Meaning of 章
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- chapter
- section
- clause
- movement (of symphony)
- seal
- badge
- regulation
- order
- surname Zhang
How to use 章
As a measure word, 章 counts chapters of a book, as in 第三章 (dì sān zhāng, chapter three). It also appears in words for seals, badges and rules, such as 印章 (yìnzhāng, seal) and 违章 (wéizhāng, to break the rules). Example: 这本书一共有十二章。(Zhè běn shū yígòng yǒu shí'èr zhāng.) This book has twelve chapters in total.
章 looks like 音 (yīn, sound) sitting on top of 十 (shí, ten). Picture a piece of music that ends after ten parts, so each part is one chapter or movement.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 章 (zhāng) with 张 (zhāng), since both are surname Zhang and share the same sound. 张 is the measure word for flat things like paper and tables, while 章 is for chapters, so 一张纸 (yì zhāng zhǐ) is correct but 一章纸 is wrong.
章 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.
章 zhāng · chapter · 11 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
Related words
Words that share a character with 章.
| 文章 | wénzhāng | article; essay |
| 勋章 | xūnzhāng | medal; decoration |
| 印章 | yìnzhāng | seal; signet |
| 违章 | wéizhāng | to break the rules; to violate regulations |
| 出口成章 | chūkǒu-chéngzhāng | (idiom) (of one's speech) eloquent; articulate |
| 顺理成章 | shùnlǐ-chéngzhāng | logical; only to be expected |
| 杂乱无章 | záluàn-wúzhāng | disordered and in a mess (idiom); all mixed up and chaotic |
| 徽章 | huīzhāng | badge; emblem |
| 奖章 | jiǎngzhāng | medal |
| 章鱼 | zhāngyú | octopus |
| 章节 | zhāngjié | chapter; section |
| 规章 | guīzhāng | rule; regulation |
Questions about 章
What does 章 mean?
章 (zhāng) means "chapter; section" and is used as a measure word.
How do you write 章?
章 is made of 1 character: 章 (11 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.
Is 章 an HSK word?
Yes. 章 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do I tell people my surname is the 章 Zhang and not the 张 Zhang?
People usually say 立早章 (lì zǎo zhāng), because the character is 立 on top of 早. For the other one they say 弓长张 (gōng cháng zhāng).
What does 盖章 mean?
盖章 (gài zhāng) means to stamp a seal or official stamp on a document. You will hear it often in banks and government offices, where a paper is not valid until it is stamped.