昼 (zhòu) is a Chinese character meaning “daytime”. It is written from 尺 (chi (Chinese foot); ruler) and 旦 (daybreak; dawn (the sun 日 above the horizon line 一)), one above the other, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “daytime”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
尺 + 旦
Top–bottom structure
- 尺 chi (Chinese foot); ruler · chǐ unknown
- 旦 daybreak; dawn (the sun 日 above the horizon line 一) · dàn unknown
Structure from: 现代字形拆分：hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 笔画核验（尺 4 + 旦 5 = 9）
Memory aid
A ruler (尺) laid over daybreak (旦): from dawn on, you measure out the hours of daytime.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 昼夜zhòu yèday and night; around the clock昼 = zhòu
- 白昼bái zhòudaytime; broad daylight昼 = zhòu
Go deeper
All readings
daytime
daytime; the period of daylight
白天，从天亮到天黑的一段时间。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 昼夜zhòu yèday and night; around the clock昼 = zhòu
- 白昼bái zhòudaytime; broad daylight昼 = zhòu
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 昼 mean?
昼 (zhòu) means daytime; the period of daylight.
How do you pronounce 昼?
It is pronounced zhòu.
What parts is 昼 made of?
尺 (chi (Chinese foot); ruler) and 旦 (daybreak; dawn (the sun 日 above the horizon line 一)), one above the other. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分：hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 笔画核验（尺 4 + 旦 5 = 9）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 昼 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 昼?
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 昼?
Common ones are 昼夜 and 白昼. The reading of 昼 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.