昨 (zuó) is a Chinese character meaning “yesterday”. It is written from 日 (sun; day) and 乍 (suddenly; abruptly (also the sound part in 作, 昨, 炸)), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “yesterday”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
日 + 乍
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形构形分析（笔画数据核验：⿰日乍，4+5=9 画）；只描述今形，不追溯古字来源
Memory aid
日 on the left is the sun — one turn of the sun is one day. 乍 on the right is the sound part, but it has drifted (乍 is zhà, 昨 is zuó), so it will not hand you the pronunciation. A day 日 that 乍 — just now — slipped past: 昨, yesterday.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 昨天zuó tiānyesterday昨 = zuóHSK 1
- 昨日zuó rìyesterday (more formal or written)昨 = zuó
Go deeper
All readings
yesterday
yesterday; the day before; (in compounds) past, former
今天的前一天；也指过去的、从前的。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 昨天zuó tiānyesterday昨 = zuóHSK 1
- 昨日zuó rìyesterday (more formal or written)昨 = zuó
Sound component
乍 family diverged
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 昨 mean?
昨 (zuó) means yesterday; the day before; (in compounds) past, former.
How do you pronounce 昨?
It is pronounced zuó.
What parts is 昨 made of?
日 (sun; day) and 乍 (suddenly; abruptly (also the sound part in 作, 昨, 炸)), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形构形分析（笔画数据核验：⿰日乍，4+5=9 画）；只描述今形，不追溯古字来源. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 昨 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 昨?
日. 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 昨?
Common ones are 昨天 and 昨日. The reading of 昨 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.