邓 (dèng) is a Chinese character meaning “Deng, a Chinese surname”. It is written from 又 (again) and 阝 (left form: mound (阜); right form: city or settlement (邑)), side by side, and takes 4 strokes.
Build the character for “Deng (a family name)”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
又 + 阝
Left–right structure
- 又 again · yòu simplified form
- 阝 left form: mound (阜); right form: city or settlement (邑) · fù meaning
Structure from: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：又 2 画 + 阝 2 画 = 4 画）
Memory aid
A hand (又) pointing at the city wall on the right (阝) — that town is where the Deng family is from.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
4 strokes
In real words
- 邓小平dèng xiǎo píngDeng Xiaoping (1904–1997), Chinese leader邓 = dèng
Go deeper
All readings
Deng (surname)
Deng, a Chinese surname; historically the name of an ancient state and town
姓氏。古代也指一个古国名与地名。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 邓小平dèng xiǎo píngDeng Xiaoping (1904–1997), Chinese leader邓 = dèng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 邓 mean?
邓 (dèng) means Deng, a Chinese surname; historically the name of an ancient state and town.
How do you pronounce 邓?
It is pronounced dèng.
What parts is 邓 made of?
又 (again) and 阝 (left form: mound (阜); right form: city or settlement (邑)), side by side. The recorded source is: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：又 2 画 + 阝 2 画 = 4 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 邓 have?
4. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 邓?
邑. 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 邓?
Common ones are 邓小平. The reading of 邓 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.