指南针 zhǐnánzhēn▶ La bàn

Stroke order

指南针 is written in 25 strokes across 3 characters.

• 指 — 9 strokes
• 南 — 9 strokes
• 针 — 7 strokes

Related words

• 指令hướng dẫn; chỉ dẫn
• 指定Bổ nhiệm
• 指望mong đợi; dự tính
• 指标chỉ số; mục lục
• 指甲móng tay; đinh
• 指示Hướng dẫn

指南针 is pronounced zhǐnánzhēn and means “La bàn”. You will meet it in HSK 6, a band of the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi — the standard test of Chinese proficiency. Most learners can pick 指南针 out of a list long before they can reach for it unprompted, and the gap between those two closes only with repeated recall. LexiTrail schedules the next sighting from how well you did on the last.