论 (lùn) is a Chinese character meaning “to discuss”. It is written from 讠 (speech radical) and 仑 (orderly arrangement; also the sound part lún in 伦, 论, 沦, 抡), side by side, and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “to discuss; theory”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
讠 + 仑
Left–right structure
- 讠 speech radical · yán meaning
- 仑 orderly arrangement; also the sound part lún in 伦, 论, 沦, 抡 · lún sound
Structure from: Unicode U+8BBA 现代字形与笔顺数据（6 画 = 讠 2 画 + 仑 4 画）；讠 为义符，仑 lún 与本字 lùn 同声母同韵母、仅声调不同，作声符
Memory aid
Speech (讠) put in order (仑): when you line your words up point by point instead of just blurting them out, you are making an argument.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 讨论tǎo lùnto discuss; discussion论 = lùn
- 无论wú lùnno matter what; regardless of论 = lùn
- 论坛lùn tánforum (a public place or website for discussion)论 = lùn
- 悖论bèi lùnparadox论 = lùn
Go deeper
All readings
to discuss; theory
to discuss; to talk over; to argue a point; a view, theory or essay
分析、说明事理；也指有系统的主张或文章。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 讨论tǎo lùnto discuss; discussion论 = lùn
- 无论wú lùnno matter what; regardless of论 = lùn
- 论坛lùn tánforum (a public place or website for discussion)论 = lùn
- 悖论bèi lùnparadox论 = lùn
Rare readings, not taught: lún
Sound component
仑 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 论 mean?
论 (lùn) means to discuss; to talk over; to argue a point; a view, theory or essay.
How do you pronounce 论?
It is pronounced lùn.
What parts is 论 made of?
讠 (speech radical) and 仑 (orderly arrangement; also the sound part lún in 伦, 论, 沦, 抡), side by side. The recorded source is: Unicode U+8BBA 现代字形与笔顺数据（6 画 = 讠 2 画 + 仑 4 画）；讠 为义符，仑 lún 与本字 lùn 同声母同韵母、仅声调不同，作声符. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 论 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 论?
讠. 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 论?
Common ones are 讨论 and 无论. The reading of 论 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.