鹿 (lù): deer

鹿 (lù) is a Chinese character meaning “deer.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 广 (structural). It ranks #2024 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically pictographic, 鹿 a deer with an antlered head, two legs, and a tail. Its radical form 鹿 (deer) appears in many related characters.

Native pronunciation

HSK 7-9 Radical: 鹿 deer11 strokesFrequency #2024广 structural

Definitions

deer

Etymology & Origin

鹿

pictographicA deer with an antlered head, two legs, and a tail

Components:广structural

Stroke Order

Practice writing 鹿 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
长颈鹿	cháng jǐng lù	giraffe
驼鹿	tuó lù	elk
麋鹿	mí lù	Père David's deer (Elaphurus davidianus), species of deer native to China that is critically endangered
鹿角	lù jiǎo	antler
鹿肉	lù ròu	venison
鹿特丹	lù tè dān	Rotterdam, port city in the Netherlands
鹿死谁手	lù sǐ shéi shǒu	lit. at whose hand will the deer die (idiom)
梅花鹿	méi huā lù	sika deer
三鹿	sān lù	Sanlu (brand)
鹿谷	lù gǔ	Lugu or Luku Township in Nantou County 南投縣\|南投县[Nan2 tou2 Xian4], central Taiwan
鹿茸	lù róng	young deer antler prior to ossification (used in TCM)
群雄逐鹿	qún xióng zhú lù	great heroes pursue deer in the central plains (idiom)
鹿野	lù yě	Luye or Luyeh township in Taitung County 臺東縣\|台东县[Tai2 dong1 Xian4], southeast Taiwan
指鹿为马	zhǐ lù wéi mǎ	making a deer out to be a horse (idiom)
指鹿作马	zhǐ lù zuò mǎ	to take a deer and call it a horse (idiom)

Total compounds

As first character

As last character

As middle character

鹿 appears in 55 compound words: 45 as the first character, 38 as the last, and 16 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 鹿 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

颈jǐng

0.5333,147 co-occurrences

驯xùn

0.5261,506 co-occurrences

岛dǎo

0.4348,587 co-occurrences

港gǎng

0.41820,216 co-occurrences

野yě

0.4099,846 co-occurrences

鸣míng

0.4051,200 co-occurrences

丹dān

0.4026,282 co-occurrences

秃tū

0.398354 co-occurrences

牡mǔ

0.398756 co-occurrences

沙shā

0.3988,991 co-occurrences

Idioms & Chengyu (4)

鹿死谁手lùsǐshéishǒuHSK 7+

who will win the prize; who will gain supremacy; who will emerge as the victor

phrase

指鹿为马zhǐlùwéimǎHSK 7+

to be a false witness; to deliberately misinterpret and invert right and wrong

phrase

逐鹿中原zhúlùzhōngyuánHSK 7+

to fight for the throne and control over China

phrase

Showing 3 of 4 idioms containing 鹿.

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

梅花鹿在森林中漫步。

Méihuā lù zài sēnlín zhōng mànbù.

The sika deer strolls in the forest.

EttodayFeb 2026

日本救觀光!鹿兒島「最新旅遊補助」曝光預計6月開跑

rì běn jiù 觀 guāng ! lù 兒島 zuì xīn lǚ 遊補 zhù pù guāng 預計 yuè 開 pǎo

Japan Saves Tourism! Kagoshima's "Latest Travel Subsidy" Revealed, Set to Launch in June

EttodayFeb 2026

鹿港老街「年破2200萬人次」稱霸全台!網...

lù gǎng lǎo jiē nián pò 萬 rén cì 稱 bà quán tái ! 網 . . .

Lukang Old Street draws over 22 million visitors a year, dominating all of Taiwan! Netizens...

工商時報Feb 2026

鹿兒島拚觀光!最新旅遊補助曝光「台灣人納入...

lù 兒島拚觀 guāng ! zuì xīn lǚ 遊補 zhù pù guāng tái 灣 rén 納 rù . . .

Kagoshima Boosts Tourism! Latest Travel Subsidy Revealed: "Taiwanese Included..."

LtnFeb 2026

米可白春節鹿港老街賣餅累到雙耳耳鳴、聲音沙啞

mǐ kě bái chūn 節 lù gǎng lǎo jiē 賣餅 lěi dào 雙 ěr ěr 鳴聲 yīn shā 啞

Miko Bai sold pastries on Lukang Old Street during the Spring Festival, working so hard her ears rang and her voice became hoarse.

Hk01.comFeb 2026

鹿兒島補助外國遊客乘搭新幹線引爭議知事:...

lù 兒島補 zhù wài 國遊 kè chéng dā xīn 幹線 yǐn 爭議 zhī shì . . .

Controversy over Kagoshima's subsidy for foreign tourists to ride Shinkansen:...

Tatoeba

蚂蚁和长颈鹿是远亲。

Mǎyǐ hé chángjǐnglù shì yuǎnqīn.

Ants and giraffes are distant cousins.

Tatoeba

汤姆和玛丽猎鹿去了。

Tāngmǔ hé Mǎlì liè lù qù le.

Tom and Mary went deer hunting.

Tatoeba

新生的长颈鹿摇晃着腿跌跌撞撞地走。

Xīnshēng de chángjǐnglù yáohuàng zhe tuǐ diēdiezhuàngzhuàng de zǒu.

The newborn giraffe stumbled around on rickety legs.

Tatoeba

长颈鹿一脚可以踢死狮子。

Chángjǐnglù yī jiǎo kěyǐ tī sǐ shīzi.

A giraffe's kick could kill a lion.

Character Family

Homophones — Characters pronounced lù

炉lú 陆lù 录lù 路lù 露lù

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 鹿 (lù) mean in Chinese?

鹿 (lù) primarily means "deer." It is classified as HSK Level 7-9, making it an expert-level character. It ranks #2024 in character frequency.

How many strokes does 鹿 have?

鹿 is written with 11 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 鹿?

The radical associated with 鹿 is 鹿 (deer). This radical appears in many characters related to deer.

What are the components of 鹿?

鹿 is composed of: 广 (structural), undefined (phonetic). Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.

What are common words containing 鹿?

Common words with 鹿 include: 长颈鹿 (cháng jǐng lù, "giraffe"); 驼鹿 (tuó lù, "elk"); 麋鹿 (mí lù, "Père David's deer (Elaphurus davidianus), species of deer native to China that is critically endangered"); 鹿角 (lù jiǎo, "antler"); 鹿肉 (lù ròu, "venison"). There are over 55 compound words containing this character.

What characters sound the same as 鹿 (lù)?

Several characters share the pronunciation lù: 炉 (stove), 陆 (six (banker's anti-fraud numeral)), 录 (to carve wood), 路 (road), and 1 more. Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.

Is 鹿 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?

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

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