琢 (zhuó) is a Chinese character meaning “to carve and polish jade”. It is written from 王 (king) and 豖 (pig with hobbled legs (rare character)), side by side, and takes 12 strokes. It has a second reading, zuó, which turns up in 琢磨 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.
Build the character for “to carve and polish jade”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
王 + 豖
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字·玉部（琢，治玉也。从玉豖聲）；现代字形以 hanzi-writer-data 核验：12 画 = 王字旁 4 画[0–3] + 豖 8 画[4–11]
Memory aid
A piece of jade (王, the jade radical) next to a pig with hobbled legs (豖) that can't run off — hold still and keep chipping: to carve and polish jade.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
12 strokes
In real words
- 雕琢diāo zhuóto carve and polish; to polish (writing) with care琢 = zhuó
- 精雕细琢jīng diāo xì zhuóto carve and polish with meticulous care琢 = zhuó
Go deeper
All readings
to carve and polish (jade)
to carve and polish jade; to refine (a piece of work)
雕刻、打磨玉石；比喻修饰、推敲文字或作品。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 雕琢diāo zhuóto carve and polish; to polish (writing) with care琢 = zhuó
- 精雕细琢jīng diāo xì zhuóto carve and polish with meticulous care琢 = zhuó
(only in 琢磨 zuómo) to ponder
used in 琢磨 (zuómo): to ponder; to turn something over in one's mind
用于「琢磨」（zuómo），表示反复思考、考虑。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 琢磨zuó móto ponder; to think over琢 = zuóspoken aszuó mo
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 琢 mean?
琢 (zhuó) means to carve and polish jade; to refine (a piece of work).
How do you pronounce 琢?
Its main reading is zhuó. It also has a second reading, zuó, which only shows up in certain words such as 琢磨 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.
Why is 琢 sometimes pronounced zuó?
Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 琢磨 it is read zuó.
What parts is 琢 made of?
王 (king) and 豖 (pig with hobbled legs (rare character)), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字·玉部（琢，治玉也。从玉豖聲）；现代字形以 hanzi-writer-data 核验：12 画 = 王字旁 4 画[0–3] + 豖 8 画[4–11]. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 琢 have?
12. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 琢?
王. 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 琢?
Common ones are 雕琢 and 精雕细琢. The reading of 琢 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.