彭 (péng) is a Chinese character meaning “a surname”. It is written from 壴 (drum on a stand) and 彡 (three slanting strokes (bristles, hair, light or pattern)), side by side, and takes 12 strokes.
Build the character for “Peng (a surname)”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
壴 + 彡
Left–right structure
- 壴 drum on a stand · zhù meaning
- 彡 three slanting strokes (bristles, hair, light or pattern) · shān sound
Structure from: 说文解字: 彭，鼓聲也。从壴彡聲
Memory aid
A drum on its stand (壴) with three strokes of sound (彡) rolling off to the right — péng, péng!
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
12 strokes
In real words
- 彭祖péng zǔPeng Zu, a legendary figure famed for his long life彭 = péng
- 彭城péng chéngPengcheng, the ancient name of Xuzhou彭 = péng
Go deeper
All readings
Peng (a surname)
a surname; Peng, an ancient place name
姓；古地名用字。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 彭祖péng zǔPeng Zu, a legendary figure famed for his long life彭 = péng
- 彭城péng chéngPengcheng, the ancient name of Xuzhou彭 = péng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 彭 mean?
彭 (péng) means a surname; Peng, an ancient place name.
How do you pronounce 彭?
It is pronounced péng.
What parts is 彭 made of?
壴 (drum on a stand) and 彡 (three slanting strokes (bristles, hair, light or pattern)), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 彭，鼓聲也。从壴彡聲. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 彭 have?
12. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 彭?
彡. 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 彭?
Common ones are 彭祖 and 彭城. The reading of 彭 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.