酌 meaning and stroke order
To pour wine, to drink wine; to deliberate, to consider
How to write 酌, stroke by stroke
10 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
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
Meaning of 酌
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to pour wine
- to drink wine
- to deliberate
- to consider
How 酌 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Wine.
酉 gives the meaning and 勺 hints at the sound.
Radical: 酉 (wine), shared by 67 characters on this site.
How to remember 酌
On the left is 酉, a wine jar, and on the right is 勺 (sháo), a ladle. Picture ladling wine out of the jar carefully, measuring each pour, and you get both meanings: to pour wine and to weigh things carefully.
In modern Chinese 酌 mostly appears in formal words about careful judgment, such as 酌情 (zhuóqíng) and 斟酌 (zhēnzhuó). The wine meaning survives mainly in literary phrases. Example: 请酌情处理。(Qǐng zhuóqíng chǔlǐ.) Please handle it as you see fit.
Common mistake: Learners often read 酌 as sháo because of the phonetic 勺, but it is pronounced zhuó with a second tone. It is also easy to confuse with 酎 (zhòu), which has 寸 on the right instead of 勺.
Common words with 酌
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 酌情 | zhuóqíng | to use discretion; to take circumstances into account | HSK 7-9 |
酌 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 酌
How many strokes are in 酌?
酌 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 酌 mean?
酌 (zhuó) means to pour wine, to drink wine; to deliberate, to consider. A common word with it is 酌情 (zhuóqíng), meaning "to use discretion; to take circumstances into account".
How do you pronounce 酌?
酌 is pronounced zhuó, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 酌?
The radical of 酌 is 酉, which carries the idea of "wine". Dictionaries list 酌 under this radical.
Is 酌 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 酌 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 斟酌 mean?
斟酌 (zhēnzhuó) originally meant to pour wine, and now means to think something over carefully or weigh your words. For example, 这件事还需要斟酌 (zhè jiàn shì hái xūyào zhēnzhuó) means this matter still needs careful thought.
Can I use 酌 alone to mean drinking in everyday speech?
Not usually. In daily speech people say 喝酒 (hē jiǔ). 酌 for drinking appears in literary or set expressions like 小酌 (xiǎozhuó), a small casual drink.