茬 (chá) is a Chinese character meaning “stubble — the cut stems left standing after a harvest”. It is written from 艹 (grass / plant radical) and 在 (to be at; to exist), one above the other, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “stubble left after harvest”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
艹 + 在
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画：3 笔艹 + 6 笔在 = 9 笔）
Memory aid
The grass top 艹 sits on 在 ("to still be there"): after the harvest the plants are gone, but their cut stems are still there in the field — that is 茬, stubble. Both parts really are in this character; the sound has drifted far from 在 zài to chá.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 麦茬mài cháwheat stubble茬 = chá
- 茬口chá kǒuthe stubble left in a field; the crop that follows in a rotation茬 = chá
Go deeper
All readings
stubble
stubble — the cut stems left standing after a harvest; by extension, one crop in a rotation, or one round of something
农作物收割后留在地里的茎和根；也指轮种的一季庄稼，或一次、一批。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 麦茬mài cháwheat stubble茬 = chá
- 茬口chá kǒuthe stubble left in a field; the crop that follows in a rotation茬 = chá
Sound component
在 family diverged
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 茬 mean?
茬 (chá) means stubble — the cut stems left standing after a harvest; by extension, one crop in a rotation, or one round of something.
How do you pronounce 茬?
It is pronounced chá.
What parts is 茬 made of?
艹 (grass / plant radical) and 在 (to be at; to exist), one above the other. The recorded source is: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画：3 笔艹 + 6 笔在 = 9 笔）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 茬 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 茬?
艹. 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 茬?
Common ones are 麦茬 and 茬口. The reading of 茬 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.