肮 (āng) is a Chinese character meaning “dirty”. It is written from 月 (moon; month) and 亢 (high; haughty (used here as the sound part)), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “dirty”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
月 + 亢
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分（IDS ⿰月亢，已对照 hanzi-writer-data 8 笔核验：月 4 笔 + 亢 4 笔）；声符身份由读音实测得出：亢 kàng 与 肮 āng 同韵 -ang
Memory aid
月 on the left is the flesh radical — this character is about a body. On the right is 亢 (kàng), a high straight neck under a flat lid. Both parts are really in this character. 亢 is the sound part, but only the rime survived: 亢 kàng → 肮 āng, with the k- dropped. Flesh plus that -ang sound: 肮脏, grubby.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 肮脏āng zāngdirty; filthy肮 = āng
Go deeper
All readings
dirty
dirty; filthy — used almost only in the word 肮脏 (āng zāng)
不干净。几乎只用在「肮脏」一词中。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 肮脏āng zāngdirty; filthy肮 = āng
Sound component
亢 family onset shift
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 肮 mean?
肮 (āng) means dirty; filthy — used almost only in the word 肮脏 (āng zāng).
How do you pronounce 肮?
It is pronounced āng.
What parts is 肮 made of?
月 (moon; month) and 亢 (high; haughty (used here as the sound part)), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分（IDS ⿰月亢，已对照 hanzi-writer-data 8 笔核验：月 4 笔 + 亢 4 笔）；声符身份由读音实测得出：亢 kàng 与 肮 āng 同韵 -ang. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 肮 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 肮?
月. 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 肮?
Common ones are 肮脏. The reading of 肮 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.