昭 meaning and stroke order
Bright, luminous; clear, manifest
How to write 昭, stroke by stroke
9 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 昭
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- bright
- clear
- manifest
- to show clearly
How 昭 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Sun.
日 gives the meaning and 召 hints at the sound.
Radical: 日 (sun), shared by 116 characters on this site.
How to remember 昭
The sun 日 on the left gives the meaning of brightness, and 召 (zhào, to summon) on the right gives the sound. Picture the sun being summoned to shine, making everything bright and clear.
昭 is a literary character, rarely used alone in modern speech. It mostly appears in set phrases and names, where it means clear or plain for all to see. Example: 他是个臭名昭著的骗子。(Tā shì gè chòumíngzhāozhù de piànzi.) He is a notorious swindler.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 昭 (zhāo) with 照 (zhào, to shine or photograph), which adds the fire dots 灬 underneath and has a fourth tone. Also, 臭名昭著 is always negative, so do not use it to mean famous in a good way.
Common words with 昭
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 臭名昭著 | chòumíngzhāozhù | notorious; infamous |
昭 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 昭
Learning 昭 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 昭
How many strokes are in 昭?
昭 is written with 9 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 昭 mean?
昭 (zhāo) means bright, luminous; clear, manifest. A common word with it is 臭名昭著 (chòumíngzhāozhù), meaning "notorious; infamous".
How do you pronounce 昭?
昭 is pronounced zhāo, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 昭?
The radical of 昭 is 日, which carries the idea of "sun". Dictionaries list 昭 under this radical.
Is 昭 used in names?
Yes, 昭 is common in Chinese given names because it suggests brightness and openness. It also appears in historical names and era titles, such as the Japanese era name 昭和 (Shōwa), read zhāohé in Mandarin.
What other phrases use 昭?
A well known one is 昭然若揭 (zhāorán ruò jiē), meaning something is completely obvious or exposed. Another is 天理昭昭 (tiānlǐ zhāozhāo), meaning heaven's justice is plain to see.