鸽 (gē) is a Chinese character meaning “pigeon”. It is written from 合 (to close; to join together) and 鸟 (bird), side by side, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “pigeon; dove”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
合 + 鸟
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 鴿，鳩屬。从鳥合聲 (modern simplified form 鸟 for 鳥)
Memory aid
Birds (鸟) that flock together (合) in the town square — pigeons. This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 鸽子gē zǐpigeon; dove鸽 = gēspoken asgē zi
- 和平鸽hé píng gēdove of peace鸽 = gē
Go deeper
All readings
pigeon; dove
pigeon; dove
鸽子，一种常见的鸟，善于飞行，有的可以用来传递书信。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 鸽子gē zǐpigeon; dove鸽 = gēspoken asgē zi
- 和平鸽hé píng gēdove of peace鸽 = gē
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 鸽 mean?
鸽 (gē) means pigeon; dove.
How do you pronounce 鸽?
It is pronounced gē.
What parts is 鸽 made of?
合 (to close; to join together) and 鸟 (bird), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 鴿，鳩屬。从鳥合聲 (modern simplified form 鸟 for 鳥). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 鸽 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 鸽?
鸟. 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 鸽?
Common ones are 鸽子 and 和平鸽. The reading of 鸽 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.