衆 meaning and stroke order
Multitude, crowd; the public
How to write 衆, 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 衆
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- variant of 眾|众[zhong4]
How 衆 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Side-by-side.
乑 gives the meaning.
Radical: 血 (blood), shared by 5 characters on this site.
How to remember 衆
衆 has 血 (xuè, blood) on top and 乑, a cluster of side-by-side figures, below. Picture many people standing shoulder to shoulder in a crowd, a multitude of living, warm-blooded people.
衆 is a variant form of 眾 and 众, so it means a crowd, many people, or the public. You mostly see it in older texts, Japanese writing, or stylized signs, while modern Chinese uses 众 (simplified) or 眾 (traditional). Example: 衆人都笑了 (zhòngrén dōu xiào le), everyone laughed.
Common mistake: Learners often read the top part as 血 and assume the word relates to blood. It does not; the meaning comes from the crowd of people below. Also keep the fourth tone in zhòng, not the first tone zhōng as in 中.
Questions about 衆
How many strokes are in 衆?
衆 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 衆 mean?
衆 (zhòng) means multitude, crowd; the public.
How do you pronounce 衆?
衆 is pronounced zhòng, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 衆?
The radical of 衆 is 血, which carries the idea of "blood". Dictionaries list 衆 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 衆?
衆 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 众, used in mainland China and Singapore.
Should I write 衆, 眾, or 众?
Write 众 in mainland China and Singapore, and 眾 in Taiwan and Hong Kong. 衆 is a variant that is standard in Japanese but uncommon in everyday modern Chinese.
What common words use this character?
Common words include 群衆 (qúnzhòng, the masses), 觀衆 (guānzhòng, audience), and 公衆 (gōngzhòng, the public). In modern Chinese they are usually written with 众 or 眾.