诊 (zhěn) is a Chinese character meaning “to examine a patient”. It is written from 讠 (speech radical) and 㐱 (rare element written 人 over 彡; used as the sound part zhěn in 诊 / 珍 / 疹), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “to examine a patient”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
讠 + 㐱
Left–right structure
- 讠 speech radical · yán meaning
- 㐱 rare element written 人 over 彡; used as the sound part zhěn in 诊 / 珍 / 疹 · zhěn sound
Structure from: 说文解字 (診，視也。从言，㐱聲)
Memory aid
Speech (讠) on the left, and 㐱 on the right telling you the sound: zhěn. The doctor asks questions and listens — that talking is how the examination happens.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 诊断zhěn duànto diagnose; a diagnosis诊 = zhěn
- 门诊mén zhěnoutpatient service; outpatient clinic诊 = zhěn
Go deeper
All readings
to examine a patient
to examine a patient; to diagnose; medical consultation
医生检查病人的身体状况，判断病情。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 诊断zhěn duànto diagnose; a diagnosis诊 = zhěn
- 门诊mén zhěnoutpatient service; outpatient clinic诊 = zhěn
Sound component
㐱 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 诊 mean?
诊 (zhěn) means to examine a patient; to diagnose; medical consultation.
How do you pronounce 诊?
It is pronounced zhěn.
What parts is 诊 made of?
讠 (speech radical) and 㐱 (rare element written 人 over 彡; used as the sound part zhěn in 诊 / 珍 / 疹), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字 (診，視也。从言，㐱聲). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 诊 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 诊?
讠. 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 诊?
Common ones are 诊断 and 门诊. The reading of 诊 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.