电 (diàn) is a Chinese character meaning “electricity”. It is written from 日 (sun; day) and 乚 (bent hook), and takes 5 strokes.
Build the character for “electricity”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
日 + 乚
Overlapping structure
Structure from: IDS 现代字形拆分（⿻日乚），已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：前 4 笔为日，第 5 笔为竖弯钩
Memory aid
A sun-shaped box (日) with a hooked stroke (乚) whipping down out of it — a bolt of lightning cracking out of the sky. Lightning is electricity.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
5 strokes
In real words
- 电话diàn huàtelephone; phone call电 = diànHSK 1
- 电脑diàn nǎocomputer电 = diàn
- 充电chōng diànto charge a battery; to recharge电 = diàn
- 电台diàn táiradio station电 = diàn
- 电池diàn chíbattery电 = diàn
- 闪电shǎn diànlightning电 = diàn
- 唁电yàn diàntelegram of condolence电 = diàn
- 电子秤diàn zǐ chèngelectronic scale电 = diàn
- 电扇diànshànelectric fan电 = diàn
- 电梯diàn tīelevator; lift电 = diàn
- 电焊diàn hànelectric welding; arc welding电 = diàn
- 电线diàn xiànelectric wire; power line电 = diàn
- 电视diàn shìtelevision电 = diànHSK 1
- 电闸diàn zháelectrical switch; master switch电 = diàn
Go deeper
All readings
electricity
electricity; electric power; lightning; to give an electric shock
电力、电荷等现象；也指闪电。常构成与用电有关的词。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 电话diàn huàtelephone; phone call电 = diànHSK 1
- 电脑diàn nǎocomputer电 = diàn
- 充电chōng diànto charge a battery; to recharge电 = diàn
- 电台diàn táiradio station电 = diàn
- 电池diàn chíbattery电 = diàn
- 闪电shǎn diànlightning电 = diàn
- 唁电yàn diàntelegram of condolence电 = diàn
- 电子秤diàn zǐ chèngelectronic scale电 = diàn
- 电扇diànshànelectric fan电 = diàn
- 电梯diàn tīelevator; lift电 = diàn
- 电焊diàn hànelectric welding; arc welding电 = diàn
- 电线diàn xiànelectric wire; power line电 = diàn
- 电视diàn shìtelevision电 = diànHSK 1
- 电闸diàn zháelectrical switch; master switch电 = diàn
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 电 mean?
电 (diàn) means electricity; electric power; lightning; to give an electric shock.
How do you pronounce 电?
It is pronounced diàn.
What parts is 电 made of?
日 (sun; day) and 乚 (bent hook). The recorded source is: IDS 现代字形拆分（⿻日乚），已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：前 4 笔为日，第 5 笔为竖弯钩. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 电 have?
5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 电?
田. 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 电?
Common ones are 电话 and 电脑. The reading of 电 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.