啃 (kěn) is a Chinese character meaning “to gnaw”. It is written from 口 (mouth) and 肯 (willing; to agree), side by side, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “to gnaw”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
口 + 肯
Left–right structure
Structure from: modern-form decomposition, verified against hanzi-writer-data stroke counts (口 3 + 肯 8 = 11)
Memory aid
A mouth (口) that is willing (肯) to keep biting: it gnaws away until the job is done.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 啃骨头kěn gǔ touto gnaw on a bone; (fig.) to tackle a tough job啃 = kěn
- 啃老kěn lǎoto live off one's parents (as an adult)啃 = kěnspoken askén lǎo
Go deeper
All readings
to gnaw
to gnaw; to nibble; (fig.) to work hard at something difficult
用牙一点一点地咬下来；比喻下功夫钻研难的东西。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 啃骨头kěn gǔ touto gnaw on a bone; (fig.) to tackle a tough job啃 = kěn
- 啃老kěn lǎoto live off one's parents (as an adult)啃 = kěnspoken askén lǎo
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 啃 mean?
啃 (kěn) means to gnaw; to nibble; (fig.) to work hard at something difficult.
How do you pronounce 啃?
It is pronounced kěn.
What parts is 啃 made of?
口 (mouth) and 肯 (willing; to agree), side by side. The recorded source is: modern-form decomposition, verified against hanzi-writer-data stroke counts (口 3 + 肯 8 = 11). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 啃 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 啃?
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 啃?
Common ones are 啃骨头 and 啃老. The reading of 啃 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.