坤(kūn)

8 strokes

one of the Eight Trigrams 八卦[ba1 gua4], symbolizing earth

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Stroke order animation

Character information

Pinyin
kūn
Meaning
one of the Eight Trigrams 八卦[ba1 gua4], symbolizing earth; female principle; ☷; ancient Chinese compass point: 225° (southwest)
Strokes
8
HSK level
—
Traditional
Same

Origin & structure

Where 坤 comes from and how its parts fit together.

Phonetic-semantic compound⿰土申

In this compound, the meaning comes from 申 (earth); 土 supplies the sound.

One part carries the meaning, the other suggests the sound.

Made of

土tǔ申shēn

Parts are arranged left to right.

How to write 坤 step by step

8 strokes — each frame adds one stroke, shown in dark ink over the lighter ones.

  1. 1
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Words with 坤

Common words using 坤 — tap any character to open its stroke-order page.

qián乾kūn坤

yin and yang; heaven and earth; the universe

Open 乾坤 page →
kūn坤bāo包

woman's handbag or shoulder bag

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kūn坤diàn甸

Pontianak city, capital of West Kalimantan, Indonesia

Open 坤甸 page →
niǔ扭zhuǎn转qián乾kūn坤

lit. to upend heaven and earth (idiom)

Open 扭转乾坤 page →
xuán旋qián乾zhuǎn转kūn坤

lit. overturning heaven and earth (idiom); earth-shattering

Open 旋乾转坤 page →

Related characters

From 坤’s common words

乾包甸扭转旋

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