荡 (dàng) is a Chinese character meaning “to sway”. It is written from 艹 (grass / plant radical) and 汤 (hot water; soup), one above the other, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “to sway; to wash away”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
艹 + 汤
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: IDS (现代字形拆分 ⿱艹汤，对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「艹」，笔画 3–8 与「汤」逐笔对应，3+6=9画)
Memory aid
Grass (艹) floating on hot water (汤): the reeds sway, the water washes over them. Both parts are really in this character — 荡 is to sway, to wash away.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 动荡dòng dàngturbulence; unrest; upheaval荡 = dàng
- 游荡yóu dàngto wander about; to loaf around荡 = dàng
Go deeper
All readings
to sway; to wash away
to sway; to swing; to rock; to wash away; (of behaviour) unrestrained
摇动、摆动；也指冲洗、清除，或形容行为不受约束。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 动荡dòng dàngturbulence; unrest; upheaval荡 = dàng
- 游荡yóu dàngto wander about; to loaf around荡 = dàng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 荡 mean?
荡 (dàng) means to sway; to swing; to rock; to wash away; (of behaviour) unrestrained.
How do you pronounce 荡?
It is pronounced dàng.
What parts is 荡 made of?
艹 (grass / plant radical) and 汤 (hot water; soup), one above the other. The recorded source is: IDS (现代字形拆分 ⿱艹汤，对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「艹」，笔画 3–8 与「汤」逐笔对应，3+6=9画). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 荡 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 荡?
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 荡?
Common ones are 动荡 and 游荡. The reading of 荡 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.