炕 (kàng) is a Chinese character meaning “kang: a brick or earthen sleeping platform heated by a fire”. It is written from 火 (fire) and 亢 (high; haughty (used here as the sound part)), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “heated brick bed”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
火 + 亢
Left–right structure
Structure from: IDS ⿰火亢，笔画核验 4+4=8（hanzi-writer-data）；《说文解字·火部》：炕，乾也。从火亢聲
Memory aid
Fire (火) burning under 亢 — the sound part, read kàng. Keep the fire going below and the brick bed above stays warm all night: kàng.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 火炕huǒ kàngheated brick bed (warmed by a fire underneath)炕 = kàng
- 土炕tǔ kàngearthen kang; a brick-and-earth heated bed炕 = kàng
Go deeper
All readings
kang; heated brick bed
kang: a brick or earthen sleeping platform heated by a fire underneath, used in northern China; also to dry or bake something by heat
北方用砖或土坯砌成、下面烧火取暖的睡床；也指用火烤干。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 火炕huǒ kàngheated brick bed (warmed by a fire underneath)炕 = kàng
- 土炕tǔ kàngearthen kang; a brick-and-earth heated bed炕 = kàng
Sound component
亢 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 炕 mean?
炕 (kàng) means kang: a brick or earthen sleeping platform heated by a fire underneath, used in northern China; also to dry or bake something by heat.
How do you pronounce 炕?
It is pronounced kàng.
What parts is 炕 made of?
火 (fire) and 亢 (high; haughty (used here as the sound part)), side by side. The recorded source is: IDS ⿰火亢，笔画核验 4+4=8（hanzi-writer-data）；《说文解字·火部》：炕，乾也。从火亢聲. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 炕 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 炕?
火. 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 炕?
Common ones are 火炕 and 土炕. The reading of 炕 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.