盖 (gài) is a Chinese character meaning “to cover”. It is written from 𦍌 (sheep top (羊 without its vertical tail), top-left part of 羞 and 差) and 皿 (dish; vessel), one above the other, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “to cover; lid”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
𦍌 + 皿
Top–bottom structure
- 𦍌 sheep top (羊 without its vertical tail), top-left part of 羞 and 差 unknown
- 皿 dish; vessel · mǐn unknown
Structure from: IDS (cjkvi-ids ⿱𦍌皿), checked against hanzi-writer-data strokes 0–5 / 6–10
Memory aid
The sheep top (𦍌) sits over a dish (皿) like a lid — to put a cover on something.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 盖子gài zilid; cover盖 = gài
- 掩盖yǎn gàito cover up; to conceal盖 = gài
Go deeper
All readings
to cover; lid
to cover; lid; cover; to build (a house); to affix (a seal)
从上面遮住、覆上；器物上起遮蔽作用的东西；也指建造房屋、加盖印章。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 盖子gài zilid; cover盖 = gài
- 掩盖yǎn gàito cover up; to conceal盖 = gài
Rare readings, not taught: gě
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 盖 mean?
盖 (gài) means to cover; lid; cover; to build (a house); to affix (a seal).
How do you pronounce 盖?
It is pronounced gài.
What parts is 盖 made of?
𦍌 (sheep top (羊 without its vertical tail), top-left part of 羞 and 差) and 皿 (dish; vessel), one above the other. The recorded source is: IDS (cjkvi-ids ⿱𦍌皿), checked against hanzi-writer-data strokes 0–5 / 6–10. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 盖 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 盖?
皿. 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 盖?
Common ones are 盖子 and 掩盖. The reading of 盖 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.