How to Write 糕 (gāo) — Meaning “Cake”

Imagine a cake made of rice (米) shaped like a cute little lamb (羔). The lamb is baked into the cake, so you remember both the ingredient and the sound gāo from the lamb's bleat.

Write the left radical 米 first (6 strokes), then the right part 羔 (10 strokes). In 羔, watch the bottom four dots: they should be evenly spaced and written left to right, not as a single line. A common mistake is to misplace the dots or make them too large.

糕 means 'cake' and contains 羔 on the right, while 粹 (cuì) means 'pure' or 'essence' and has 卒 (soldier) on the right. 粼 (lín) refers to 'clear water' and has a different right component. Their meanings are unrelated, so context tells them apart.

糕 appears in common food words like 蛋糕 (dàn gāo, cake) and 糕点 (gāo diǎn, pastry). The traditional 年糕 (nián gāo, rice cake) is eaten during Chinese New Year because its name sounds like 'year high,' symbolizing progress and better luck.

Common words containing 糕 include: 蛋糕 (dàn gāo) — cake; 糕点 (gāo diǎn) — Pastry; 年糕 (nián gāo) — Rice cake.