粥 meaning and stroke order
Congee; gruel; porridge
How to write 粥, stroke by stroke
12 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 粥
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- congee
- gruel
- porridge
- used in 葷粥|荤粥[Xun1 yu4]
How 粥 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. Steaming 弓 rice 米.
Radical: 米 (rice), shared by 50 characters on this site.
How to remember 粥
Picture rice 米 (mǐ) in the middle with two curvy 弓 shapes on each side, like wisps of steam rising from a hot bowl. Steaming rice cooked soft and watery is 粥 (zhōu), congee.
粥 is the everyday word for rice porridge or congee, often eaten for breakfast or when someone is sick. It combines with ingredients to name dishes, such as 小米粥 (xiǎomǐ zhōu, millet porridge). Example: 我早上喝了一碗粥。(Wǒ zǎoshang hē le yì wǎn zhōu.) I had a bowl of congee this morning.
Common mistake: Learners often say 吃粥 by analogy with 吃饭, but most speakers say 喝粥 (hē zhōu), since congee is thin and drunk from the bowl. Also check that both sides are 弓 and not 弔 or 引, and that 米 stays in the middle.
Common words with 粥
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 一锅粥 | yīguōzhōu | (lit.) a pot of porridge; (fig.) a complete mess | HSK 7-9 |
粥 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 粥
How many strokes are in 粥?
粥 is written with 12 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 粥 mean?
粥 (zhōu) means congee; gruel; porridge. A common word with it is 一锅粥 (yīguōzhōu), meaning "(lit.) a pot of porridge; (fig.) a complete mess".
How do you pronounce 粥?
粥 is pronounced zhōu, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 粥?
The radical of 粥 is 米, which carries the idea of "rice". Dictionaries list 粥 under this radical.
Is 粥 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 粥 is part of the HSK 6 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 一锅粥 mean when people say it about a situation?
Literally it is a pot of porridge, but figuratively it means a complete mess. You might hear 乱成一锅粥 (luàn chéng yì guō zhōu), meaning things have turned into total chaos.
Is 粥 ever read as yù?
Yes, but only in the rare historical name 荤粥 (Xūnyù), an ancient northern people. In everyday Chinese, always read it as zhōu.