帚 meaning and stroke order
Broom, broomstick
How to write 帚, stroke by stroke
8 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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- 8
Meaning of 帚
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- broom
- variant of 帚[zhou3]
How 帚 is built
Pictographic character. A hand 巾 holding a broom with the head 彐 held up.
Radical: 巾 (cloth), shared by 53 characters on this site.
How to remember 帚
Picture a broom standing upright: the bristly head 彐 sits on top, a cover 冖 binds it, and the cloth-like 巾 hangs below. The etymology hint describes it as a hand holding a broom with its head held up.
帚 (zhǒu) rarely appears alone in modern speech. It mostly shows up in the word 扫帚 (sàozhou), where it is said in the neutral tone. Example: 把扫帚拿过来。(Bǎ sàozhou ná guòlái.) Bring the broom over here.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 帚 with 归 (guī, return) or 雪 (xuě, snow), which share the 彐 shape. Also remember that in 扫帚 the second syllable is usually toneless (sàozhou), not a full third tone.
Common words with 帚
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 扫帚 | sàozhou | broom |
Characters that contain 帚
Learning 帚 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 帚
How many strokes are in 帚?
帚 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 帚 mean?
帚 (zhǒu) means broom, broomstick. A common word with it is 扫帚 (sàozhou), meaning "broom".
How do you pronounce 帚?
帚 is pronounced zhǒu, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 帚?
The radical of 帚 is 巾, which carries the idea of "cloth". Dictionaries list 帚 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 帚?
The traditional form of 帚 is 箒. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 帚 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
How is 帚 related to 妇 and 扫?
The traditional forms 婦 (woman) and 掃 (sweep) both contain 帚, linked to the idea of a broom. In simplified Chinese, 妇 and 扫 replaced 帚 with just 彐, so the broom part is shortened.
Is there an idiom that uses 帚?
Yes, 敝帚自珍 (bì zhǒu zì zhēn) means treasuring your own worn-out broom, that is, valuing something of yours that others think is worthless. It is often used modestly about one's own work.