宽 (kuān) is a Chinese character meaning “wide”. It is written from 宀 (roof) and 苋 (amaranth (a leafy vegetable)), one above the other, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “wide”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
宀 + 苋
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分，按 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（宀 3 画 + 苋 7 画 = 10 画）
Memory aid
Under one roof (宀) a whole bed of amaranth greens (苋) is growing — that house must be really wide.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 宽大kuān dàwide; spacious; roomy; lenient宽 = kuān
- 宽度kuān dùwidth宽 = kuān
- 宽恕kuān shùto forgive; forgiveness宽 = kuān
Go deeper
All readings
wide
wide; broad; width; lenient; to relax, to loosen
横向距离大，范围广；也指对人宽容，或放松、放宽。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 宽大kuān dàwide; spacious; roomy; lenient宽 = kuān
- 宽度kuān dùwidth宽 = kuān
- 宽恕kuān shùto forgive; forgiveness宽 = kuān
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 宽 mean?
宽 (kuān) means wide; broad; width; lenient; to relax, to loosen.
How do you pronounce 宽?
It is pronounced kuān.
What parts is 宽 made of?
宀 (roof) and 苋 (amaranth (a leafy vegetable)), one above the other. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分，按 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（宀 3 画 + 苋 7 画 = 10 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 宽 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 宽?
宀. 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 宽?
Common ones are 宽大 and 宽度. The reading of 宽 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.