礎 meaning and stroke order
Foundation stone, plinth; basis
How to write 礎, stroke by stroke
18 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 礎
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- foundation
- base
How 礎 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Stone.
石 gives the meaning and 楚 hints at the sound.
Radical: 石 (stone), shared by 114 characters on this site.
How to remember 礎
礎 combines 石 (stone) on the left with 楚 (chǔ) on the right, which gives the sound. Picture a solid stone set under a pillar, and remember it is read like 楚.
礎 almost never stands alone in modern Chinese. It appears mainly in 基礎 (jīchǔ, foundation, basic), which is extremely common. Example: 他的中文基礎很好。(Tā de Zhōngwén jīchǔ hěn hǎo.) His Chinese foundation is very solid.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes write the right side as 林 or 禁 and forget the 疋 at the bottom of 楚. Also keep the third tone in jīchǔ and do not read it as chū.
Common words with 礎
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 基礎 | jīchǔ | base; foundation; basis; basic; fundamental | HSK 3 |
| 基礎設施 | jīchǔshèshī | infrastructure |
Questions about 礎
How many strokes are in 礎?
礎 is written with 18 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 礎 mean?
礎 (chǔ) means foundation stone, plinth; basis. A common word with it is 基础 (jīchǔ), meaning "base; foundation; basis; basic; fundamental".
How do you pronounce 礎?
礎 is pronounced chǔ, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 礎?
The radical of 礎 is 石, which carries the idea of "stone". Dictionaries list 礎 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 礎?
礎 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 础, used in mainland China and Singapore.
Why do I see 础 instead of 礎?
础 is the simplified form used in mainland China, written with 出 as the sound part. 礎 is the form used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and older texts. Both mean the same thing and are pronounced chǔ.
How do I say infrastructure using this character?
Use 基礎設施 (jīchǔ shèshī), which covers roads, power, water, and similar public systems. For example, 這個城市的基礎設施很完善 means this city's infrastructure is well developed.