抗 (kàng) is a Chinese character meaning “to resist”. It is written from 扌 (hand (radical form)) and 亢 (high; haughty (used here as the sound part)), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “to resist”
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Structure
扌 + 亢
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 抗，扞也。从手亢聲
Memory aid
A hand (扌) pushing back against 亢 — and 亢 is also the sound: kàng. Hand + kàng = to resist.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 抗拒kàng jùto resist; to defy抗 = kàng
- 抵抗dǐ kàngto resist; to stand up against抗 = kàng
Go deeper
All readings
to resist
to resist; to fight against; to withstand; anti-
抵御、对抗；不接受或不屈服。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 抗拒kàng jùto resist; to defy抗 = kàng
- 抵抗dǐ kàngto resist; to stand up against抗 = kàng
Sound component
亢 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 抗 mean?
抗 (kàng) means to resist; to fight against; to withstand; anti-.
How do you pronounce 抗?
It is pronounced kàng.
What parts is 抗 made of?
扌 (hand (radical form)) and 亢 (high; haughty (used here as the sound part)), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 抗，扞也。从手亢聲. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 抗 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 抗?
手. 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 抗?
Common ones are 抗拒. The reading of 抗 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.