芒 (máng) is a Chinese character meaning “the awn (bristle) on a grain husk”. It is written from 艹 (grass / plant radical) and 亡 (to perish; to lose), one above the other, and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “the fine tip of a grass blade; rays”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
艹 + 亡
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 芒，艸耑也。从艸亡聲; modern decomposition checked against hanzi-writer-data stroke counts (艹 3 + 亡 3 = 芒 6)
Memory aid
Grass (艹) above 亡 "to vanish" — the tip of a grass blade tapers until it vanishes into a point too fine to see.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 光芒guāng mángrays of light; radiance芒 = máng
- 芒果máng guǒmango芒 = máng
Go deeper
All readings
awn; tip; rays
the awn (bristle) on a grain husk; a sharp tip or point; rays of light
谷类植物壳上的细刺；泛指物体尖锐的锋尖；也指发射出来的光线。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 光芒guāng mángrays of light; radiance芒 = máng
- 芒果máng guǒmango芒 = máng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 芒 mean?
芒 (máng) means the awn (bristle) on a grain husk; a sharp tip or point; rays of light.
How do you pronounce 芒?
It is pronounced máng.
What parts is 芒 made of?
艹 (grass / plant radical) and 亡 (to perish; to lose), one above the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 芒，艸耑也。从艸亡聲; modern decomposition checked against hanzi-writer-data stroke counts (艹 3 + 亡 3 = 芒 6). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 芒 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 芒?
艹. 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 芒?
Common ones are 光芒 and 芒果. The reading of 芒 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.