肇 meaning and stroke order
To begin, to start; to originate
How to write 肇, 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 肇
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- at first
- devise
- originate
How 肇 is built
Components of the character.
Radical: 聿 (writing brush), shared by 4 characters on this site.
How to remember 肇
Picture a door 户 (hù) being struck open 攵 (pū, a hand with a stick) above a writing brush 聿 (yù). Opening the door and picking up the brush is how you start something new, so 肇 (zhào) means to begin or to originate.
肇 is formal and rarely used alone in modern speech. You will mostly see it in 肇事 (zhàoshì), to cause an accident, which is common in news reports about traffic incidents. Example: 肇事司机逃跑了。(Zhàoshì sījī táopǎo le.) The driver who caused the accident ran away.
Common mistake: Learners often write the top left part as 尸 or 户 with the wrong first stroke, or confuse the bottom 聿 with 隶 or 書. Also remember the tone is fourth tone zhào, the same sound as 照 (zhào), so do not read it as zhāo.
Common words with 肇
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 肇事 | zhàoshì | to cause an accident; to be responsible for an incident | HSK 7-9 |
| 肇事者 | zhàoshìzhě | offender; culprit |
肇 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 肇
How many strokes are in 肇?
肇 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 肇 mean?
肇 (zhào) means to begin, to start; to originate. A common word with it is 肇事 (zhàoshì), meaning "to cause an accident; to be responsible for an incident".
How do you pronounce 肇?
肇 is pronounced zhào, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 肇?
The radical of 肇 is 聿, which carries the idea of "writing brush". Dictionaries list 肇 under this radical.
Is 肇 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 肇 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Is 肇事 only used for traffic accidents?
It is most common for traffic accidents, as in 肇事车辆 (zhàoshì chēliàng), the vehicle that caused the crash. It can also describe causing trouble or an incident more generally, but it always points to the person or thing responsible.
Why does 肇 appear in some Chinese names?
Because it carries the meaning of a beginning or founding, it sounds dignified and is used in personal names and place names, such as 肇庆 (Zhàoqìng), a city in Guangdong. In names it keeps the same reading, zhào.