阳 (yáng) is a Chinese character meaning “sun”. It is written from 阝 (left form: mound (阜); right form: city or settlement (邑)) and 日 (sun; day), side by side, and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “the sun; sunlight”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
阝 + 日
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分（对照笔顺数据核验：阝 2 画 + 日 4 画 = 6 画）
Memory aid
A hillside (阝) on the left, the sun (日) on the right: the side of the hill the sun actually reaches. Both parts are really in this character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 太阳tài yángthe sun阳 = yángHSK 1
- 夕阳xī yángsetting sun阳 = yáng
- 沈阳Shěn yángShenyang (capital of Liaoning Province)阳 = yáng
- 晒太阳shài tài yángto bask in the sun; to sunbathe阳 = yáng
- 洛阳Luò yángLuoyang (ancient capital city in Henan Province)阳 = yáng
Go deeper
All readings
sun; positive
sun; sunlight; the yang of yin and yang; open, visible side
太阳；日光。也指阴阳中的「阳」，或明面的、外露的一面。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 太阳tài yángthe sun阳 = yángHSK 1
- 夕阳xī yángsetting sun阳 = yáng
- 沈阳Shěn yángShenyang (capital of Liaoning Province)阳 = yáng
- 晒太阳shài tài yángto bask in the sun; to sunbathe阳 = yáng
- 洛阳Luò yángLuoyang (ancient capital city in Henan Province)阳 = yáng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 阳 mean?
阳 (yáng) means sun; sunlight; the yang of yin and yang; open, visible side.
How do you pronounce 阳?
It is pronounced yáng.
What parts is 阳 made of?
阝 (left form: mound (阜); right form: city or settlement (邑)) and 日 (sun; day), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分（对照笔顺数据核验：阝 2 画 + 日 4 画 = 6 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 阳 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 阳?
阜. 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 阳?
Common ones are 太阳 and 夕阳. The reading of 阳 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.