沮 (jǔ) is a Chinese character meaning “downcast”. It is written from 氵 (water (left-side form)) and 且 (moreover; for the time being), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “dejected; downcast”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
氵 + 且
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 沮，从水且聲
Memory aid
Water (氵) creeping in on the left, and 且 — "and what's more" — on the right. One more thing goes wrong, the water rises, and your spirits sink: 沮.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 沮丧jǔ sàngdejected; depressed; disheartened沮 = jǔ
Go deeper
All readings
dejected
downcast; dejected; (literary) to stop or thwart something
情绪低落、灰心失望；书面语中也表示阻止、败坏。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 沮丧jǔ sàngdejected; depressed; disheartened沮 = jǔ
Rare readings, not taught: jù, jū
Sound component
且 family diverged
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 沮 mean?
沮 (jǔ) means downcast; dejected; (literary) to stop or thwart something.
How do you pronounce 沮?
It is pronounced jǔ.
What parts is 沮 made of?
氵 (water (left-side form)) and 且 (moreover; for the time being), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 沮，从水且聲. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 沮 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 沮?
水. 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 沮?
Common ones are 沮丧. The reading of 沮 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.