- 氵 water (left-side form) · shuǐ meaning
- 甬 walled passage (as in 甬道); a common sound component · yǒng sound
Structure from: 说文解字: 涌，滕也。从水，甬聲。; stroke grouping verified against hanzi-writer-data (氵 0–2, 甬 3–9)
Memory aid
Water (氵) forced through a narrow walled passage (甬) has nowhere to go but up — it surges and gushes out.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 涌现yǒng xiànto emerge in large numbers; to spring up涌 = yǒng
- 汹涌xiōng yǒngto surge; to rush along; turbulent涌 = yǒng
- 波涛汹涌bō tāo xiōng yǒngthe waves are surging violently; turbulent涌 = yǒng
Go deeper
All readings
to gush; to surge
to gush; to surge; to well up; to emerge in large numbers
水或云气向上冒出、翻腾；也比喻大量出现。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 涌现yǒng xiànto emerge in large numbers; to spring up涌 = yǒng
- 汹涌xiōng yǒngto surge; to rush along; turbulent涌 = yǒng
- 波涛汹涌bō tāo xiōng yǒngthe waves are surging violently; turbulent涌 = yǒng
Rare readings, not taught: chōng
Sound component
甬 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 涌 mean?
涌 (yǒng) means to gush; to surge; to well up; to emerge in large numbers.
How do you pronounce 涌?
It is pronounced yǒng.
What parts is 涌 made of?
氵 (water (left-side form)) and 甬 (walled passage (as in 甬道); a common sound component), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 涌，滕也。从水，甬聲。; stroke grouping verified against hanzi-writer-data (氵 0–2, 甬 3–9). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 涌 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 涌?
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 涌?
Common ones are 涌现 and 汹涌. The reading of 涌 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.