区 (qū) is a Chinese character meaning “area”. It is written from 匸 (open box, concealing enclosure) and 乂 (crossing strokes), one enclosing the other, and takes 4 strokes.
Build the character for “area, district”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
匸 + 乂
Enclosing structure
Structure from: 现代简化字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：匸 2 画包围 乂 2 画，合计 4 画）
Memory aid
An open-sided box (匸) fenced around a cross mark (乂): one patch of the map, boxed off and marked. That marked-off patch is a district.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
4 strokes
In real words
- 山区shān qūmountainous area区 = qū
- 小区xiǎo qūresidential district; housing estate区 = qū
- 社区shè qūcommunity; neighborhood区 = qū
- 区域qū yùregion; area区 = qū
- 郊区jiāo qūsuburbs; suburban district; outskirts of a city区 = qū
Go deeper
All readings
area, district
area; district; zone; to distinguish, to divide
划分出来的地方、地带；也指分别、划分。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 山区shān qūmountainous area区 = qū
- 小区xiǎo qūresidential district; housing estate区 = qū
- 社区shè qūcommunity; neighborhood区 = qū
- 区域qū yùregion; area区 = qū
- 郊区jiāo qūsuburbs; suburban district; outskirts of a city区 = qū
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 区 mean?
区 (qū) means area; district; zone; to distinguish, to divide.
How do you pronounce 区?
It is pronounced qū.
What parts is 区 made of?
匸 (open box, concealing enclosure) and 乂 (crossing strokes), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: 现代简化字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：匸 2 画包围 乂 2 画，合计 4 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 区 have?
4. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 区?
匸. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 区?
Common ones are 山区 and 小区. The reading of 区 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.