长 meaning and stroke order
Long; (bound form) length; (bound form) strong point; forte
How to write 长, stroke by stroke
4 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
Meaning of 长
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- long
- (bound form) length
- (bound form) strong point; forte
- (bound form) to be good at
- (literary) surplus; spare (Taiwan pr. [zhang4])
- chief
- head
- elder
- to grow
- to develop
- to increase
How 长 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. Simplified form of 長; an old man with long hair and a cane.
How to remember 长
长 comes from a picture of an old man with long hair leaning on a cane. Long hair suggests 长 (cháng) long, and an old man suggests an elder or chief, 长 (zhǎng).
Read it cháng when it means long, as in 很长 (hěn cháng) very long, and zhǎng when it means to grow or a leader, as in 校长 (xiàozhǎng) headmaster and 长大 (zhǎngdà) to grow up. Example: 她的头发很长。(Tā de tóufa hěn cháng.) Her hair is very long.
Common mistake: Learners often read every 长 as cháng, saying chángdà instead of 长大 (zhǎngdà) or bānchǎng instead of 班长 (bānzhǎng). A good rule: titles ending in 长 for a leader are almost always zhǎng.
Common words with 长
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 长大 | zhǎngdà | to grow up | HSK 2 |
| 队长 | duìzhǎng | captain; team leader | HSK 2 |
| 市长 | shìzhǎng | mayor | HSK 2 |
| 校长 | xiàozhǎng | (college, university) president; headmaster | HSK 2 |
| 家长 | jiāzhǎng | head of a household; family head | HSK 2 |
| 院长 | yuànzhǎng | the head of an institution whose name ends in 院[yuan4]; chair of a board; university presi | HSK 2 |
| 组长 | zǔzhǎng | group leader | HSK 2 |
| 班长 | bānzhǎng | class monitor; squad leader | HSK 2 |
| 部长 | bùzhǎng | head of a (government etc) department; section chief | HSK 3 |
| 成长 | chéngzhǎng | to mature; to grow | HSK 3 |
| 长期 | chángqī | long-term; for a protracted period | HSK 3 |
| 生长 | shēngzhǎng | to grow; to grow up | HSK 3 |
| 增长 | zēngzhǎng | to grow; to increase | HSK 3 |
| 所长 | suǒzhǎng | what one is good at; one's strong point | HSK 3 |
长 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 长
Learning 长 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 长
How many strokes are in 长?
长 is written with 4 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 长 mean?
长 (cháng) means long; (bound form) length; (bound form) strong point; forte. A common word with it is 长大 (zhǎngdà), meaning "to grow up".
How do you pronounce 长?
长 has more than one reading: cháng and zhǎng. The most common is cháng, said in the second tone (rising).
What is the traditional form of 长?
The traditional form of 长 is 長. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 长 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 长 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 长 is part of the HSK 2 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 1.
How do I say how long something is with 长?
Use 多长 (duō cháng), as in 这条河有多长？(Zhè tiáo hé yǒu duō cháng?) How long is this river? For time you can also say 多长时间 (duō cháng shíjiān) how long a time.
What does 长 mean in 长处 and 擅长?
Here it is cháng meaning a strong point or being good at something. 长处 (chángchu) means strength or merit, and 擅长 (shàncháng) means to be skilled at.