雜 meaning and stroke order
Mix, blend; various, miscellaneous
How to write 雜, stroke by stroke
18 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 雜
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- mixed
- miscellaneous
- various
- to mix
How 雜 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character.
隹 hints at the sound.
Radical: 隹 (short-tailed bird), shared by 32 characters on this site.
How to remember 雜
On the left, a lid 亠 sits over two people 从 standing on wood 木, and on the right is a bird 隹, which the data marks as the sound part. Picture people, wood and birds all crowded together, a real mix of various things.
雜 is the traditional form, and in mainland China you will see 杂 instead. It appears mostly in compounds meaning mixed or miscellaneous, such as 複雜 (fùzá, complicated) and 雜誌 (zázhì, magazine). Example: 這個問題很複雜。(Zhège wèntí hěn fùzá.) This problem is very complicated.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes put 九 on the left when writing the traditional form, because the simplified form 杂 has 九 on top. In 雜 the left side is 亠 over 从 over 木, with 隹 on the right. Also keep the second tone in zá, not zà or zǎ.
Common words with 雜
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 複雜 | fùzá | complicated; complex | HSK 3 |
| 雜誌 | zázhì | magazine | HSK 3 |
| 雜交 | zájiāo | to hybridize; to crossbreed | HSK 7-9 |
| 錯綜複雜 | cuòzōng-fùzá | tangled and complicated (idiom) | HSK 7-9 |
| 雜技 | zájì | acrobatics | HSK 7-9 |
| 雜亂無章 | záluàn-wúzhāng | disordered and in a mess (idiom); all mixed up and chaotic | HSK 7-9 |
| 雜種 | zázhǒng | hybrid; mixed breed | |
| 雜貨店 | záhuòdiàn | grocery store; emporium | |
| 雜草 | zácǎo | weeds | |
| 雜碎 | zásui | offal; cooked minced offal | |
| 雜誌社 | zázhìshè | magazine publisher | |
| 雜耍 | záshuǎ | a sideshow; vaudeville | |
| 雜物 | záwù | junk; items of no value | |
| 雜貨 | záhuò | groceries; miscellaneous goods |
Questions about 雜
How many strokes are in 雜?
雜 is written with 18 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 雜 mean?
雜 (zá) means mix, blend; various, miscellaneous. A common word with it is 复杂 (fùzá), meaning "complicated; complex".
How do you pronounce 雜?
雜 is pronounced zá, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 雜?
The radical of 雜 is 隹, which carries the idea of "short-tailed bird". Dictionaries list 雜 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 雜?
雜 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 杂, used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 雜 used in 杂种 (zázhǒng) something I should avoid saying?
Yes, in casual speech 杂种 is a strong insult similar to calling someone a bastard. In biology, people usually say 杂交 (zájiāo) or 杂交种 for hybrids to avoid that meaning.
How is 雜 different from 混 (hùn) when both mean to mix?
雜 mostly describes something as mixed, varied or miscellaneous, as in 杂货店 (záhuòdiàn, grocery store). 混 is more often the action of mixing things together, as in 混合 (hùnhé, to mix).