黄 (huáng) is a Chinese character meaning “yellow”. It is written from 龷 (four-stroke top element: two uprights crossed by a short bar, closed by a long bar below (as in 昔, 共)) and 由 (from; by way of; cause) and 八 (eight), and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “yellow”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
龷 + 由 + 八
Top–middle–bottom structure
- 龷 four-stroke top element: two uprights crossed by a short bar, closed by a long bar below (as in 昔, 共) unknown
- 由 from; by way of; cause · yóu unknown
- 八 eight · bā unknown
Structure from: IDS ⿳龷由八 现代字形拆分，与 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 笔画核验一致（上部龷 4 笔 + 中部由 5 笔 + 下部八 2 笔 = 11）。仅描述现代简化字形，各部件的来源与造字理据未确认
Memory aid
A wide top bar (龷), a field with a sprout pushing up (由), and two little legs (八) underneath — picture a ripe field turning golden: yellow, 黄.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 黄色huáng sèyellow (the colour)黄 = huáng
- 黄河Huáng Héthe Yellow River黄 = huáng
- 姚黄yáo huángYao yellow (a famous yellow tree-peony variety)黄 = huáng
- 韭黄jiǔ huángblanched Chinese chives黄 = huáng
- 黄浦江huáng pǔ jiāngHuangpu River (in Shanghai)黄 = huáng
- 黄莺huáng yīngoriole黄 = huáng
Go deeper
All readings
yellow
yellow; also a common surname
像金子或向日葵那样的颜色；也用作姓。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 黄色huáng sèyellow (the colour)黄 = huáng
- 黄河Huáng Héthe Yellow River黄 = huáng
- 姚黄yáo huángYao yellow (a famous yellow tree-peony variety)黄 = huáng
- 韭黄jiǔ huángblanched Chinese chives黄 = huáng
- 黄浦江huáng pǔ jiāngHuangpu River (in Shanghai)黄 = huáng
- 黄莺huáng yīngoriole黄 = huáng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 黄 mean?
黄 (huáng) means yellow; also a common surname.
How do you pronounce 黄?
It is pronounced huáng.
What parts is 黄 made of?
龷 (four-stroke top element: two uprights crossed by a short bar, closed by a long bar below (as in 昔, 共)) and 由 (from; by way of; cause) and 八 (eight). The recorded source is: IDS ⿳龷由八 现代字形拆分，与 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 笔画核验一致（上部龷 4 笔 + 中部由 5 笔 + 下部八 2 笔 = 11）。仅描述现代简化字形，各部件的来源与造字理据未确认. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 黄 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 黄?
黄. 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 黄?
Common ones are 黄色 and 黄河. The reading of 黄 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.