鹿 (lù) is a Chinese character meaning “deer”. It is written from 广 (wide; dotted cliff radical) and コ (⊐-shaped frame, open on the left: one 横折 stroke over one 横 (2 strokes). Structure data uses this sign for frames that have no character code point of their own — in 鹿 it is the outline of the deer's body.) and 丨 (vertical stroke) and 丨 (vertical stroke) and 比 (to compare; two figures side by side), one enclosing the other, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “deer”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
广 + コ + 丨 + 丨 + 比
Enclosing structure
- 广 wide; dotted cliff radical · guǎng unknown
- コ ⊐-shaped frame, open on the left: one 横折 stroke over one 横 (2 strokes). Structure data uses this sign for frames that have no character code point of their own — in 鹿 it is the outline of the deer's body. unknown
- 丨 vertical stroke · gǔn unknown
- 丨 vertical stroke · gǔn unknown
- 比 to compare; two figures side by side · bǐ unknown
Structure from: 现代字形拆分，经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画逐笔核验：广[0–2]、コ 形框[3,6]、框内两竖[4,5]、比[7–10]，合计 11 画。底部「比」另有《说文解字》鹿部旁证：「鹿，獸也。象頭角四足之形。鳥鹿足相似，从比。」
Memory aid
Read it as a deer standing still: 广 is the sloping head and antler, コ frames the body with two uprights (丨丨) inside it, and 比 underneath is a pair of legs side by side. Every one of those parts is really in this character. (Memory aid, not the historical origin.)
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 长颈鹿cháng jǐng lùgiraffe鹿 = lù
- 鹿茸lù róngpilose antler; the soft velvet antler of a young deer鹿 = lù
Go deeper
All readings
deer
deer; a hoofed grazing animal, the males of most species growing antlers
鹿，一种反刍哺乳动物，四肢细长，雄鹿通常长角。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 长颈鹿cháng jǐng lùgiraffe鹿 = lù
- 鹿茸lù róngpilose antler; the soft velvet antler of a young deer鹿 = lù
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 鹿 mean?
鹿 (lù) means deer; a hoofed grazing animal, the males of most species growing antlers.
How do you pronounce 鹿?
It is pronounced lù.
What parts is 鹿 made of?
广 (wide; dotted cliff radical) and コ (⊐-shaped frame, open on the left: one 横折 stroke over one 横 (2 strokes). Structure data uses this sign for frames that have no character code point of their own — in 鹿 it is the outline of the deer's body.) and 丨 (vertical stroke) and 丨 (vertical stroke) and 比 (to compare; two figures side by side), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分，经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画逐笔核验：广[0–2]、コ 形框[3,6]、框内两竖[4,5]、比[7–10]，合计 11 画。底部「比」另有《说文解字》鹿部旁证：「鹿，獸也。象頭角四足之形。鳥鹿足相似，从比。」. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 鹿 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 鹿?
鹿. 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 鹿?
Common ones are 长颈鹿 and 鹿茸. The reading of 鹿 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.