字Study Chinese Characters
南

nán south

9 strokes

南 (nán) is a Chinese character meaning “south”. It is written from 十 (ten) and 冂 (down box) and 丷 (two spreading strokes) and 干 (dry), and takes 9 strokes.

Build the character for “south”

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Structure

十 + 冂 + 丷 + 干

Overlapping structure

  • 十 ten · shí unknown
  • 冂 down box · jiōng unknown
  • 丷 two spreading strokes unknown
  • 干 dry · gān unknown

Structure from: Unicode U+5357; modern glyph decomposition candidate verified against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke geometry (strokes 1-2 form 十, strokes 3-4 form the 冂 frame, strokes 5-6 are 丷, strokes 7-9 form 干)

Memory aid

Under the cross-beam 十, a frame 冂 opens like a doorway; inside it two short strokes 丷 hang over 干 — a south-facing gate, warm and open.

This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.

Stroke order

9 strokes

In real words

  • 南方nán fāngthe south; southern part of a country南 = nán
  • 东南dōng nánsoutheast南 = nán
  • 南昌Nán chāngNanchang (capital of Jiangxi province)南 = nán
  • 闽南mǐn nánsouthern Fujian; Minnan (the region and its Hokkien dialect)南 = nán
Go deeper

All readings

nán main reading

south

south; southern; southward

四个基本方向之一，与「北」相对；也指南边的地区。 — studyhanzi 编写

Words with this reading

  • 南方nán fāngthe south; southern part of a country南 = nán
  • 东南dōng nánsoutheast南 = nán
  • 南昌Nán chāngNanchang (capital of Jiangxi province)南 = nán
  • 闽南mǐn nánsouthern Fujian; Minnan (the region and its Hokkien dialect)南 = nán

Rare readings, not taught: nā

Other characters with these parts

十 → 丧什伞千卉华协卑

冂 → 两丽内冈冉口同央

丷 → 业丧丫乎产伞兑兰

干 → 刊午奸岸平幸择旱

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

Questions people ask about this character

What does 南 mean?

南 (nán) means south; southern; southward.

How do you pronounce 南?

It is pronounced nán.

What parts is 南 made of?

十 (ten) and 冂 (down box) and 丷 (two spreading strokes) and 干 (dry). The recorded source is: Unicode U+5357; modern glyph decomposition candidate verified against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke geometry (strokes 1-2 form 十, strokes 3-4 form the 冂 frame, strokes 5-6 are 丷, strokes 7-9 form 干). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.

How many strokes does 南 have?

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

What is the radical of 南?

十. 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 南?

Common ones are 南方 and 东南. The reading of 南 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.