枉 (wǎng) is a Chinese character meaning “crooked”. It is written from 木 (tree; wood) and 王 (king), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “crooked; in vain”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
木 + 王
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分（IDS ⿰木王；笔画数核验 4+4=8，与 hanzi-writer-data 一致）＋读音实测（枉 wǎng / 王 wáng 声母韵母相同，仅声调不同）
Memory aid
A king (王) leans on a tree (木) until the wood bends crooked — and all that leaning is in vain.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 枉然wǎng ránin vain; futile; to no avail枉 = wǎng
- 枉费wǎng fèito waste (effort); to spend in vain枉 = wǎng
Go deeper
All readings
crooked; in vain
crooked; bent; to twist or pervert (the law); in vain; to no purpose
弯曲、不正直；使歪曲（如枉法）；白白地、没有效果。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 枉然wǎng ránin vain; futile; to no avail枉 = wǎng
- 枉费wǎng fèito waste (effort); to spend in vain枉 = wǎng
Sound component
王 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 枉 mean?
枉 (wǎng) means crooked; bent; to twist or pervert (the law); in vain; to no purpose.
How do you pronounce 枉?
It is pronounced wǎng.
What parts is 枉 made of?
木 (tree; wood) and 王 (king), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分（IDS ⿰木王；笔画数核验 4+4=8，与 hanzi-writer-data 一致）＋读音实测（枉 wǎng / 王 wáng 声母韵母相同，仅声调不同）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 枉 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 枉?
木. 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 枉?
Common ones are 枉然 and 枉费. The reading of 枉 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.