菌 (jūn) is a Chinese character meaning “fungus”. It is written from 艹 (grass / plant radical) and 囷 (round granary), one above the other, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “fungus; bacteria”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
艹 + 囷
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 说文解字：菌，地蕈也。从艸，囷聲（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 1–3 为 艹，笔画 4–11 与 囷 逐笔对应）
Memory aid
Plants (艹) growing over 囷, the sound part — picture a round grain bin left damp until fungus sprouts on top. 菌 means fungus or germs.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 细菌xì jūnbacterium; germ菌 = jūn
- 真菌zhēn jūnfungus菌 = jūn
Go deeper
All readings
fungus; bacteria
fungus; bacteria; germ
低等生物的一大类，如细菌、真菌。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 细菌xì jūnbacterium; germ菌 = jūn
- 真菌zhēn jūnfungus菌 = jūn
Rare readings, not taught: jùn
Sound component
囷 family onset shift
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 菌 mean?
菌 (jūn) means fungus; bacteria; germ.
How do you pronounce 菌?
It is pronounced jūn.
What parts is 菌 made of?
艹 (grass / plant radical) and 囷 (round granary), one above the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字：菌，地蕈也。从艸，囷聲（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 1–3 为 艹，笔画 4–11 与 囷 逐笔对应）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 菌 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 菌?
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 菌?
Common ones are 细菌 and 真菌. The reading of 菌 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.