洱 (ěr): Erhai Lake (in place names), see 洱海

洱 (ěr) is a Chinese character meaning “erhai lake (in place names).” Outside the HSK 3.0 syllabus (CLEC 2022), it is composed of 氵 (semantic) and 耳 (phonetic). It ranks #9999 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 洱 water. Its radical form 氵 (water) appears in many related characters such as 河 (hé, river), 海 (hǎi, sea), 洋 (yáng, ocean).

Spoken pronunciation

Radical: 氵 water9 strokesFrequency #9999氵 semantic 耳 phonetic

Definitions

Erhai Lake (in place names)
see 洱海

Etymology & Origin

洱

pictophoneticwater

Decomposition: ⿰氵耳 (layout: left-right)

Components:氵semantic 耳phonetic

Stroke Order

Practice writing 洱 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.

Words & Compounds

Common Compounds

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
普洱市	pǔ ěr shì	Pu'er, prefecture-level city in Yunnan Province 雲南省\|云南省
宁洱哈尼族彝族自治县	níng ěr hā ní zú yí zú zì zhì xiàn	Ning'er Hani and Yi Autonomous County, in Pu'er City 普洱市, Yunnan
洱海proper-noun	ěr hǎi	Erhai Lake
普洱proper-noun	pǔ ěr	see 普洱市
普洱茶noun	pǔ ěr chá	Pu'er tea, a type of black tea produced in the Pu'er region of southwestern Yunnan
洱源县	ěr yuán xiàn	Eryuan, a county in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture 大理白族自治州, Yunnan
洱源proper-noun	ěr yuán	see 洱源縣\|洱源县
宁洱县	níng ěr xiàn	see 寧洱哈尼族彝族自治縣\|宁洱哈尼族彝族自治县
宁洱proper-noun	níng ěr	see 寧洱哈尼族彝族自治縣\|宁洱哈尼族彝族自治县

Total compounds

As first character

As last character

As middle character

洱 appears in 9 compound words: 33 as the first character, 22 as the last, and 44 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

清晨的洱面波光粼粼，倒映着岸边的柳树。

qīng chén de ěr miàn bō guāng 粼粼 , dǎo yìng zhe àn biān de liǔ shù .

At dawn, the surface of Erhai Lake sparkled, reflecting the willow trees along the shore.

中国新闻网·文化Aug 2026

屠潇是云南人，多次到位于云南省普洱市澜沧拉祜族自治县的景迈山采风、旅游。

tú xiāo shì yún nán rén , duō cì dào wèi yú yún nán shěng pǔ ěr shì lán cāng lā 祜 zú zì zhì xiàn de jǐng mài shān cǎi fēng , lǚ yóu .

Tu Xiao is from Yunnan and has visited Jingmai Mountain, located in Lancang Lahu Autonomous County, Pu'er City, Yunnan Province, on numerous occasions for field research and tourism.

SmzdmApr 2026

普洱茶龙珠冲泡指南:掌握核心技巧提升口感

pǔ ěr chá lóng zhū chōng pāo zhǐ nán : zhǎng wò hé xīn jì qiǎo tí shēng kǒu gǎn

Guide to Brewing Pu'er Tea Dragon Balls: Master the Key Techniques to Enhance the Flavor

東方日報Apr 2026

车辆坠入洱海多个部门出动司机获救

chē liàng zhuì rù ěr hǎi duō gè bù mén chū dòng sī jī huò jiù

Vehicle Plunges into Erhai Lake; Multiple Agencies Respond, Driver Rescued

中国新闻网_梳理天下新闻Mar 2026

中国首部茶马古道保护地方性法规在云南普洱正式施行

zhōng guó shǒu bù chá mǎ gǔ dào bǎo hù dì fāng xìng fǎ guī zài yún nán pǔ ěr zhèng shì shī háng

China's first local regulation on the protection of the Ancient Tea-Horse Road has officially taken effect in Pu'er, Yunnan

Character Family

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 洱 (ěr) mean in Chinese?

洱 (ěr) primarily means "erhai lake (in place names)." It is not part of the HSK 3.0 syllabus. It ranks #9999 in character frequency.

How many strokes does 洱 have?

洱 is written with 9 strokes. The correct stroke order matters for recognition and handwriting speed — practice with the animated guide above to build proper technique.

What is the radical of 洱?

The radical associated with 洱 is 氵 (water). This radical appears in many characters related to water.

What are the components of 洱?

洱 is composed of: 氵 (semantic), 耳 (phonetic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿰氵耳 with a left-right layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.

What are common words containing 洱?

Common words with 洱 include: 普洱市 (pǔ ěr shì, "Pu'er, prefecture-level city in Yunnan Province 雲南省|云南省"); 宁洱哈尼族彝族自治县 (níng ěr hā ní zú yí zú zì zhì xiàn, "Ning'er Hani and Yi Autonomous County, in Pu'er City 普洱市, Yunnan"); 洱海 (ěr hǎi, "Erhai Lake"); 普洱 (pǔ ěr, "see 普洱市"); 普洱茶 (pǔ ěr chá, "Pu'er tea, a type of black tea produced in the Pu'er region of southwestern Yunnan"). There are over 9 compound words containing this character.

What characters sound the same as 洱 (ěr)?

Several characters share the pronunciation ěr: 饵 (bait). Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.

Is 洱 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?

Yes, 洱 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 洱 with real-time feedback

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