钢 (gāng) is a Chinese character meaning “steel”. It is written from 钅 (metal radical (left-side form of 金)) and 冈 (ridge of a hill), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “steel”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
钅 + 冈
Left–right structure
Structure from: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：钅 5 画 + 冈 4 画 = 9 画）
Memory aid
The metal radical 钅 tells you what it is — a metal. The ridge 冈 (gāng) on the right tells you how to say it: gāng. Metal that is as hard as a mountain ridge: steel.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 钢铁gāng tiěsteel; iron and steel钢 = gāng
- 钢琴gāng qínpiano钢 = gāng
- 轧钢zhá gāngto roll steel; steel rolling钢 = gāng
- 弹钢琴tán gāng qínto play the piano钢 = gāng
- 炼钢liàn gāngto make steel; steelmaking钢 = gāng
Go deeper
All readings
steel
steel; (of a metal) hardened, tempered
铁和碳的合金，比铁更硬更有韧性。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 钢铁gāng tiěsteel; iron and steel钢 = gāng
- 钢琴gāng qínpiano钢 = gāng
- 轧钢zhá gāngto roll steel; steel rolling钢 = gāng
- 弹钢琴tán gāng qínto play the piano钢 = gāng
- 炼钢liàn gāngto make steel; steelmaking钢 = gāng
Sound component
冈 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 钢 mean?
钢 (gāng) means steel; (of a metal) hardened, tempered.
How do you pronounce 钢?
It is pronounced gāng.
What parts is 钢 made of?
钅 (metal radical (left-side form of 金)) and 冈 (ridge of a hill), side by side. The recorded source is: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：钅 5 画 + 冈 4 画 = 9 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 钢 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 钢?
钅. 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 钢?
Common ones are 钢铁 and 钢琴. The reading of 钢 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.