(kuàng): frame (e.g. door frame), casing, fig. framework

(kuàng) is a Chinese character meaning “frame (e.g. door frame).” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of (semantic) and (phonetic). It ranks #2100 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, wood. Its radical form (tree) appears in many related characters such as (běn, (bound form) root), (, machine, opportunity), (tiáo, strip).

Native pronunciation

Definitions

  1. frame (e.g. door frame)
  2. casing
  3. fig. framework

Etymology & Origin

pictophoneticwood

Decomposition: ⿰木匡 (layout: left-right)

Stroke Order

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

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

Words & Compounds

Common Compounds

WordPinyinMeaning
kuàng jià(construction) frame
tiáo tiáo kuàng kuàngfixed framework (idiom)
huà kuàngpicture frame
mén kuàngdoor frame
jìng kuàngpicture frame
kuàng kuanga frame
chuāng kuàngwindow frame
biān kuàngframe
duì huà kuàngdialog box (computing)
kuàng ziframe (of spectacles, small ornament etc)
qǔ jǐng kuàngrectangular frame used to view a scene (made out of cardboard etc, or formed by the thumbs and forefingers)
lián hé guó qì hòu biàn huà kuàng jià gōng yuēUnited Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
wén běn kuàng(computing) text box
tóng zì kuàngname of the radical 冂[jiong1] in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 13)
mén biān kuàngdoor frame
30
Total compounds
13
As first character
60
As last character
27
As middle character

appears in 30 compound words: 13 as the first character, 60 as the last, and 27 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 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

jià
0.71474,315 co-occurrences
chuāng
0.4723,054 co-occurrences
biān
0.4304,686 co-occurrences
0.4001,464 co-occurrences
0.39410 co-occurrences
níng
0.390930 co-occurrences
gòu
0.3883,906 co-occurrences
gāng
0.3881,086 co-occurrences
xié
0.3732,502 co-occurrences
xiāng
0.373252 co-occurrences

Idioms & Chengyu (1)

tiáotiáokuàngkuàngHSK 7+

rigid and inflexible rules

phrase

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

这片森里生活着许多珍稀的野生动物。

zhè piān sēn kuàng lǐ shēng huó zhe xǔ duō zhēn xī de yě shēng dòng wù .

This forest habitat is home to many rare and endangered wildlife species.

Fx168 Finance NetworkMar 2026

蚂蚁数科发力企业级AI 全新AoE架加速具身智能规模化落地-FX168

mǎ yǐ shǔ kē fā lì qǐ yè jí A I quán xīn A o E kuàng jià jiā sù jù shēn zhì néng guī mó huà luò dì F X 1 6 8

Ant Digital Develops Enterprise-level AI New AoE Framework to Accelerate the Large-Scale Implementation of Embodied Intelligence - FX168

It之家Feb 2026

...HONE”实拍:差异化后盖设计,香槟金边

. . . H O N E shí pāi : chā yì huà hòu gài shè jì , xiāng 槟 jīn biān kuàng

... HONE" real shot: differentiated back cover design, champagne gold frame

Hk01.comFeb 2026

...和:巴拿马政府强行接管两港口 与相关法律架并不一致

. . . hé : bā ná mǎ zhèng fǔ qiáng háng jiē guǎn liǎng gǎng kǒu yǔ xiāng guān fǎ lǜ kuàng jià bìng bù yī zhì

... With: Panamanian government's forced takeover of the two ports is inconsistent with the relevant legal framework

StheadlineFeb 2026

何汉权 - 香港国家安全教育课程架|教育现场

hé hàn quán xiāng gǎng guó jiā ān quán jiào yù kè chéng kuàng jià jiào yù xiàn chǎng

Ho Hon-kuen - Hong Kong National Security Education Curriculum Framework|Education Field

百度新闻Feb 2026

在春晚与沈腾马丽同的机器人 在全国100多个地方..

zài chūn wǎn yǔ 沈 téng mǎ lí tóng kuàng de jī qì rén zài quán guó 1 0 0 duō gè dì fāng . .

In the Spring Festival Gala, the robot in the same frame as Shen Teng and Ma Li in more than 100 places across the country:

Tatoeba

这个画能让画升值。

Zhège huàkuàng néng ràng huà shēngzhí.

This picture frame can make the picture rise in value.

Tatoeba

她们把窗涂成了黄色。

Tāmen bǎ chuāngkuàng tú chéngle huángsè.

They painted the window frames yellow.

Tatoeba

整个架由铁金属制成。

Zhěnggè kuàngjià yóu tiě jīnshǔ zhìchéng.

The entire frame is made of iron.

Tatoeba

比画还值钱。

Huàkuàng bǐ huà hái zhíqián.

The frame is worth more than the painting.

Character Family

Homophones — Characters pronounced kuàng

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 框 (kuàng) mean in Chinese?
框 (kuàng) primarily means "frame (e.g. door frame)." It is classified as HSK Level 7-9, making it an expert-level character. It ranks #2100 in character frequency.
How many strokes does 框 have?
框 is written with 10 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 框?
The radical associated with 框 is 木 (tree). This radical appears in many characters related to tree.
What are the components of 框?
框 is composed of: 木 (semantic), 匡 (phonetic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿰木匡 with a left-right layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.
What are common words containing 框?
Common words with 框 include: 框架 (kuàng jià, "(construction) frame"); 条条框框 (tiáo tiáo kuàng kuàng, "fixed framework (idiom)"); 画框 (huà kuàng, "picture frame"); 门框 (mén kuàng, "door frame"); 镜框 (jìng kuàng, "picture frame"). There are over 30 compound words containing this character.
What characters sound the same as 框 (kuàng)?
Several characters share the pronunciation kuàng: 筐 (basket), 眶 ((bound form) eye socket), 狂 (mad), 况 (moreover), and 2 more. Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.
Is 框 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Yes, 框 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing with real-time feedback

Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.

Character data sourced from Unihan (Unicode Consortium), SUBTLEX-CH frequency corpus (Cai & Brysbaert, 2010), and Make Me a Hanzi (stroke data). Collocation strength measured via NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information). Verified by the HanziFeed linguistics team.

HSK classification follows the HSK 3.0 Standard (Center for Language Education and Cooperation, CLEC, 2022 revision). Idiom data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Data last verified: March 2026.