Chinese symbol for “helm”
舵
duò
helm; rudder
The closest CC-CEDICT match for helm is 舵 (duò), defined as: helm; rudder.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Other Chinese words for “helm”
Related words
Other words that share a character with 舵.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 掌舵 | zhǎng duò | to steer (a ship) |
| 舵手 | duò shǒu | helmsman |
| 船舵 | chuán duò | rudder; helm of a ship |
| 操舵 | cāo duò | to steer (a vessel); to hold the rudder |
| 满舵 (滿舵) | mǎn duò | on full rudder; turning as sharply as possible |
| 见风使舵 (見風使舵) | jiàn fēng shǐ duò | lit. see the wind and set the helm (idiom); fig. to act pragmatically; to be flexible and take advantage of the situation |
See also: Japanese symbol for “helm”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.