朱 (zhū) is a Chinese character meaning “vermilion”. It is written from 丿 (left-falling stroke) and 未 (not yet; have not), and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “vermilion”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
丿 + 未
Overlapping structure
Structure from: Unicode U+6731 and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (stroke 1 = short 撇; strokes 2-6 match 未 横横竖撇捺)
Memory aid
One short slanting stroke (丿) laid across the top of 未 — a single cut into the wood, and the bright red of 朱 shows through.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 朱红zhū hóngvermilion; bright red朱 = zhū
- 朱砂zhū shācinnabar朱 = zhū
Go deeper
All readings
vermilion
vermilion; bright red; cinnabar red (also a common surname)
鲜艳的红色；朱砂的颜色。也是常见姓氏。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 朱红zhū hóngvermilion; bright red朱 = zhū
- 朱砂zhū shācinnabar朱 = zhū
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 朱 mean?
朱 (zhū) means vermilion; bright red; cinnabar red (also a common surname).
How do you pronounce 朱?
It is pronounced zhū.
What parts is 朱 made of?
丿 (left-falling stroke) and 未 (not yet; have not). The recorded source is: Unicode U+6731 and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (stroke 1 = short 撇; strokes 2-6 match 未 横横竖撇捺). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 朱 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 朱?
木. 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 朱?
Common ones are 朱红 and 朱砂. The reading of 朱 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.