谈 (tán) is a Chinese character meaning “to talk”. It is written from 讠 (speech radical) and 炎 (flame; blazing hot), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “to talk”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
讠 + 炎
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分，经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数据核验（讠2画 + 炎8画 = 谈10画；笔画 0–1 为「讠」，笔画 2–9 与「炎」逐笔对应）
Memory aid
Speech (讠) next to flames piled on flames (炎): words flaring back and forth over a hot topic — that is talking it over.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 谈话tán huàto talk; a conversation谈 = tán
- 谈判tán pànto negotiate; negotiations谈 = tán
- 洽谈qià tánto talk over; to negotiate (business)谈 = tán
Go deeper
All readings
to talk
to talk; to chat; to discuss; talk, what is said
说话，对话；讨论。也指所说的话。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 谈话tán huàto talk; a conversation谈 = tán
- 谈判tán pànto negotiate; negotiations谈 = tán
- 洽谈qià tánto talk over; to negotiate (business)谈 = tán
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 谈 mean?
谈 (tán) means to talk; to chat; to discuss; talk, what is said.
How do you pronounce 谈?
It is pronounced tán.
What parts is 谈 made of?
讠 (speech radical) and 炎 (flame; blazing hot), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分，经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数据核验（讠2画 + 炎8画 = 谈10画；笔画 0–1 为「讠」，笔画 2–9 与「炎」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 谈 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 谈?
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 谈?
Common ones are 谈话, 谈判, 洽谈. The reading of 谈 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.