拙 meaning and stroke order
Awkward, clumsy; dull, stupid
How to write 拙, 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.
- 1
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- 8
Meaning of 拙
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- awkward
- clumsy
- dull
- inelegant
- (polite) my
- Taiwan pr. [zhuo2]
How 拙 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Hand.
扌 gives the meaning and 出 hints at the sound.
Radical: 扌 (hand), shared by 342 characters on this site.
How to remember 拙
拙 combines the hand radical 扌 with 出 (chū), which gives the sound. Picture a clumsy hand that lets things slip out (出) of its grip.
拙 usually appears in compounds like 笨拙 (bènzhuō) and 拙劣 (zhuōliè) rather than alone. It is also a humble way to say "my" about your own work, as in 拙作 (zhuōzuò), my humble writing. Example: 他的动作很笨拙。(Tā de dòngzuò hěn bènzhuō.) His movements are very clumsy.
Common mistake: Learners often read 拙 as chū because of its phonetic part 出, but the correct reading is zhuō. Do not confuse it with 茁 (zhuó, sturdy growth), which shares 出 but has the grass radical on top.
Common words with 拙
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
拙 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 拙
How many strokes are in 拙?
拙 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 拙 mean?
拙 (zhuō) means awkward, clumsy; dull, stupid. A common word with it is 拙劣 (zhuōliè), meaning "clumsy; botched".
How do you pronounce 拙?
拙 is pronounced zhuō, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 拙?
The radical of 拙 is 扌, which carries the idea of "hand". Dictionaries list 拙 under this radical.
Is 拙 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 拙 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why do people use 拙 to talk about their own things?
Calling your own work clumsy is a traditional form of modesty. Phrases like 拙见 (zhuōjiàn, my humble opinion) and 拙作 (zhuōzuò, my humble work) sound polite and somewhat formal.
What does 弄巧成拙 mean?
弄巧成拙 (nòng qiǎo chéng zhuō) means trying to be clever and ending up making things worse. It contrasts 巧 (qiǎo, skillful) with 拙 (zhuō, clumsy).