窄 (zhǎi) is a Chinese character meaning “narrow”. It is written from 穴 (cave; hole) and 乍 (suddenly; abruptly (also the sound part in 作, 昨, 炸)), one above the other, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “narrow”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
穴 + 乍
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 现代字形构形分析（笔画数据核验：⿱穴乍，5+5=10 画）；只描述今形，不追溯古字来源
Memory aid
Crawling into a cave (穴), you suddenly (乍) feel the walls close in — the passage is narrow. Both parts are really in this character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 狭窄xiá zhǎinarrow; cramped窄 = zhǎi
Go deeper
All readings
narrow
narrow; cramped; (of mind or outlook) petty, narrow
横向的距离小，不宽；也指心胸、气量不开阔。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 狭窄xiá zhǎinarrow; cramped窄 = zhǎi
Sound component
乍 family rime near
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 窄 mean?
窄 (zhǎi) means narrow; cramped; (of mind or outlook) petty, narrow.
How do you pronounce 窄?
It is pronounced zhǎi.
What parts is 窄 made of?
穴 (cave; hole) and 乍 (suddenly; abruptly (also the sound part in 作, 昨, 炸)), one above the other. The recorded source is: 现代字形构形分析（笔画数据核验：⿱穴乍，5+5=10 画）；只描述今形，不追溯古字来源. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 窄 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 窄?
穴. 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 窄?
Common ones are 狭窄. The reading of 窄 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.