What does 果 mean in Chinese?

果 is a Chinese character with the radical 木.

How do you write 果?

果 is written with 8 strokes, starting from the 木 (tree) radical and following standard Chinese stroke order (top to bottom, left to right). See the interactive stroke-order tool for the full animation.

What is the radical of 果?

The radical of 果 is 木 (tree, Kangxi radical #75). Other common HSK characters using the same radical include 本, 来, 机, 样.

How many strokes does 果 have?

The Chinese character 果 has 8 strokes.

What HSK level is 果?

On the new HSK exam syllabus, 果 is a character to recognise at HSK 1.

果: Chinese Character Details

果

HSK 1 character 8 strokes Radical: 木 (tree)

Quick Answer

果 is a Chinese character with 8 strokes, radical 木 (tree), HSK 1 on the new exam.

Full dictionary entry for 果 →Animated stroke-order for 果 →

Etymology

Oracle-bone origin

Oracle-bone 果 shows a tree (木) with round objects hanging in its branches; a direct pictograph of a fruit tree in bearing. Some early forms show three fruits, others a single large one; all depict fruit physically attached to the tree above.

Form evolution

Bronze forms often stack a circle (田-like) on top of 木 to represent the fruit. Seal script regularised this into the modern top-bottom structure with 田 (a stylised fruit, not a field) sitting on 木. Clerical and standard script preserved this shape exactly, though the 田 is now opaque to readers.

How the meaning evolved

The original concrete sense 'fruit on a tree' extended early to 'result, outcome' by analogy; what a plant 'produces' is its fruit, what an action 'produces' is its result. By the Warring States period both senses were well established, and modern Mandarin still uses 果 for literal fruit (水果, 苹果) and abstract result (结果, 如果, 果然).

Cultural note

The 田 on top of 果 is a false friend: it looks like the character for 'field' but represents a fruit hanging from a branch. Buddhist Chinese later exploited the concrete/abstract duality in terms like 因果 (cause and effect), where 果 is literally the 'fruit' ripening from the seed of a past action.

Mnemonic

A field on a tree — fruit

Decomposition

果=田component+木radical

Breaking a character into its components makes it far easier to recall. Each component above links to its own detail page.

Basic info

Stroke count	8 strokes
Radical	木 (#75: tree)
New HSK exam	Recognise at HSK 1
Frequency	#140 most common

Example sentences

我喜欢吃水果。
Wǒ xǐhuan chī shuǐguǒ.
I like eating fruit.
From 水果 (HSK 1)
我喜欢吃苹果。
Wǒ xǐhuan chī píngguǒ.
I like eating apples.
From 苹果 (HSK 1)
我想喝果汁。
Wǒ xiǎng hē guǒzhī.
I want to drink fruit juice.
From 果汁 (HSK 4)

Words containing 果

Word	Pinyin	Meaning	HSK
水果	shuǐguǒ	fruit	HSK 1
苹果	píngguǒ	apple	HSK 1
如果	rúguǒ	If	HSK 3
果汁	guǒzhī	fruit juice	HSK 4
结果	jiéguǒ	Result	HSK 4
效果	xiàoguǒ	Effect	HSK 4
果实	guǒshí	fruit	HSK 5
成果	chéngguǒ	Achievements	HSK 5
果然	guǒrán	Sure enough	HSK 5
后果	hòuguǒ	Consequence	HSK 5