戌 (xū) is a Chinese character meaning “the 11th of the twelve Earthly Branches”. It is written from 戊 (the 5th Heavenly Stem; used as the halberd-shaped frame of 戌 and 戍) and 一 (one), and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “the 11th Earthly Branch — the hour of the dog”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
戊 + 一
Overlapping structure
- 戊 the 5th Heavenly Stem; used as the halberd-shaped frame of 戌 and 戍 · wù remnant
- 一 one · yī distinguishing mark
Structure from: 现代字形拆分（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：0/1/3/4/5 = 戊，2 = 一）
Memory aid
Take the halberd frame 戊 and lay one flat bar 一 across its waist. One bar, one branch: this is the eleventh branch, the hour of the dog.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 戌时xū shíthe double-hour 7–9 p.m. (11th branch hour)戌 = xū
- 戊戌wù xūthe 35th year of the sexagenary cycle, as in the 1898 Reform (戊戌变法)戌 = xū
- 戊戌变法wù xū biàn fǎthe Hundred Days' Reform of 1898戌 = xū
Go deeper
All readings
11th Earthly Branch
the 11th of the twelve Earthly Branches; the hours 7–9 p.m.; paired with the Dog in the zodiac
地支的第十一位，配生肖狗，也指戌时（晚上七点到九点）。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 戌时xū shíthe double-hour 7–9 p.m. (11th branch hour)戌 = xū
- 戊戌wù xūthe 35th year of the sexagenary cycle, as in the 1898 Reform (戊戌变法)戌 = xū
- 戊戌变法wù xū biàn fǎthe Hundred Days' Reform of 1898戌 = xū
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 戌 mean?
戌 (xū) means the 11th of the twelve Earthly Branches; the hours 7–9 p.m.; paired with the Dog in the zodiac.
How do you pronounce 戌?
It is pronounced xū.
What parts is 戌 made of?
戊 (the 5th Heavenly Stem; used as the halberd-shaped frame of 戌 and 戍) and 一 (one). The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：0/1/3/4/5 = 戊，2 = 一）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 戌 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 戌?
戈. 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 戌?
Common ones are 戌时 and 戊戌. The reading of 戌 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.