鬼 (guǐ) is a Chinese character meaning “ghost”. It is written from 丿 (left-falling stroke) and 田 (field; farmland) and 儿 (child; legs) and 厶 (private component), and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “ghost”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
丿 + 田 + 儿 + 厶
Overlapping structure
- 丿 left-falling stroke unknown
- 田 field; farmland · tián unknown
- 儿 child; legs · ér unknown
- 厶 private component · sī unknown
Structure from: hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph stroke inspection (9 strokes: 丿 + 田 + 儿 + 厶; 田 的中竖与 儿 的撇在现代字形中合成一笔)
Memory aid
A blank face like a field (田) drifts above two walking legs (儿), a flick (丿) rises off its head, and a small 厶 curls at its side — a shape that walks but has no body.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 鬼怪guǐ guàighosts and monsters; evil spirits鬼 = guǐ
- 鬼话guǐ huàlies; nonsense鬼 = guǐ
- 鬼鬼祟祟guǐ guǐ suì suìsneaky; furtive; stealthy鬼 = guǐspoken asguí guǐ suì suì
Go deeper
All readings
ghost
ghost; spirit of the dead; also used of things that are sinister, dishonest or underhanded
人死后的灵魂；也用来形容阴暗、不光明、骗人的事物。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 鬼怪guǐ guàighosts and monsters; evil spirits鬼 = guǐ
- 鬼话guǐ huàlies; nonsense鬼 = guǐ
- 鬼鬼祟祟guǐ guǐ suì suìsneaky; furtive; stealthy鬼 = guǐspoken asguí guǐ suì suì
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 鬼 mean?
鬼 (guǐ) means ghost; spirit of the dead; also used of things that are sinister, dishonest or underhanded.
How do you pronounce 鬼?
It is pronounced guǐ.
What parts is 鬼 made of?
丿 (left-falling stroke) and 田 (field; farmland) and 儿 (child; legs) and 厶 (private component). The recorded source is: hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph stroke inspection (9 strokes: 丿 + 田 + 儿 + 厶; 田 的中竖与 儿 的撇在现代字形中合成一笔). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 鬼 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 鬼?
鬼. 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 鬼?
Common ones are 鬼怪 and 鬼话. The reading of 鬼 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.