How to Write 党 (dǎng) — Meaning “party / political party”

Imagine the top part 尚 as a small house with a roof and the bottom 儿 as two legs walking; together, picture party members walking into a meeting house. Alternatively, think of "dǎng" sounding like "dong" and visualize a party with a gong (dōng) under a roof, but the character has 尚 on top and 儿 below.

A common mistake is to make the top part 尚 too wide or to forget the small horizontal stroke inside it. Write strokes in this order: dot, dot, left-falling, horizontal, vertical, horizontal fold hook, vertical, horizontal, left-falling, right-falling. Pay attention that the bottom 儿 is narrower than the top and the last two strokes (撇 and 竖弯钩) should be balanced.

党 has the top 尚 and bottom 儿, while 兔 (tù, rabbit) has the top ⺈ (a variant of 刀) and bottom 儿 with a dot. The key visual difference is that 兔 has a dot (丶) inside the bottom part, representing the rabbit's tail, but 党 has no dot. Also, 兓 (jìn) is very rare and structurally different, with two 人 on top, so it does not look like 党.

党 is most commonly used in political contexts, such as 共产党 (Communist Party) and 党员 (party member). In everyday life, it appears in phrases about joining or leaving a political party. Culturally, the character carries significant weight in China, where the Communist Party is central to governance, so it is often used respectfully in formal or official contexts.

Common words containing 党 include: 党员 (dǎng yuán) — party member; 入党 (rù dǎng) — to join the party; 同党 (tóng dǎng) — Accomplice or member of the same party.