朱 meaning and stroke order
Cinnabar, vermilion; surname
How to write 朱, stroke by stroke
6 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
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
Meaning of 朱
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- vermilion
- (bound form) cinnabar
How 朱 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. The color of the sap 一 of some trees 木.
Radical: 木 (tree), shared by 388 characters on this site.
How to remember 朱
Picture a tree 木 with a line 一 cut across its trunk. The sap that seeps out of that cut is a bright red, so 朱 (zhū) means vermilion.
朱 is mostly a bound form today. You see it in color words like 朱红 (zhūhóng) and as a very common surname. Example: 他姓朱。(Tā xìng Zhū.) His surname is Zhu.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 朱 with 未 (wèi, not yet) and 末 (mò, end), which are also 木 with extra lines. Remember that 朱 has a short stroke on top that slants left, like 牛, plus the line across the middle.
Common words with 朱
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
朱 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 朱
Learning 朱 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 朱
How many strokes are in 朱?
朱 is written with 6 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 朱 mean?
朱 (zhū) means cinnabar, vermilion; surname. A common word with it is 朱红 (zhūhóng), meaning "vermilion".
How do you pronounce 朱?
朱 is pronounced zhū, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 朱?
The radical of 朱 is 木, which carries the idea of "tree". Dictionaries list 朱 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 朱?
The traditional form of 朱 is 硃. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 朱 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 朱 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 朱 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Is 朱 the same as 珠 or 猪?
No, but they share the sound zhū. 珠 (zhū) means pearl and 猪 (zhū) means pig. In those characters 朱 gives the pronunciation, while the other part gives the meaning.
Why does 朱古力 mean chocolate?
朱古力 (zhūgǔlì) is a sound loan from English chocolate, mainly used in Cantonese-speaking areas like Hong Kong. In Mainland Mandarin the usual word is 巧克力 (qiǎokèlì).