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nán — “south”

How to write and say the Chinese character (nán), which means south — with stroke order, audio, its story, and an example sentence. Theme: Position & direction.

Pinyin · 拼音 nán
Meaning · 意思 south
Strokes · 笔画 9
Radical · 部首 (ten)
Hear it · 听发音
Watch it drawn stroke by stroke →

Stroke order笔顺

南 is written with 9 strokes, in this order (the red stroke is the one being added):

The story behind it字源小故事

A little picture: a musical bell.

A common word常用词

nánfāng

the south

Example sentence例句

yànzifēixiàngnánfāng

The swallows fly south.

This page is part of the free Chinese character explorer from Casey Foundation Chinese School — a Saturday community Chinese school in Narre Warren, Victoria, serving Berwick, Cranbourne, Hallam and families across Melbourne's southeast. New students get a free trial lesson.