鸥 (ōu) is a Chinese character meaning “gull”. It is written from 区 (area, district) and 鸟 (bird), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “gull”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
区 + 鸟
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字：鷗，水鴞也。从鳥，區聲（简化字 鸥 = 区 + 鸟）
Memory aid
A bird (鸟) that has claimed one stretch of coast as its own district (区) — the gull screaming at anyone who lands there.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 海鸥hǎi ōuseagull鸥 = ōu
- 鸥鸟ōu niǎogulls; gull family birds鸥 = ōu
Go deeper
All readings
gull
gull; seagull
鸥科水鸟的统称，多生活在海边或湖边。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 海鸥hǎi ōuseagull鸥 = ōu
- 鸥鸟ōu niǎogulls; gull family birds鸥 = ōu
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 鸥 mean?
鸥 (ōu) means gull; seagull.
How do you pronounce 鸥?
It is pronounced ōu.
What parts is 鸥 made of?
区 (area, district) and 鸟 (bird), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字：鷗，水鴞也。从鳥，區聲（简化字 鸥 = 区 + 鸟）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 鸥 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 鸥?
鸟. 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 鸥?
Common ones are 海鸥 and 鸥鸟. The reading of 鸥 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.