Hanzi Writer

How to Write 歌 (gē) — Meaning “song”

gē HSK Level 1 14 strokes Radical: 欠

歌 (gē) means "song" in Chinese. It has 14 strokes with the radical 欠, and is HSK Level 1.

Rated 3.7/5 in difficulty (challenging).

Harder than 91% of HSK Level 1 characters.

Appears in 3+ common words including 唱歌 (chàng gē), 歌词 (gē cí), 歌手 (gē shǒu).

Due to its 14 strokes, Hanzi Writer's error detection shows 歌 requires focused practice — most learners need 10+ attempts for consistent accuracy.

Stroke order practice for 歌 - gē

Practice Writing 歌 (gē)

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How to Write 歌

The character 歌 (gē) is written with 14 strokes. Follow the standard Chinese stroke order: top to bottom, left to right, outside before inside. The radical 欠 is one of its key components.

Practice the correct stroke order with the Hanzi Writer app to see animated stroke-by-stroke guidance with real-time feedback.

What Does gē (歌) Mean in Chinese?

歌 means song.

As an HSK Level 1 character, 歌 is among the first characters beginners learn.

Character Data

Character歌
Pinyingē (ge)
Meaningsong
Strokes14
Radical欠
HSK Level1
Difficulty3.7/5

Origin of 歌

歌 is a phono-semantic compound. The left part 哥 (gē) provides the sound and originally meant 'to sing', while the right part 欠 (qiàn) depicts a person opening their mouth to breathe or sing, indicating the vocal action. Together, they form the character for 'song' or 'to sing'.

💡 Memory Tip: Picture your elder brother (哥) yawning hugely (欠) and then breaking into a beautiful song.

Common Words with 歌

唱歌 chàng gē
to sing a song
歌词 gē cí
Lyrics
歌手 gē shǒu
Singer

Example Sentences

我喜欢唱歌。

wǒ xǐ huān chàng gē

I like singing.

这首歌的歌词很美。

zhè shǒu gē de gē cí hěn měi

The lyrics of this song are very beautiful.

他是一名著名的歌手。

tā shì yī míng zhù míng de gē shǒu

He is a famous singer.

Similar Characters Comparison

Character Pinyin Strokes Radical
歌 (current) gē 14 欠
欹 yī 12 欠
欺 qī 12 欠
欻 chuā 12 欠
Stroke order practice for 歌 - gē

Practice Writing 歌 (gē)

Open Hanzi Writer to see the animated stroke order and practice writing 歌 with real-time feedback.

✨ Animated stroke order · Handwriting recognition · HSK-graded practice · Free to use

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Frequently Asked Questions about 歌

The left part is 哥 (gē, elder brother) and the right part is 欠 (qiàn, to owe or open mouth). Together, 欠 suggests using your mouth, so the character means 'song' or 'to sing' – like an elder brother singing.

More HSK Level 1 Characters

爱ài好hǎo/hào八bā爸bà吧ba/bā白bái天tiān百bǎi班bān半bàn年nián帮bāng忙máng包bāo子zi/zǐ杯bēi北běi边biān京jīng本běn

Characters with Radical 欠

欠qiàn次cì欢huān欣xīn欤yú欧ōu欮jué欲yù欶shuò欷xī

Other 14-Stroke Characters

㕡hé僖xī僚liáo僦jiù僧sēng僬jiāo僭jiàn僮tóng僳sù儆jǐng