隆 (lóng) is a Chinese character meaning “grand”. It is written from 阝 (left form: mound (阜); right form: city or settlement (邑)) and 夂 (trailing foot; to go slowly) and 一 (one) and 生 (to be born; to grow; raw; life), side by side, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “grand; prosperous”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
阝 + 夂 + 一 + 生
Left–right structure
- 阝 left form: mound (阜); right form: city or settlement (邑) · fù unknown
- 夂 trailing foot; to go slowly · zhǐ unknown
- 一 one · yī unknown
- 生 to be born; to grow; raw; life · shēng meaning
Structure from: 说文解字「隆，豐大也。从生，降聲」；现代字形按 IDS ⿰阝⿳夂一生 拆分，并以 hanzi-writer-data 逐笔核验：阝[0-1]、夂[2-4]、一[5]、生[6-10]
Memory aid
Beside a hill (阝), a foot (夂) steps over a line (一) into ground where new life (生) springs up — everything grows thick and thriving.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 隆重lóng zhònggrand; solemn; ceremonious隆 = lóng
- 兴隆xīng lóngprosperous; thriving (of business)隆 = lóng
Go deeper
All readings
grand; prosperous
grand; solemn; prosperous; thriving; intense; to bulge
盛大；兴盛；深厚，程度深；凸起。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 隆重lóng zhònggrand; solemn; ceremonious隆 = lóng
- 兴隆xīng lóngprosperous; thriving (of business)隆 = lóng
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 隆 mean?
隆 (lóng) means grand; solemn; prosperous; thriving; intense; to bulge.
How do you pronounce 隆?
It is pronounced lóng.
What parts is 隆 made of?
阝 (left form: mound (阜); right form: city or settlement (邑)) and 夂 (trailing foot; to go slowly) and 一 (one) and 生 (to be born; to grow; raw; life), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字「隆，豐大也。从生，降聲」；现代字形按 IDS ⿰阝⿳夂一生 拆分，并以 hanzi-writer-data 逐笔核验：阝[0-1]、夂[2-4]、一[5]、生[6-10]. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 隆 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 隆?
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 隆?
Common ones are 隆重 and 兴隆. The reading of 隆 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.