招 (zhāo) is a Chinese character meaning “to beckon”. It is written from 扌 (hand (radical form)) and 召 (to summon; to call together), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “to beckon; to wave someone over”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
扌 + 召
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 招，手呼也。从手、召，召亦声
Memory aid
A hand (扌) doing the summoning (召): you don't shout, you wave someone over.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 招手zhāo shǒuto wave one's hand; to beckon招 = zhāo
- 招聘zhāo pìnto recruit; to advertise for staff招 = zhāo
- 招募zhāo mùto recruit; to enlist招 = zhāo
- 招惹zhāo rěto provoke; to mess with招 = zhāo
- 招揽zhāo lǎnto solicit; to attract (customers or business)招 = zhāo
Go deeper
All readings
to beckon
to beckon; to wave someone over; to recruit or enlist
打手势叫人过来；公开征求、招收。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 招手zhāo shǒuto wave one's hand; to beckon招 = zhāo
- 招聘zhāo pìnto recruit; to advertise for staff招 = zhāo
- 招募zhāo mùto recruit; to enlist招 = zhāo
- 招惹zhāo rěto provoke; to mess with招 = zhāo
- 招揽zhāo lǎnto solicit; to attract (customers or business)招 = zhāo
Sound component
召 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 招 mean?
招 (zhāo) means to beckon; to wave someone over; to recruit or enlist.
How do you pronounce 招?
It is pronounced zhāo.
What parts is 招 made of?
扌 (hand (radical form)) and 召 (to summon; to call together), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 招，手呼也。从手、召，召亦声. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 招 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 招?
手. 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 招?
Common ones are 招手 and 招聘. The reading of 招 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.