渠 (qú) is a Chinese character meaning “ditch”. It is written from 洰 (top part of 渠: water (氵) + huge (巨)) and 木 (tree; wood), one above the other, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “canal; channel”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
洰 + 木
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 说文解字：渠，水所居。从水，榘省聲；现代字形拆分 ⿱洰木（对照笔顺数据核验：洰 7 画 + 木 4 画 = 11 画）
Memory aid
On top, 洰: water (氵) beside something huge (巨). Underneath, 木: wood. Picture a huge flow of water held in by a wooden frame — a dug channel that carries water: a canal.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 水渠shuǐ qúirrigation ditch; canal渠 = qú
- 渠道qú dàochannel; means; (irrigation) canal渠 = qú
Go deeper
All readings
canal; channel
ditch; canal; man-made waterway; (figuratively) channel, way through
人工开挖的水道；也比喻途径、门路。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 水渠shuǐ qúirrigation ditch; canal渠 = qú
- 渠道qú dàochannel; means; (irrigation) canal渠 = qú
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 渠 mean?
渠 (qú) means ditch; canal; man-made waterway; (figuratively) channel, way through.
How do you pronounce 渠?
It is pronounced qú.
What parts is 渠 made of?
洰 (top part of 渠: water (氵) + huge (巨)) and 木 (tree; wood), one above the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字：渠，水所居。从水，榘省聲；现代字形拆分 ⿱洰木（对照笔顺数据核验：洰 7 画 + 木 4 画 = 11 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 渠 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 渠?
氵. 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 渠?
Common ones are 水渠 and 渠道. The reading of 渠 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.