那 (nà) is a Chinese character meaning “that”. It is written from 冄 (old variant of 冉; appears as the left part of 那, where it is the sound element) and 阝 (left form: mound (阜); right form: city or settlement (邑)), side by side, and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “that”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
冄 + 阝
Left–right structure
- 冄 old variant of 冉; appears as the left part of 那, where it is the sound element · rǎn sound
- 阝 left form: mound (阜); right form: city or settlement (邑) · fù meaning
Structure from: 说文解字（那：西夷國。从邑，冄聲）
Memory aid
阝 on the right is a settlement, and 冄 on the left carries the sound. Stand here and point across the settlement: that one, over there.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 那边nà biānover there; that side那 = nà
- 那么nà melike that; in that way; so (to that degree)那 = nà
- 刹那chà nàan instant; a split second那 = nà
- 那些nà xiēthose那 = nàHSK 1
Go deeper
All readings
that
that; those; that one (points to something further away from the speaker)
指示代词，指较远的人或事物。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 那边nà biānover there; that side那 = nà
- 那么nà melike that; in that way; so (to that degree)那 = nà
- 刹那chà nàan instant; a split second那 = nà
- 那些nà xiēthose那 = nàHSK 1
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 那 mean?
那 (nà) means that; those; that one (points to something further away from the speaker).
How do you pronounce 那?
It is pronounced nà.
What parts is 那 made of?
冄 (old variant of 冉; appears as the left part of 那, where it is the sound element) and 阝 (left form: mound (阜); right form: city or settlement (邑)), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字（那：西夷國。从邑，冄聲）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 那 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 那?
阝. 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 那?
Common ones are 那边 and 那么. The reading of 那 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.