斋 (zhāi) is a Chinese character meaning “a room for study”. It is written from 文 (writing; script; culture) and 而 (and; yet (function word); originally a beard), one above the other, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “study room; fasting”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
文 + 而
Top–bottom structure
- 文 writing; script; culture · wén unknown
- 而 and; yet (function word); originally a beard · ér unknown
Structure from: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画中线核验：第 1–4 笔与「文」一致，第 5–10 笔与「而」一致）
Memory aid
Writing (文) rests on top of 而, whose strokes hang down like the legs of a small desk. A desk for writing and quiet thought: 斋, a study room — or a time of quiet fasting.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 书斋shū zhāistudy (room)斋 = zhāi
- 斋戒zhāi jièto fast; to abstain (for religious reasons)斋 = zhāi
Go deeper
All readings
study room; fasting
a room for study; to fast or abstain (for religious reasons); vegetarian food
书房或学舍；也指宗教上的斋戒、吃素。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 书斋shū zhāistudy (room)斋 = zhāi
- 斋戒zhāi jièto fast; to abstain (for religious reasons)斋 = zhāi
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 斋 mean?
斋 (zhāi) means a room for study; to fast or abstain (for religious reasons); vegetarian food.
How do you pronounce 斋?
It is pronounced zhāi.
What parts is 斋 made of?
文 (writing; script; culture) and 而 (and; yet (function word); originally a beard), one above the other. The recorded source is: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画中线核验：第 1–4 笔与「文」一致，第 5–10 笔与「而」一致）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 斋 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 斋?
文. 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 斋?
Common ones are 书斋 and 斋戒. The reading of 斋 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.