朕 meaning and stroke order
The royal "we", for imperial use
How to write 朕, stroke by stroke
10 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 朕
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (used by an emperor or king) I; me; we (royal "we")
- (literary) omen
How 朕 is built
Components of the character.
Radical: 月 (moon), shared by 14 characters on this site.
How to remember 朕
Picture the emperor beside the moon 月 at the palace gate 关, speaking of himself as if he were as lofty as the moon itself. Only he may say 朕 (zhèn) for "I".
朕 is the first-person pronoun reserved for an emperor, so today you meet it in historical dramas, novels and classical texts rather than in daily speech. Example: 朕知道了。(Zhèn zhīdào le.) "We are aware of it." People sometimes use it jokingly online to sound grand.
Common mistake: Learners often read 朕 with a third tone or mix it up with 胖 (pàng, fat), which also has 月 on the left. Remember that 朕 takes a falling fourth tone and has 关 on the right, while 胖 has 半.
朕 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 朕
Learning 朕 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 朕
How many strokes are in 朕?
朕 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 朕 mean?
朕 (zhèn) means the royal "we", for imperial use.
How do you pronounce 朕?
朕 is pronounced zhèn, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 朕?
The radical of 朕 is 月, which carries the idea of "moon". Dictionaries list 朕 under this radical.
Can an ordinary person use 朕 to mean "I"?
Not seriously. Since the Qin dynasty it has been restricted to the emperor, so an ordinary person who uses it is joking or role-playing. In normal speech just say 我 (wǒ).
What does 朕 mean when it is not a pronoun?
In literary Chinese it can mean an omen or sign, as in the phrase 朕兆 (zhènzhào), "omen, portent". This sense is rare and mostly appears in classical writing.