耿 (gěng) is a Chinese character meaning “upright”. It is written from 耳 (ear) and 火 (fire), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “upright; honest”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
耳 + 火
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 耿，耳箸頰也。从耳，烓省聲
Memory aid
An ear (耳) right next to a fire (火): someone who stands that close to the heat and still speaks plainly is upright and blunt.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 耿直gěng zhíhonest and frank; upright; straightforward耿 = gěng
Go deeper
All readings
upright; honest
upright; honest and frank; (of feelings) lingering, unable to let go; a surname
正直，直爽；心里有事放不下。也用作姓。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 耿直gěng zhíhonest and frank; upright; straightforward耿 = gěng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 耿 mean?
耿 (gěng) means upright; honest and frank; (of feelings) lingering, unable to let go; a surname.
How do you pronounce 耿?
It is pronounced gěng.
What parts is 耿 made of?
耳 (ear) and 火 (fire), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 耿，耳箸頰也。从耳，烓省聲. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 耿 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 耿?
耳. 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 耿?
Common ones are 耿直. The reading of 耿 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.