昭 (zhāo) is a Chinese character meaning “bright”. It is written from 日 (sun; day) and 召 (to summon; to call together), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “clear; evident”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
日 + 召
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字：昭，日明也。从日召聲。
Memory aid
The sun (日) is summoned (召) into the open — everything it touches becomes bright and plain to see. Both parts are really in this character, and 召 zhào is also what gives 昭 zhāo its sound.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 昭示zhāo shìto make clear; to proclaim昭 = zhāo
- 昭告zhāo gàoto announce publicly昭 = zhāo
Go deeper
All readings
clear; evident
bright; clear; evident; to make clear
明亮；清楚明白，人人都看得见。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 昭示zhāo shìto make clear; to proclaim昭 = zhāo
- 昭告zhāo gàoto announce publicly昭 = zhāo
Sound component
召 family tone diff
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 昭 mean?
昭 (zhāo) means bright; clear; evident; to make clear.
How do you pronounce 昭?
It is pronounced zhāo.
What parts is 昭 made of?
日 (sun; day) and 召 (to summon; to call together), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字：昭，日明也。从日召聲。. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 昭 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 昭?
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 昭?
Common ones are 昭示 and 昭告. The reading of 昭 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.