稠 meaning and stroke order
Dense; crowded; thick
How to write 稠, stroke by stroke
13 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 稠
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- dense
- crowded
- thick
- many
How 稠 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Grain.
禾 gives the meaning and 周 hints at the sound.
Radical: 禾 (cereal), shared by 66 characters on this site.
How to remember 稠
稠 combines 禾 (grain) with 周 (zhōu), which gives the sound. Picture grain plants packed tightly all around a field, so thick and dense you cannot see the ground.
稠 describes liquids that are thick, like porridge or paint, and things that are densely packed, like population. In formal writing it often appears in 稠密 (chóumì). Example: 这碗粥太稠了。(Zhè wǎn zhōu tài chóu le.) This bowl of porridge is too thick.
Common mistake: Learners often read 稠 as zhōu because of the 周 part, but it is pronounced chóu with a second tone. Also do not confuse it with 绸 (chóu, silk), which has the silk radical 纟 instead of 禾.
Common words with 稠
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 稠密 | chóumì | dense | HSK 7-9 |
稠 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 稠
How many strokes are in 稠?
稠 is written with 13 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 稠 mean?
稠 (chóu) means dense; crowded; thick. A common word with it is 稠密 (chóumì), meaning "dense".
How do you pronounce 稠?
稠 is pronounced chóu, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 稠?
The radical of 稠 is 禾, which carries the idea of "cereal". Dictionaries list 稠 under this radical.
Is 稠 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 稠 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the opposite of 稠?
The opposite is 稀 (xī), meaning thin, watery, or sparse. You will often hear them together, as in 粥太稀了还是太稠了 (Is the porridge too thin or too thick).
Can 稠 describe crowds of people?
Yes, but usually in set phrases like 人口稠密 (rénkǒu chóumì, densely populated) or 地窄人稠 (little land, many people). In everyday speech, people say 人很多 or 很挤 rather than using 稠 alone.