皂 meaning and stroke order
Soap; black; menial servant
How to write 皂, stroke by stroke
7 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
Meaning of 皂
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- soap
- black
How 皂 is built
Components of the character.
Radical: 白 (white), shared by 21 characters on this site.
How to remember 皂
皂 is 白 (bái, white) on top of 七 (qī, seven). Picture rubbing a bar of soap seven times until your hands foam up white.
In modern Chinese 皂 almost always appears in words for soap, such as 肥皂 (féizào) for laundry or general soap and 香皂 (xiāngzào) for scented hand soap. The meaning "black" survives mainly in set phrases like 不分青红皂白 (bù fēn qīng hóng zào bái), "not distinguishing right from wrong." Example: 用香皂洗手。(Yòng xiāngzào xǐ shǒu.) Wash your hands with soap.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 皂 (zào) with 阜 (fù) or 帛 (bó) because they share similar top parts. The bottom of 皂 is 七, not 十 or 巾. Also keep the fourth tone, zào, not zǎo like 早.
Common words with 皂
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 肥皂 | féizào | soap | HSK 7-9 |
| 香皂 | xiāngzào | perfumed soap; toilet soap | |
| 肥皂剧 | féizàojù | soap opera (loanword) |
皂 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 皂
How many strokes are in 皂?
皂 is written with 7 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 皂 mean?
皂 (zào) means soap; black; menial servant. A common word with it is 肥皂 (féizào), meaning "soap".
How do you pronounce 皂?
皂 is pronounced zào, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 皂?
The radical of 皂 is 白, which carries the idea of "white". Dictionaries list 皂 under this radical.
Is 皂 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 皂 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 肥皂 and 香皂?
肥皂 (féizào) is the general word and often means plain soap, including laundry soap. 香皂 (xiāngzào) is scented soap meant for washing your body or hands.
Why does 皂 mean black if it contains 白 (white)?
The data lists both soap and black as senses, but the black meaning is now literary. You will mostly see it in the idiom 不分青红皂白, where 皂 (black) contrasts with 白 (white).