竿 (gān): pole

竿 (gān) is a Chinese character meaning “pole.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of ⺮ (semantic) and 干 (phonetic). It ranks #2709 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 竿 bamboo. Its radical form 竹 (bamboo) appears in many related characters such as 笑 (xiào, to laugh), 第 (dì, (prefix indicating ordinal number, as in 第六[di4 liu4] "sixth")), 等 (děng, to wait for).

Native pronunciation

HSK 7-9 Radical: 竹 bamboo9 strokesFrequency #2709⺮ semantic 干 phonetic

Definitions

pole

Etymology & Origin

竿

pictophoneticbamboo

Decomposition: ⿱⺮干 (layout: top-bottom)

Components:⺮semantic 干phonetic

Stroke Order

Practice writing 竿 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
鱼竿	yú gān	fishing rod
竿子	gān zi	bamboo pole
竹竿	zhú gān	bamboo pole
钓竿	diào gān	fishing rod
钓鱼竿	diào yú gān	fishing rod
立竿见影	lì gān jiàn yǐng	lit. set up a pole and immediately see its shadow (idiom)
撑竿跳	chēng gān tiào	pole-vaulting
标竿	biāo gān	benchmark
百尺竿头	bǎi chǐ gān tóu	to be at the highest level of enlightenment (Buddhist expression)
滑竿	huá gān	a kind of sedan chair, usu. made of bamboo and mounted on a pair of long bamboo poles
八竿子打不着	bā gān zi dǎ bù zháo	(coll.) unrelated
百尺竿头，更进一步	bǎi chǐ gān tóu , gèng jìn yī bù	lit. after climbing a hundred feet up a pole, one should go even further (idiom)
南竿乡	nán gān xiāng	Nankan or Nangan township in Lienchiang county 連江縣\|连江县[Lian2 jiang1 xian4] i.e. the Matsu Islands, Taiwan
北竿乡	běi gān xiāng	Peikan township in Lienchiang county 連江縣\|连江县[Lian2 jiang1 xian4] i.e. the Matsu Islands, Taiwan
撑竿跳高	chēng gān tiào gāo	pole vault

Total compounds

As first character

As last character

As middle character

竿 appears in 22 compound words: 9 as the first character, 55 as the last, and 36 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.

Strongest Collocations

Characters that most frequently co-occur with 竿 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

撑chēng

0.6131,602 co-occurrences

跳tiào

0.5483,624 co-occurrences

钓diào

0.525546 co-occurrences

竹zhú

0.4982,754 co-occurrences

揭jiē

0.4791,218 co-occurrences

鱼yú

0.442948 co-occurrences

塘táng

0.437840 co-occurrences

幢chuáng

0.416222 co-occurrences

晾liàng

0.41236 co-occurrences

甩shuǎi

0.39066 co-occurrences

Idioms & Chengyu (2)

百尺竿头bǎi chǐ gān tóuHSK 7+

to be at the highest level of enlightenment (Buddhist expression)

phrase

立竿见影lìgānjiànyǐngHSK 7+

producing instant results; having immediate effect

phrase

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

钓鱼竿伸向湖面。

Diàoyú gān shēn xiàng húmiàn.

The fishing rod extends toward the lake surface.

DigitimesMar 2026

...西门子软体优化设计流程打造制造卓越新标竿

. . . xī mén zǐ ruǎn tǐ yōu huà shè jì liú chéng dǎ zào zhì zào zhuó yuè xīn biāo gān

...Siemens' Optimized Software Design Process Sets a New Benchmark for Manufacturing Excellence

UdnnewsindexMar 2026

影/日月潭国际撑竿跳高赛...我国吴彦翰摘银破全国纪录只...

yǐng rì yuè tán guó jì chēng gān tiào gāo sài . . . wǒ guó wú 彦翰 zhāi yín pò quán guó jì lù zhī . . .

Video: Sun Moon Lake International Pole Vault Competition... Taiwan's Wu Yen-han Wins Silver and Breaks National Record...

風傳媒Mar 2026

阎纪宇专栏:伊朗人民揭竿而起、推翻政权?

yán jì yǔ zhuān lán : yī lǎng rén mín jiē gān ér qǐ , tuī fān zhèng quán ?

Yan Jiyu's Column: Will the Iranian People Rise Up and Overthrow the Regime?

Tatoeba

我喜欢这个工作因为它立竿见影，让人很有成就感。

Wǒ xǐhuan zhège gōngzuò yīnwèi tā lìgānjiànyǐng, ràng rén hěn yǒuchéng jiù gǎn.

I like this work because you see the result immediately; it's very rewarding.

Character Family

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 竿 (gān) mean in Chinese?

竿 (gān) primarily means "pole." It is classified as HSK Level 7-9, making it an expert-level character. It ranks #2709 in character frequency.

What's the difference between 竿 and 汗?

竿 (gān) and 汗 (hàn) are often confused. confusable. The key distinguishing feature: 竹 vs 氵 (same 干 component).

How many strokes does 竿 have?

竿 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 竿?

The radical associated with 竿 is 竹 (bamboo). This radical appears in many characters related to bamboo.

What are the components of 竿?

竿 is composed of: ⺮ (semantic), 干 (phonetic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿱⺮干 with a top-bottom layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.

What are common words containing 竿?

Common words with 竿 include: 鱼竿 (yú gān, "fishing rod"); 竿子 (gān zi, "bamboo pole"); 竹竿 (zhú gān, "bamboo pole"); 钓竿 (diào gān, "fishing rod"); 钓鱼竿 (diào yú gān, "fishing rod"). There are over 22 compound words containing this character.

What characters sound the same as 竿 (gān)?

Several characters share the pronunciation gān: 杆 (pole), 肝 (liver), 赶 (to overtake), 甘 (abbr. for Gansu Province 甘肅省|甘肃省), and 3 more. Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.

Is 竿 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?

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

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