召 (zhào) is a Chinese character meaning “to call together”. It is written from 刀 (knife) and 口 (mouth), one above the other, and takes 5 strokes.
Build the character for “to summon; to call together”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
刀 + 口
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 说文解字：召，呼也。从口刀聲
Memory aid
A knife (刀) held above a mouth (口): the order comes out sharp and everyone is summoned at once.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
5 strokes
In real words
- 号召hào zhàoto call on; to appeal to; a rallying call召 = zhào
- 召开zhào kāito convene (a meeting); to hold (a conference)召 = zhào
Go deeper
All readings
to summon
to call together; to summon; to convene
叫人来；召集，召唤。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 号召hào zhàoto call on; to appeal to; a rallying call召 = zhào
- 召开zhào kāito convene (a meeting); to hold (a conference)召 = zhào
Rare readings, not taught: shào
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 召 mean?
召 (zhào) means to call together; to summon; to convene.
How do you pronounce 召?
It is pronounced zhào.
What parts is 召 made of?
刀 (knife) and 口 (mouth), one above the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字：召，呼也。从口刀聲. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 召 have?
5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 召?
口. 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 召?
Common ones are 号召 and 召开. The reading of 召 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.