毒 (dú) is a Chinese character meaning “poison”. It is written from 龶 (three horizontal strokes crossed by a short vertical that stops at the last stroke) and 母 (mother), one above the other, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “poison”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
龶 + 母
Top–bottom structure
- 龶 three horizontal strokes crossed by a short vertical that stops at the last stroke unknown
- 母 mother · mǔ unknown
Structure from: 现代字形拆分：hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（前 4 笔与 龶 一致，后 5 笔与 母 一致，合计 9 笔）
Memory aid
Three flat bars with a short vertical (龶) are pressed down on top of 母, a mother. Something is sealed under those bars and kept away from her — that is 毒, poison.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 病毒bìng dúvirus毒 = dú
- 毒品dú pǐnnarcotics; illegal drugs毒 = dú
- 汞中毒gǒng zhòng dúmercury poisoning毒 = dú
- 毒蛇dú shévenomous snake毒 = dú
Go deeper
All readings
poison
poison; toxin; poisonous, toxic; harmful; narcotics
对生命或健康有害的物质；也表示有害的、狠的，以及指毒品。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 病毒bìng dúvirus毒 = dú
- 毒品dú pǐnnarcotics; illegal drugs毒 = dú
- 汞中毒gǒng zhòng dúmercury poisoning毒 = dú
- 毒蛇dú shévenomous snake毒 = dú
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 毒 mean?
毒 (dú) means poison; toxin; poisonous, toxic; harmful; narcotics.
How do you pronounce 毒?
It is pronounced dú.
What parts is 毒 made of?
龶 (three horizontal strokes crossed by a short vertical that stops at the last stroke) and 母 (mother), one above the other. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分：hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（前 4 笔与 龶 一致，后 5 笔与 母 一致，合计 9 笔）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 毒 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 毒?
毋. 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 毒?
Common ones are 病毒 and 毒品. The reading of 毒 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.