玖 (jiǔ) is a Chinese character meaning “nine — the formal, anti-tampering form of 九 used on”. It is written from 王 (king) and 久 (long time), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “nine (formal form)”
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Structure
王 + 久
Left–right structure
Structure from: modern-glyph decomposition (IDS ⿰王久; 笔画数 4+3=7 与 hanzi-writer-data 一致；左旁为玉部的王字旁写法)
Memory aid
The jade-radical form 王 on the left, 久 "a long time" on the right — and 久 is also the sound, jiǔ. Picture a jade token kept for a long time to lock in the number nine on a contract. Both parts really are in this character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 玖佰jiǔ bǎinine hundred (formal figures)玖 = jiǔspoken asjiú bǎi
- 玖拾jiǔ shíninety (formal figures)玖 = jiǔ
Go deeper
All readings
nine (formal form)
nine — the formal, anti-tampering form of 九 used on cheques, receipts and contracts; (literary) a black jade-like stone
数字「九」的大写形式，用于票据、合同等正式场合，防止涂改。另指一种像玉的黑色石头（书面语，今罕用）。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 玖佰jiǔ bǎinine hundred (formal figures)玖 = jiǔspoken asjiú bǎi
- 玖拾jiǔ shíninety (formal figures)玖 = jiǔ
Sound component
久 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 玖 mean?
玖 (jiǔ) means nine — the formal, anti-tampering form of 九 used on cheques, receipts and contracts; (literary) a black jade-like stone.
How do you pronounce 玖?
It is pronounced jiǔ.
What parts is 玖 made of?
王 (king) and 久 (long time), side by side. The recorded source is: modern-glyph decomposition (IDS ⿰王久; 笔画数 4+3=7 与 hanzi-writer-data 一致；左旁为玉部的王字旁写法). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 玖 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 玖?
玉. 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 玖?
Common ones are 玖佰 and 玖拾. The reading of 玖 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.