哪 (nǎ) is a Chinese character meaning “which”. It is written from 口 (mouth) and 那 (that; those), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “which”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
口 + 那
Left–right structure
Structure from: modern decomposition checked against hanzi-writer-data 哪 stroke geometry (口 3 + 那 6 = 9 strokes)
Memory aid
口 is a mouth asking, and 那 (nà, "that one") sits beside it lending its sound. A mouth pointing at 那 and asking about it: which one?
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 哪里nǎ lǐwhere; which place哪 = nǎspoken asná lǐHSK 1
- 哪个nǎ gewhich one哪 = nǎHSK 1
Go deeper
All readings
which
which; which one; where — the question word that asks you to pick one out of a set
疑问词，用来在若干事物中提问选哪一个，也用于问处所。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 哪里nǎ lǐwhere; which place哪 = nǎspoken asná lǐHSK 1
- 哪个nǎ gewhich one哪 = nǎHSK 1
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 哪 mean?
哪 (nǎ) means which; which one; where — the question word that asks you to pick one out of a set.
How do you pronounce 哪?
It is pronounced nǎ.
What parts is 哪 made of?
口 (mouth) and 那 (that; those), side by side. The recorded source is: modern decomposition checked against hanzi-writer-data 哪 stroke geometry (口 3 + 那 6 = 9 strokes). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 哪 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 哪?
口. 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 哪?
Common ones are 哪里 and 哪个. The reading of 哪 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.