枕 (zhěn) is a Chinese character meaning “pillow”. It is written from 木 (tree; wood) and 冘 (yín — an old character, today seen mainly as the right-hand sound part of 沈, 枕, 耽), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “pillow”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
木 + 冘
Left–right structure
- 木 tree; wood · mù meaning
- 冘 yín — an old character, today seen mainly as the right-hand sound part of 沈, 枕, 耽 · yín sound
Structure from: 说文解字：枕，卧所薦首者。从木冘聲
Memory aid
Wood (木) on the left tells you what it is made of; 冘 on the right is the sound part. Picture a carved wooden block you lay your head on — a pillow.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 枕头zhěn toupillow枕 = zhěn
- 枕木zhěn mùrailway sleeper; railroad tie枕 = zhěn
Go deeper
All readings
pillow
pillow; headrest; to rest one's head on something
躺着时垫在头下的用具；也指把头靠在东西上。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 枕头zhěn toupillow枕 = zhěn
- 枕木zhěn mùrailway sleeper; railroad tie枕 = zhěn
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 枕 mean?
枕 (zhěn) means pillow; headrest; to rest one's head on something.
How do you pronounce 枕?
It is pronounced zhěn.
What parts is 枕 made of?
木 (tree; wood) and 冘 (yín — an old character, today seen mainly as the right-hand sound part of 沈, 枕, 耽), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字：枕，卧所薦首者。从木冘聲. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 枕 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 枕?
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 枕?
Common ones are 枕头 and 枕木. The reading of 枕 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.