Where 多 comes from
Two nights 夕, suggesting many
How to write 多 (duō, “many”)
多 (duō), an HSK 1 character, means “many”, “too many” and “... odd”. It is a character whose parts combine into its meaning. On its own it is an HSK 1 word; it also forms 多少 (“how much?”), 好多 (“many”) and 差不多 (“almost”). Japanese reads it ta, “many”, as a JLPT N4 kanji.
- Pinyin
- duō
- Strokes
- 6
- HSK
- 1
- Radical
- 夕 (“sunset”)
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
As a top-bottom character it splits into 夕 (“sunset”, the radical), strokes 1–3; 夕 (“sunset”, the radical), strokes 4–6, written the top first.
- topdown and left
- toprightwards → down and left
- top leftdown and right
- centerdown and left
- centerrightwards → down and left
- centerdown and right
Japanese and Chinese
The two models differ in shape, so our comparison does not claim an order; compare the numbered frames yourself (6 strokes in Japanese, 6 strokes in Chinese).
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Pinyin and meaning
| Pinyin | Meanings | Traditional | In words |
|---|---|---|---|
| duō first tone | many; much; more; a lot of; too many; in excess; (after a numeral) ... odd; how (to what extent); (bound form) multi-; poly- | — | 多少 好多 差不多 多么 |
- HSK 2025 syllabus
- level 1
- 2021 standard
- level 1
- HSK 2.0
- in a level 1 word
- Words with it
- 285 in CC-CEDICT
Words with 多
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 多 | duō | many; much HSK 1 |
| 多少 | duōshao | how much?; how many? HSK 1 |
| 好多 | hǎoduō | many; quite a lot HSK 3 |
| 差不多 | chàbuduō | almost; nearly HSK 3 |
| 多么 多麼 | duōme | how (wonderful etc); what (a great idea etc) HSK 4 |
| 多样 多樣 | duōyàng | diverse; diversity HSK 4 |
| 多数 多數 | duōshù | majority; most HSK 4 |
| 许多 許多 | xǔduō | many; a lot of HSK 4 |
| 大多 | dàduō | for the most part; many HSK 5 |
| 众多 眾多 | zhòngduō | numerous HSK 5 |
HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several characters: worksheet maker.
Keep going
HSK 1, in list order: