夹 (jiā) is a Chinese character meaning “to press or hold from both sides”. It is written from 夫 (man; husband) and 丷 (two spreading strokes), and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “to clamp; to press between”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
夫 + 丷
Overlapping structure
Structure from: Unicode U+5939 与 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 现代字形笔画核验：夹 6 笔中第 1、4、5、6 笔与「夫」四笔逐笔对应，第 2、3 笔与「丷」两笔逐笔对应
Memory aid
A grown man (夫) standing with his arms out, and two short strokes (丷) pinched in under them. Something is being held from both sides — that is 夹.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 夹子jiā ziclip; clamp; clothespin夹 = jiā
- 文件夹wén jiàn jiāfolder; file folder夹 = jiā
Go deeper
All readings
to clamp; to press between
to press or hold from both sides; to clamp; to pick up (food with chopsticks); to be sandwiched in between; a clip or folder
从两边钳住、夹住；也指把东西放在中间，或指夹东西的用具。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 夹子jiā ziclip; clamp; clothespin夹 = jiā
- 文件夹wén jiàn jiāfolder; file folder夹 = jiā
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 夹 mean?
夹 (jiā) means to press or hold from both sides; to clamp; to pick up (food with chopsticks); to be sandwiched in between; a clip or folder.
How do you pronounce 夹?
It is pronounced jiā.
What parts is 夹 made of?
夫 (man; husband) and 丷 (two spreading strokes). The recorded source is: Unicode U+5939 与 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 现代字形笔画核验：夹 6 笔中第 1、4、5、6 笔与「夫」四笔逐笔对应，第 2、3 笔与「丷」两笔逐笔对应. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 夹 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 夹?
大. 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 夹?
Common ones are 夹子 and 文件夹. The reading of 夹 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.