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How to Write 涡 (wō) — Meaning “whirlpool; eddy”

wō HSK Level 7 10 strokes Radical: 氵

涡 (wō) means "whirlpool; eddy" in Chinese. It has 10 strokes with the radical 氵, and is HSK Level 7.

Rated 4.2/5 in difficulty (advanced).

Harder than 66% of HSK Level 7 characters.

Appears in 3+ common words including 漩涡 (xuán wō), 酒涡 (jiǔ wō), 涡轮 (wō lún).

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

Stroke order practice for 涡 - wō

Practice Writing 涡 (wō)

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How to Write 涡

The character 涡 (wō) is written with 10 strokes. Follow the standard Chinese stroke order: top to bottom, left to right, outside before inside. The radical 氵 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 wō (涡) Mean in Chinese?

涡 means whirlpool; eddy.

As an HSK Level 7 character, 涡 is an intermediate-level character.

Character Data

Character涡
Pinyinwō (wo)
Meaningwhirlpool; eddy
Strokes10
Radical氵
HSK Level7
Difficulty4.2/5

Origin of 涡

涡 is a phono-semantic compound: the left radical 氵 (water) indicates the meaning of swirling water, while the right component 呙 (wō, meaning 'eddy' or 'curl') provides the sound and also visually suggests a spiral or twisted shape, like water twisting into a whirlpool. In ancient scripts, 呙 was a pictograph of a curled or coiled form, reinforcing the idea of a circular current.

💡 Memory Tip: Picture a river (氵) where a curly, snail-like shape (呙) spins around—that's the whirlpool 涡 sucking everything into its twist.

Common Words with 涡

漩涡 xuán wō
whirlpool / vortex
酒涡 jiǔ wō
Dimple
涡轮 wō lún
turbine

Example Sentences

河里有一个大漩涡。

hé lǐ yǒu yí gè dà xuán wō

There is a large whirlpool in the river.

她笑起来有酒涡。

tā xiào qǐ lái yǒu jiǔ wō

She has dimples when she smiles.

这辆车有涡轮增压。

zhè liàng chē yǒu wō lún zēng yā

This car has a turbocharger.

Similar Characters Comparison

Character Pinyin Strokes Radical
涡 (current) wō 10 氵
沫 mò 8 氵
沭 shù 8 氵
沮 jǔ 8 氵
Stroke order practice for 涡 - wō

Practice Writing 涡 (wō)

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

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Frequently Asked Questions about 涡

涡 is made of the water radical 氵 on the left and the phonetic component 呙 on the right. The water radical directly connects to the meaning of whirlpool or eddy, which is a circular water movement.

More HSK Level 7 Characters

伯bó呵hē哎āi哀āi唉āi/ài癌ái艾ài/yì滋zī抚fǔ逸yì昂áng凹āo/wā熬āo/áo奥ào卦guà扒bā/pá芭bā蕾lěi柄bǐng靶bǎ

Characters with Radical 氵

㳄xián氿guǐ汀tīng汁zhī汇huì汉hàn汊chà汐xī汒máng汔qì

Other 10-Stroke Characters

㢆chán㼌yǔ䍃yóu丵zhuó乘chéng/shèng亳bó俯fǔ俱jù俳pái俸fèng