綢 meaning and stroke order
Silk cloth, satin damask
How to write 綢, stroke by stroke
14 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 綢
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (light) silk
How 綢 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Silk.
糹 gives the meaning and 周 hints at the sound.
Radical: 糹 (silk), shared by 126 characters on this site.
How to remember 綢
The silk radical 糹 on the left tells you this is about thread and fabric, and 周 (zhōu) on the right gives the sound. Picture silk thread wrapped all the way around (周) a bolt of smooth cloth.
綢 is the traditional form and is rarely used alone. It mostly appears in compounds like 絲綢 (sīchóu, silk cloth). Example: 這條圍巾是絲綢的。(Zhè tiáo wéijīn shì sīchóu de.) This scarf is made of silk.
Common mistake: Learners often read 綢 as zhōu because of its phonetic part 周, but the correct reading is chóu with a rising second tone. Also do not confuse it with 稠 (chóu, thick or dense), which has the grain radical 禾 instead of silk.
Common words with 綢
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 絲綢 | sīchóu | silk (cloth) | HSK 7-9 |
Questions about 綢
How many strokes are in 綢?
綢 is written with 14 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 綢 mean?
綢 (chóu) means silk cloth, satin damask. A common word with it is 丝绸 (sīchóu), meaning "silk (cloth)".
How do you pronounce 綢?
綢 is pronounced chóu, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 綢?
The radical of 綢 is 糹, which carries the idea of "silk". Dictionaries list 綢 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 綢?
綢 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 绸, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What is the difference between 絲 and 綢?
絲 (sī) refers to silk thread or fiber, and also anything thread-like. 綢 refers to the woven silk cloth. Together, 絲綢 is the everyday word for silk fabric.
Where does 綢 appear besides 絲綢?
A common example is the Silk Road, 絲綢之路 (Sīchóu zhī Lù). You may also see 綢緞 (chóuduàn), meaning silks and satins in general.