燭 meaning and stroke order
Candle, taper; to illuminate, to shine
How to write 燭, stroke by stroke
17 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 燭
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- candle
- (literary) to illuminate
How 燭 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Fire.
火 gives the meaning and 蜀 hints at the sound.
Radical: 火 (fire), shared by 128 characters on this site.
How to remember 燭
燭 (zhú) is fire 火 on the left, which gives the meaning, plus 蜀 (shǔ) on the right, which hints at the sound. Picture a small flame burning on a candle: fire plus a sound clue gives you candle.
燭 is the traditional form, and on its own it is mostly literary. In everyday speech it appears in words like 蜡烛 (làzhú, candle) and 烛光 (zhúguāng, candlelight). Example: 停电了，点一支蜡燭吧。 (Tíngdiàn le, diǎn yì zhī làzhú ba.) The power is out, let's light a candle.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 燭 (zhú) with 觸 (chù, to touch) and 獨 (dú, alone), because all three share the 蜀 part. Check the left side: 火 means fire, so it is the candle.
Common words with 燭
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
Questions about 燭
How many strokes are in 燭?
燭 is written with 17 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 燭 mean?
燭 (zhú) means candle, taper; to illuminate, to shine. A common word with it is 蜡烛 (làzhú), meaning "candle".
How do you pronounce 燭?
燭 is pronounced zhú, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 燭?
The radical of 燭 is 火, which carries the idea of "fire". Dictionaries list 燭 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 燭?
燭 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 烛, used in mainland China and Singapore.
Why does 燭 sound like zhú when 蜀 is read shǔ?
The phonetic part only gives an approximate sound. Pronunciations have shifted over time, so 蜀 points toward the sound without matching it exactly. Other characters with 蜀, like 獨 (dú) and 觸 (chù), also differ from shǔ.
What measure word is used for candles?
The most common one is 支 (zhī), as in 一支蜡烛 (yì zhī làzhú, one candle). You will also hear 根 (gēn), which is used for long thin objects.