肯 (kěn) is a Chinese character meaning “to be willing to”. It is written from 止 (stop) and 月 (moon; month), one above the other, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “willing”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
止 + 月
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: Unicode U+80AF and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (4 + 4 = 8 strokes)
Memory aid
Stop (止) sitting on top of a moon (月): you stop walking, look up, and finally say yes — you are willing.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 肯定kěn dìngdefinitely; certainly; to affirm肯 = kěn
- 不肯bù kěnto be unwilling to; to refuse to肯 = kěn
Go deeper
All readings
willing
to be willing to; to consent; to agree to do something
愿意；同意去做某事。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 肯定kěn dìngdefinitely; certainly; to affirm肯 = kěn
- 不肯bù kěnto be unwilling to; to refuse to肯 = kěn
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 肯 mean?
肯 (kěn) means to be willing to; to consent; to agree to do something.
How do you pronounce 肯?
It is pronounced kěn.
What parts is 肯 made of?
止 (stop) and 月 (moon; month), one above the other. The recorded source is: Unicode U+80AF and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (4 + 4 = 8 strokes). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 肯 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 肯?
月. 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 肯?
Common ones are 肯定 and 不肯. The reading of 肯 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.