淮 (huái) is a Chinese character meaning “the Huai River (between the Yellow River and the Yangtze)”. It is written from 氵 (water (left-side form)) and 隹 (short-tailed bird), side by side, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “Huai River”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
氵 + 隹
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字「淮，水……从水隹聲」；IDS 拆分 ⿰氵隹，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「氵」三点，笔画 3–10 与「隹」逐笔对应（3+8=11画）
Memory aid
Water (氵) on the left, a short-tailed bird (隹) on the right: birds gathering along the water — think of the Huai River.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 淮河huái héthe Huai River淮 = huái
- 江淮jiāng huáithe Yangtze–Huai region淮 = huái
Go deeper
All readings
the Huai River
the Huai River (between the Yellow River and the Yangtze); used in place names of that region
水名，即淮河，位于黄河与长江之间；也用于淮河流域的地名。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 淮河huái héthe Huai River淮 = huái
- 江淮jiāng huáithe Yangtze–Huai region淮 = huái
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 淮 mean?
淮 (huái) means the Huai River (between the Yellow River and the Yangtze); used in place names of that region.
How do you pronounce 淮?
It is pronounced huái.
What parts is 淮 made of?
氵 (water (left-side form)) and 隹 (short-tailed bird), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字「淮，水……从水隹聲」；IDS 拆分 ⿰氵隹，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「氵」三点，笔画 3–10 与「隹」逐笔对应（3+8=11画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 淮 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 淮?
氵. 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 淮?
Common ones are 淮河 and 江淮. The reading of 淮 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.