纲 (gāng) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

纲

gāng[gang1]Tone 1

head rope of a fishing net, guiding principle

HSK 5

View Traditional FormSwitch to Traditional

綱

Guru Deep Dive

English · head rope of a fishing net, guiding principle

Cached lesson

1 / 1

Topology:Left-right

Strokes:6

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (silk thread 纟) occupies about one-third of the width, leaving the right component (网) wider and balanced with horizontal enclosure lines.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 綱 uses the full silk radical 絲 (simplified to 纟) on the left paired with 岡 on the right.

1. Meaning

guiding principle or key link

head rope of a fishing netoutline or programclass (biological taxonomy)

NounFormal / LiteraryBound morpheme#concepts#structure#organization#biology

Sample Usage

提纲挈领
tí gāng qiè lǐng
to grasp the essentials (lit. lift the net rope and take the collar)
总纲
zǒng gāng
general program / general principles

2. Sound

/[kaŋ⁵⁵]/Tone: 55

纲

gānggang1

¯(55)

=gāng

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 to touch the soft palate, releasing with a gentle plosive stop.

Final Rhyme

ang

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: -ang rhymes with 'ah' followed by 'ng' as in 'bang'

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel '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: Maintains a constant high pitch, similar to a sustained musical drone or saying 'ah' at the dentist's office.

👂

Listening trap: Do not confuse with the final '-an' or '-ang' of other initials; ensure the velar nasal [ŋ] closure at the back of the throat is clean.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 1 is a high, steady musical note, like singing a flat note at the top of your vocal range. Make a flat horizontal hand gesture moving left to right.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 6 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (silk thread 纟) occupies about one-third of the width, leaving the right component (网) wider and balanced with horizontal enclosure lines.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 綱 uses the full silk radical 絲 (simplified to 纟) on the left paired with 岡 on the right.

4. Components

Radical 纟 · Silk Radical (silk, threads, fibers)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 纟 (indicates thread, rope, or structural connections)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 冈 (original sound: gāng)

Silk threads (纟) joined together to form a sturdy fishing net ridge or guiding rope (冈).

纟 silk thread
冈 ridge / net frame providing phonetic sound

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

5· Phonetic Root: 冈 (gāng)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally combined silk threads (纟) with a phonetic element representing a ridge or structure (冈), originally referring to the thick main rope that draws together a large fishing net.

Semantic Evolution: From the physical thick main rope of a fishing net, it extended metaphorically to mean a guiding principle, outline, or key framework that holds an entire system together.

Ancient Chinese governance frequently used net metaphors (such as 纲纪) to describe legal frameworks and social order.

6. Sinosphere

🇻🇳

Sino-Vietnamese

cương

Mandarin high level tone (Tone 1) corresponds to Vietnamese ngang tone.

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: コウ (kō)

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

강

Sound Shift Bridge: The Middle Chinese initial 'kr-' or 'g-' corresponds to Sino-Vietnamese 'c-' and Japanese 'k-'.

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Think of a heavy SILK thread (纟) stretched across a ridge (冈) to form the main guiding ROPE of a giant fishing net.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

钢

gāngsteelReplaces the silk radical with the metal radical (钅), since steel is hard metal.

岗

gǎnghill / sentry postReplaces the silk radical with the mountain radical (山), representing high ground.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

钢(gāng)

纲 has 纟 (silk/rope) for outlines and principles, while 钢 has 钅 (metal) for steel.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

我们要抓好工作的主[___]。

Clue: gāng

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing 纲 (gāng - principles/net rope) with 钢 (gāng - steel) due to identical pinyin pronunciation and tone.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does the character 纲 mean when used metaphorically in terms like 'guiding principle' or 'outline'?

Production: How do you write the character for 'guiding principle / net rope' (gāng) using the silk radical?

纲gānghead rope of a fishing net, guiding principle

Speed:

Searching YouTube for native pronunciation videos...

0 / 0