祷 (dǎo) is a Chinese character meaning “to pray”. It is written from 礻 (spirit / altar (radical form of 示)) and 寿 (long life; longevity), side by side, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “to pray”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
礻 + 寿
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字·示部：禱，告事求福也。从示，壽聲（现代简化字形 礻4+寿7=11，已按 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验）
Memory aid
At the altar (礻), someone asks the spirits for long life (寿) — that is praying.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 祈祷qí dǎoto pray; prayer祷 = dǎo
- 祷告dǎo gàoto pray; prayer祷 = dǎo
Go deeper
All readings
to pray
to pray; to ask the gods or spirits for blessing
向神明请求保佑，如祈祷、祷告。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 祈祷qí dǎoto pray; prayer祷 = dǎo
- 祷告dǎo gàoto pray; prayer祷 = dǎo
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 祷 mean?
祷 (dǎo) means to pray; to ask the gods or spirits for blessing.
How do you pronounce 祷?
It is pronounced dǎo.
What parts is 祷 made of?
礻 (spirit / altar (radical form of 示)) and 寿 (long life; longevity), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字·示部：禱，告事求福也。从示，壽聲（现代简化字形 礻4+寿7=11，已按 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 祷 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 祷?
礻. 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 祷?
Common ones are 祈祷 and 祷告. The reading of 祷 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.