坠 meaning and stroke order
To fall; to drop; to weigh down
How to write 坠, stroke by stroke
7 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 坠
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to fall
- to drop
- to weigh down
How 坠 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Earth.
土 gives the meaning and 队 hints at the sound.
Radical: 土 (soil), shared by 183 characters on this site.
How to remember 坠
Picture a team 队 (duì) standing on top of the earth 土 (tǔ), and everything falls down to the ground. The 土 at the bottom shows where things end up when they drop, and 队 hints at the sound zhuì.
坠 is mostly used in written or formal Chinese and in fixed words like 坠落 (zhuìluò), 坠毁 (zhuìhuǐ) and 摇摇欲坠 (yáoyáo-yùzhuì). In everyday speech people usually say 掉 (diào) for things falling. Example: 飞机坠毁了。(Fēijī zhuìhuǐ le.) The plane crashed.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 坠 with 队 (duì, team) because 坠 contains it, or they read 坠 as duì. Remember the 土 at the bottom changes both the meaning and the sound to zhuì, said with a falling fourth tone.
Common words with 坠
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
坠 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 坠
How many strokes are in 坠?
坠 is written with 7 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 坠 mean?
坠 (zhuì) means to fall; to drop; to weigh down. A common word with it is 摇摇欲坠 (yáoyáo-yùzhuì), meaning "tottering; on the verge of collapse".
How do you pronounce 坠?
坠 is pronounced zhuì, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 坠?
The radical of 坠 is 土, which carries the idea of "soil". Dictionaries list 坠 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 坠?
The traditional form of 坠 is 墜. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 坠 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 坠 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 坠 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 坠 and 掉?
Both can mean to fall. 掉 (diào) is the everyday spoken word, as in 手机掉了 (my phone fell). 坠 sounds more formal and dramatic, and is common for planes, meteors, or falling from a height.
Does 坠 have any meaning besides falling?
Yes, it can mean to weigh down or hang heavily, as in 坠得慌 (feels heavy and dragging). It also appears in words for hanging ornaments, such as 耳坠 (ěrzhuì), earrings, and 吊坠 (diàozhuì), a pendant.