昼 meaning and stroke order
Daytime, daylight
How to write 昼, 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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- 9
Meaning of 昼
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- daytime
How 昼 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. When the sun is a foot 尺 above the horizon 旦.
Radical: 尸 (body), shared by 40 characters on this site.
How to remember 昼
Picture the sunrise 旦 (dàn), the sun over the horizon, with a ruler 尺 (chǐ) on top. When the sun has climbed a foot above the horizon, it is fully daytime: 昼 (zhòu).
昼 is a formal or written word and rarely stands alone in speech. It mostly appears in set words like 昼夜 (zhòuyè) and 白昼 (báizhòu). Example: 医院昼夜都有医生。(Yīyuàn zhòuyè dōu yǒu yīshēng.) The hospital has doctors day and night.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 昼 (zhòu) with 尽 (jìn), because both start with a 尺-like top. 昼 has 旦 underneath, while 尽 has two dots. Also remember the tone is fourth, zhòu, not zhōu like 周.
Common words with 昼
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
昼 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 昼
How many strokes are in 昼?
昼 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 昼 mean?
昼 (zhòu) means daytime, daylight. A common word with it is 昼夜 (zhòuyè), meaning "day and night; period of 24 hours".
How do you pronounce 昼?
昼 is pronounced zhòu, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 昼?
The radical of 昼 is 尸, which carries the idea of "body". Dictionaries list 昼 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 昼?
The traditional form of 昼 is 晝. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 昼 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 昼 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 昼 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the everyday word for daytime instead of 昼?
In daily speech people say 白天 (báitiān) for daytime and 晚上 (wǎnshang) for night. 昼 sounds literary, so save it for set phrases and writing.
What does 昼夜 mean in phrases like 昼夜温差?
昼夜 means day and night, or a full 24-hour period. 昼夜温差 (zhòuyè wēnchā) is the temperature difference between day and night, a common phrase in weather reports.