杵 meaning and stroke order
Pestle; to grind
How to write 杵, 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
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Meaning of 杵
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- pestle
- to poke
How 杵 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Wood.
木 gives the meaning and 午 hints at the sound.
Radical: 木 (tree), shared by 388 characters on this site.
How to remember 杵
杵 is a wooden (木) tool that sounds like 午 (wǔ). Picture someone at noon (午) pounding grain with a heavy wooden pestle.
杵 (chǔ) usually means a pestle or a pounding stick, and it often appears in set words like 杵臼 (chǔjiù, pestle and mortar). As a verb it means to poke or jab with something long, and in casual northern speech it can describe someone standing stiffly in place. Example: 他用棍子杵了杵地。(Tā yòng gùnzi chǔ le chǔ dì.) He poked the ground with a stick.
Common mistake: Learners often read 杵 as wǔ because of the 午 component, but the correct reading is chǔ with a third tone. Also do not confuse it with 件 (jiàn), which has 亻 on the left instead of 木.
Questions about 杵
How many strokes are in 杵?
杵 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 杵 mean?
杵 (chǔ) means pestle; to grind.
How do you pronounce 杵?
杵 is pronounced chǔ, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 杵?
The radical of 杵 is 木, which carries the idea of "tree". Dictionaries list 杵 under this radical.
What does the idiom 铁杵磨成针 mean?
铁杵磨成针 (tiě chǔ mó chéng zhēn) means grinding an iron pestle down into a needle. It describes how steady, patient effort can achieve something very hard.
How do you say mortar and pestle in Chinese?
The common terms are 杵臼 (chǔjiù) or 研钵和研杵 (yánbō hé yánchǔ). In a kitchen context people also say 捣蒜器 (dǎosuànqì) for a garlic pounder.