菱 (líng) is a Chinese character meaning “water caltrop (an aquatic plant with horned nuts)”. It is written from 艹 (grass / plant radical) and 夌 (to cross over; to surpass), one above the other, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “water caltrop”
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Structure
艹 + 夌
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: IDS: ⿱艹夌（现代字形拆分，与 hanzi-writer-data 笔画 0–2 / 3–10 核对）；夌 líng 与本字同音
Memory aid
A water plant (艹) sits on top of 夌 (líng). The plant part tells you it grows; 夌 lends its sound: líng — the water caltrop, whose diamond-shaped leaves gave us 菱形 "rhombus".
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 菱形líng xíngrhombus; diamond shape菱 = líng
- 菱角líng jiǎowater caltrop nut菱 = líng
Go deeper
All readings
water caltrop
water caltrop (an aquatic plant with horned nuts); diamond shape, rhombus (in 菱形)
一种水生植物，果实有硬壳和角，叫菱角；也指菱形。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 菱形líng xíngrhombus; diamond shape菱 = líng
- 菱角líng jiǎowater caltrop nut菱 = líng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 菱 mean?
菱 (líng) means water caltrop (an aquatic plant with horned nuts); diamond shape, rhombus (in 菱形).
How do you pronounce 菱?
It is pronounced líng.
What parts is 菱 made of?
艹 (grass / plant radical) and 夌 (to cross over; to surpass), one above the other. The recorded source is: IDS: ⿱艹夌（现代字形拆分，与 hanzi-writer-data 笔画 0–2 / 3–10 核对）；夌 líng 与本字同音. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 菱 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 菱?
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 菱?
Common ones are 菱形 and 菱角. The reading of 菱 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.