字Study Chinese Characters
乱

luàn messy

7 strokes

乱 (luàn) is a Chinese character meaning “in disorder”. It is written from 舌 (tongue) and 乚 (bent hook), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.

Build the character for “messy; in disorder”

Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.

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Learn this character

Structure

舌 + 乚

Left–right structure

  • 舌 tongue · shé meaning
  • 乚 bent hook unknown

Structure from: hanzi-writer-data 现代字形笔画核验（简化字 乱：左 舌 6 画 + 右 乚 1 画 = 7 画）

Memory aid

A tongue (舌) running on and on, with a bent hook (乚) tugging at its tail — every sentence comes out tangled. That is 乱: a mess.

This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.

Stroke order

7 strokes

In real words

  • 乱扔luàn rēngto throw things around; to litter乱 = luàn
  • 凌乱líng luànmessy; in disorder乱 = luàn
  • 捣乱dǎo luànto make trouble; to cause a disturbance乱 = luàn
  • 混乱hùn luànchaos; confusion; chaotic乱 = luàn
  • 紊乱wěn luàndisorder; chaos; disturbed乱 = luàn
Go deeper

All readings

luàn main reading

messy

in disorder; messy; chaotic; to throw into confusion; (before a verb) randomly, carelessly

没有秩序、没有条理；混乱。用在动词前时表示随意、没有章法地做某事。 — studyhanzi 编写

Words with this reading

  • 乱扔luàn rēngto throw things around; to litter乱 = luàn
  • 凌乱líng luànmessy; in disorder乱 = luàn
  • 捣乱dǎo luànto make trouble; to cause a disturbance乱 = luàn
  • 混乱hùn luànchaos; confusion; chaotic乱 = luàn
  • 紊乱wěn luàndisorder; chaos; disturbed乱 = luàn

Other characters with these parts

舌 → 刮恬括敌活甜话适

乚 → 七儿匕孔扎甩电礼

Easy to confuse with

乳舌

Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions

Questions people ask about this character

What does 乱 mean?

乱 (luàn) means in disorder; messy; chaotic; to throw into confusion; (before a verb) randomly, carelessly.

How do you pronounce 乱?

It is pronounced luàn.

What parts is 乱 made of?

舌 (tongue) and 乚 (bent hook), side by side. The recorded source is: hanzi-writer-data 现代字形笔画核验（简化字 乱：左 舌 6 画 + 右 乚 1 画 = 7 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.

How many strokes does 乱 have?

7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.

What is the radical of 乱?

乙. 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 乱?

Common ones are 乱扔. The reading of 乱 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.