週 meaning and stroke order
Week; turn, cycle; anniversary
How to write 週, stroke by stroke
11 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
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- 11
Meaning of 週
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- week
- weekly
- variant of 周[zhou1]
How 週 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. To walk 辶 in a circle 周; 周 also provides the pronunciation.
Radical: 辶 (to walk), shared by 131 characters on this site.
How to remember 週
Picture someone walking 辶 all the way around a circle 周 until they come back to the start. A week is that kind of loop, seven days and then you begin again. 周 also gives the sound zhōu.
週 is the traditional-script way of writing 'week', used in Taiwan and Hong Kong. In mainland simplified Chinese the same words are written with 周, so 週末 becomes 周末. Example: 我們週末去看電影。 (Wǒmen zhōumò qù kàn diànyǐng.) We are going to see a movie this weekend.
Common mistake: Learners often drop the 辶 and write only 周 inside a traditional-character text, or add 辶 to simplified text where it does not belong. Pick one script and stay consistent. Also keep the first tone, zhōu, not zhòu.
Common words with 週
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
Questions about 週
How many strokes are in 週?
週 is written with 11 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 週 mean?
週 (zhōu) means week; turn, cycle; anniversary. A common word with it is 周末 (zhōumò), meaning "weekend".
How do you pronounce 週?
週 is pronounced zhōu, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 週?
The radical of 週 is 辶, which carries the idea of "to walk". Dictionaries list 週 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 週?
週 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 周, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What is the difference between 週 and 星期 for 'week'?
Both mean week. 星期 (xīngqī) is more common in everyday speech, as in 星期一 for Monday. 週 sounds a little shorter and more written, as in 週一 or 每週.
Can 週 be used for things other than weeks?
Yes. It can mean a cycle or anniversary, as in 週年 (zhōunián) anniversary and 週期 (zhōuqī) cycle. For meanings like 'circumference' or 'thorough', traditional texts usually use 周 instead.