聊 (liáo) is a Chinese character meaning “to chat”. It is written from 耳 (ear) and 卯 (open gates; the fourth earthly branch, used here as a shape unit), side by side, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “to chat”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
耳 + 卯
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分，经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数据核验（耳6画 + 卯5画 = 11画）
Memory aid
Lean your ear (耳) toward the open gates (卯) and listen to the people inside — that is how a chat starts.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 聊天liáo tiānto chat聊 = liáo
- 无聊wú liáobored; boring聊 = liáo
Go deeper
All readings
to chat
to chat; to talk casually; somewhat, a little (literary); to depend on
闲谈；也指姑且、略微，或依靠（多见于书面语）。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 聊天liáo tiānto chat聊 = liáo
- 无聊wú liáobored; boring聊 = liáo
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 聊 mean?
聊 (liáo) means to chat; to talk casually; somewhat, a little (literary); to depend on.
How do you pronounce 聊?
It is pronounced liáo.
What parts is 聊 made of?
耳 (ear) and 卯 (open gates; the fourth earthly branch, used here as a shape unit), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分，经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数据核验（耳6画 + 卯5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 聊 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 聊?
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 聊?
Common ones are 聊天 and 无聊. The reading of 聊 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.