Chinese symbol for “steer”
掌舵
zhǎng duò
to steer (a ship)
The closest CC-CEDICT match for steer is 掌舵 (zhǎng duò), defined as: to steer (a ship).
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 “steer”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 操 | cāo | to grasp; to hold |
| 操舵 | cāo duò | to steer (a vessel); to hold the rudder |
| 驾驭 (駕馭) | jià yù | to urge on (of horse); to drive |
| 把舵 | bǎ duò | to hold the rudder; to hold (to take, to be at) the helm |
| 操航 | cāo háng | to take the helm; to steer (a ship) |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 掌舵.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 掌握 | zhǎng wò | to grasp (often fig.); to control |
| 掌控 | zhǎng kòng | to control; in control of |
| 掌声 (掌聲) | zhǎng shēng | applause; 阵 (zhèn) |
| 掌管 | zhǎng guǎn | in charge of; to control |
| 鼓掌 | gǔ zhǎng | to applaud; to clap |
| 掌权 (掌權) | zhǎng quán | to wield (political etc) power; be in power |
| 舵手 | duò shǒu | helmsman |
| 船舵 | chuán duò | rudder; helm of a ship |
See also: Japanese symbol for “steer”.
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.