甲 (jiǎ) is a Chinese character meaning “the first of the ten Heavenly Stems, hence first / grade A”. It is written from 日 (sun; day) and 丨 (vertical stroke), and takes 5 strokes.
Build the character for “first; shell”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
日 + 丨
Overlapping structure
Structure from: Unicode U+7532 IDS ⿻日丨；以 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 现代字形笔画核验（笔画 1-4 竖·横折·横·横 = 日；笔画 5 = 贯穿并伸出底部的长竖 丨）
Memory aid
A closed box (日) with one long line (丨) driven straight down through it and out the bottom — a shell pinned in place, and the tag on the very first item in a list.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
5 strokes
In real words
- 甲板jiǎ bǎndeck (of a ship)甲 = jiǎspoken asjiá bǎn
- 装甲zhuāng jiǎarmour; armoured甲 = jiǎ
- 盔甲kuī jiǎarmor; helmet and armor甲 = jiǎ
- 趾甲zhǐ jiǎtoenail甲 = jiǎspoken aszhí jiǎ
Go deeper
All readings
first; shell; armour
the first of the ten Heavenly Stems, hence first / grade A; a hard outer shell; armour plating
天干的第一位，引申为第一等、居首的；也指动物的硬壳和护身的铠甲。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 甲板jiǎ bǎndeck (of a ship)甲 = jiǎspoken asjiá bǎn
- 装甲zhuāng jiǎarmour; armoured甲 = jiǎ
- 盔甲kuī jiǎarmor; helmet and armor甲 = jiǎ
- 趾甲zhǐ jiǎtoenail甲 = jiǎspoken aszhí jiǎ
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 甲 mean?
甲 (jiǎ) means the first of the ten Heavenly Stems, hence first / grade A; a hard outer shell; armour plating.
How do you pronounce 甲?
It is pronounced jiǎ.
What parts is 甲 made of?
日 (sun; day) and 丨 (vertical stroke). The recorded source is: Unicode U+7532 IDS ⿻日丨；以 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 现代字形笔画核验（笔画 1-4 竖·横折·横·横 = 日；笔画 5 = 贯穿并伸出底部的长竖 丨）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 甲 have?
5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 甲?
田. 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 甲?
Common ones are 甲板 and 装甲. The reading of 甲 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.