扛 (gāng) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

扛

gāng[gang1]Tone 1

to carry with both hands or pole

HSK 7

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · to carry with both hands or pole

Cached lesson

雙生字Twin Character Traps (雙生字)

View in Twin Characters

Often confused with 杠 (gàng) — The characters are identical apart from the left-hand radical: 杠 has 木, whose extra horizontal stroke 扛 lacks in its 扌 radical.
杠 vs 扛 Drill this pair

11. Meaning

to raise aloft with both hands, carry together

to shoulder responsibilitiesto argue stubbornly (dialectal)

VerbNeutral#physical action#labor#movement

Logic Map — how this character is really built

扌the Handleft
工the Artisan's Squareright

Extending the Hand （扌） on the left to lift, alongside the Artisan's Square （工） on the right cueing gōng, we heave heavy loads onto our shoulders. This raw physical effort defines the act of 扛.

Sound part: 工 (gōng) → cues the reading gāng.

Sample Usage

两个人一起把木头扛起来。
liǎng gè rén yīqǐ bǎ mùtou gāng qǐlái.
The two people together carried the log with both hands.
他一个人扛下了所有的责任。
tā yīgè rén gāng xiàle suǒyǒu de zérèn.
He single-handedly shouldered all the responsibility.

22. Sound

/[kaŋ⁵⁵]/Tone: 55

扛

gānggang1

¯(55)

=gāng

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

gang

Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "a" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Velar

Sounds like: hard g sound as in 'go'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: No burst of air (sounds like 'c' in Vietnamese 'cá' or 'k' in English 'skate').

Tongue & Mouth Position: Back of the tongue raises against the soft palate.

Final Rhyme

ang

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: -ang rhymes with 'ong' in song but with an 'ah' vowel sound

Mouth Shape Guide: Combine initial 'g-' (g/k) with final '-ang' (ahng).

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T1 (55)

5 → 5 (55)

1st Tone (High-Flat)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 is a high, level pitch matching a sustained musical note or a flat line at the top of your vocal range.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing gāng (Tone 1) with gǎng (Tone 3) or gàng (Tone 4). Ensure the pitch remains high and steady without dipping or falling.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A flat, high-pitched horizontal hand gesture at eye level, representing the steady high level tone.

33. Writing6 strokes · animate & practice

1 / 1

Topology:Left-right

Strokes:6 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (扌) should be narrower and slightly higher, leaving ample space for the right component (工) to maintain structural equilibrium.

44. Components

Radical 扌 · Hand Radical (hands, manual actions)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 扌 (Indicates an action performed with the hand or arm.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 工 (original sound: gōng / gāng)

Combining the Hand radical (扌) on the left with the character for Work/Labor (工) on the right creates a character meaning to perform heavy manual lifting with your hands.

扌Hand action
工Work or labor

55. HistoryFormed by combining the hand radical (扌) to denote physical lifting with the ...

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Variant forms: 摃

Origin: Formed by combining the hand radical (扌) to denote physical lifting with the phonetic component 工 (gōng), which originally depicted a carpenter's square or tools used in labor.

Semantic Evolution: Originally referred to carrying heavy items with both hands or on a pole; extended to shouldering metaphorical burdens or responsibilities.

The character bridges ancient physical engineering terminology with everyday heavy lifting.

66. SinosphereSino-Vietnamese cang · Kanji (Japanese) コウ (kō)

🇻🇳

Sino-Vietnamese

cang

The reading cang corresponds to Middle Chinese entering/level tones.

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: コウ (kō) / Kun: 担ぐ (katsugu)

Sound Shift Bridge: The -ang final matches similar English open back nasal endings.

77. Memory

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

岗(gǎng)

岗 uses the mountain radical (山) instead of hand (扌), meaning a hill or sentry post.

纲(gāng)

纲 uses the silk thread radical (纟), meaning guiding principle or net cord.

88. Mastery他们两个人合力把大石头[___]了起来。

Active Recall Challenge

他们两个人合力把大石头[___]了起来。

Clue: gāng

Common Learner Pitfall

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 扛, what physical action does it describe?

Production: How do you write the character for carrying heavy objects with both hands using the hand and work components?

🎬 Videos12 clips · real-world usage

扛gāngto carry with both hands or pole

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