皂 (zào) is a Chinese character meaning “soap”. It is written from 白 (white; plain) and 七 (seven), one above the other, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “soap”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
白 + 七
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分（⿱白七），经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画分组核验：第 1–5 笔构成「白」，第 6–7 笔构成「七」
Memory aid
A white (白) bar sitting on a seven (七): the bar of soap you have already used seven times, worn down to a stub. 皂 is soap.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 肥皂féi zàosoap皂 = zào
- 香皂xiāng zàoscented soap; toilet soap皂 = zào
Go deeper
All readings
soap
soap; (literary) black
肥皂、香皂一类的清洁用品；也指黑色。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 肥皂féi zàosoap皂 = zào
- 香皂xiāng zàoscented soap; toilet soap皂 = zào
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 皂 mean?
皂 (zào) means soap; (literary) black.
How do you pronounce 皂?
It is pronounced zào.
What parts is 皂 made of?
白 (white; plain) and 七 (seven), one above the other. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分（⿱白七），经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画分组核验：第 1–5 笔构成「白」，第 6–7 笔构成「七」. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 皂 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 皂?
白. 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 皂?
Common ones are 肥皂 and 香皂. The reading of 皂 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.