治 (zhì) is a Chinese character meaning “to govern”. It is written from 氵 (water (left-side form)) and 台 (platform; terrace (in 冶 and 苔 it carries the sound)), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “to govern; to cure”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
氵 + 台
Left–right structure
- 氵 water (left-side form) · shuǐ meaning
- 台 platform; terrace (in 冶 and 苔 it carries the sound) · tái sound
Structure from: 说文解字「治，水……从水台聲」；IDS 拆分 ⿰氵台，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「氵」三点，笔画 3–7 与「台」逐笔对应（3+5=8画）
Memory aid
Water (氵) on the left, 台 on the right: bring the water under control and you can build a terrace (台) on the riverbank — to control, to manage, to cure.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 治疗zhì liáoto treat (an illness); treatment; therapy治 = zhì
- 政治zhèng zhìpolitics; political治 = zhì
- 吏治lì zhìadministration by officials; the conduct of officials治 = zhì
- 大禹治水Dà Yǔ zhì shuǐYu the Great tames the floods治 = zhì
Go deeper
All readings
to govern; to cure
to govern; to manage; to bring under control; to treat or cure (an illness)
管理、整顿；也指医疗、医好疾病。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 治疗zhì liáoto treat (an illness); treatment; therapy治 = zhì
- 政治zhèng zhìpolitics; political治 = zhì
- 吏治lì zhìadministration by officials; the conduct of officials治 = zhì
- 大禹治水Dà Yǔ zhì shuǐYu the Great tames the floods治 = zhì
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 治 mean?
治 (zhì) means to govern; to manage; to bring under control; to treat or cure (an illness).
How do you pronounce 治?
It is pronounced zhì.
What parts is 治 made of?
氵 (water (left-side form)) and 台 (platform; terrace (in 冶 and 苔 it carries the sound)), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字「治，水……从水台聲」；IDS 拆分 ⿰氵台，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「氵」三点，笔画 3–7 与「台」逐笔对应（3+5=8画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 治 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 治?
氵. 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 治?
Common ones are 治疗 and 政治. The reading of 治 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.