Meaning of 祝
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to pray for
- to wish (sb bon voyage, happy birthday etc)
- person who invokes the spirits during sacrificial ceremonies
- surname Zhu
How to use 祝
祝 (zhù) is used to wish someone something good, and it usually comes right before the person and the wish. It appears in set phrases for birthdays, travel, holidays and letters. Example: 祝你生日快乐。(Zhù nǐ shēngrì kuàilè.) Happy birthday to you.
On the left is 礻, the side form of 示, which marks things related to spirits and worship. On the right is 兄 (xiōng), which shows a mouth 口 above a kneeling person 儿, so you can picture someone at an altar speaking words of prayer and good wishes.
Common mistake: Learners often write the left side as 衤 (the clothing radical, with an extra dot) instead of 礻, which makes it look like a different character. Also, do not use 祝 for hoping something happens to yourself. For that, use 希望 (xīwàng), as in 我希望明天不下雨.
祝 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
祝 zhù · to pray for · 9 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 祝.
Questions about 祝
What does 祝 mean?
祝 (zhù) means "to pray for; to wish (sb bon voyage, happy birthday etc)" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 祝?
祝 is made of 1 character: 祝 (9 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.
Is 祝 an HSK word?
Yes. 祝 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 祝 and 祝贺?
祝 wishes someone something good for the future, like 祝你成功 (zhù nǐ chénggōng), I wish you success. 祝贺 (zhùhè) congratulates someone on something that has already happened, like passing an exam or getting married.
How do I use 祝 at the end of an email or letter?
A common sign off is 祝好 (zhùhǎo), meaning all the best. You can also write 祝一切顺利 (zhù yíqiè shùnlì), wishing that everything goes smoothly.