折 meaning and stroke order
To break; to fracture; to snap
How to write 折, 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 折
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to break
- to fracture
- to snap
- to suffer loss
- to bend
- to twist
- to snap
- to break (a stick, a bone etc)
- (bound form) to sustain a loss (in business)
- to turn sth over
- to turn upside down
- to tip sth out (of a container)
How 折 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A hand 扌 wielding an axe 斤.
Radical: 扌 (hand), shared by 342 characters on this site.
How to remember 折
A hand 扌 holding an axe 斤 chops a branch and breaks it. Think of the hand and axe snapping something in two, which is the core idea of 折 (zhé).
折 appears mostly in compound words, such as 骨折 (gǔzhé) for a broken bone and 折叠 (zhédié) for folding. In shops you will see it in discounts: 打八折 means 20 percent off, not 80 percent off. Example: 这件衣服打七折。(Zhè jiàn yīfu dǎ qī zhé.) This piece of clothing is 30 percent off.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 折 with 拆 (chāi, to take apart), which has an extra dot at the bottom of 斤. They also misread discounts: 打九折 means you pay 90 percent of the price.
Common words with 折
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 打折 | dǎzhé | to give a discount | HSK 4 |
| 折磨 | zhémó | to torment; to torture | HSK 7-9 |
| 骨折 | gǔzhé | to suffer a fracture; (of a bone) to break | HSK 7-9 |
| 折腾 | zhēteng | to toss from side to side (e.g. sleeplessly); to repeat sth over and over again | HSK 7-9 |
| 挫折 | cuòzhé | setback; reverse | HSK 7-9 |
| 折扣 | zhékòu | discount | HSK 7-9 |
| 折叠 | zhédié | to fold; collapsible; folding (bicycle, antenna, bed etc) | HSK 7-9 |
| 转折点 | zhuǎnzhédiǎn | turning point; breaking point | HSK 7-9 |
| 转折 | zhuǎnzhé | shift in the trend of events; turnaround | HSK 7-9 |
| 曲折 | qūzhé | winding; (fig.) complicated | HSK 7-9 |
| 波折 | bōzhé | twists and turns | HSK 7-9 |
| 存折 | cúnzhé | passbook; bankbook | HSK 7-9 |
| 折合 | zhéhé | to convert into; to amount to | HSK 7-9 |
| 折射 | zhéshè | to refract; refraction | HSK 7-9 |
折 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 折
Learning 折 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 折
How many strokes are in 折?
折 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 折 mean?
折 (zhé) means to break; to fracture; to snap. A common word with it is 打折 (dǎzhé), meaning "to give a discount".
How do you pronounce 折?
折 is pronounced zhé, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 折?
The radical of 折 is 扌, which carries the idea of "hand". Dictionaries list 折 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 折?
The traditional form of 折 is 摺. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 折 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 折 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 折 is part of the HSK 4 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
Why does 折 have three pronunciations?
Most uses are zhé, as in 折扣 (zhékòu). It is read shé when something snaps by itself, as in 绳子折了 (shéngzi shé le), the rope broke. It is read zhē in 折腾 (zhēteng) and when turning something over or pouring it out.
How do you say a turning point or setback with 折?
Use 转折点 (zhuǎnzhédiǎn) for a turning point and 挫折 (cuòzhé) for a setback. Both use the idea of something bending or breaking off its course.