轧 (yà) is a Chinese character meaning “to roll over”. It is written from 车 (vehicle; cart) and 乙 (second Heavenly Stem), side by side, and takes 5 strokes. It has a second reading, zhá, which turns up in 轧钢 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.
Build the character for “to roll over; to crush”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
车 + 乙
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分候选 + hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（笔画 1-4 = 车，笔画 5 = 乙）；部首取康熙 車部
Memory aid
A cart (车) rolls to the left, and 乙 is the single curving track it has pressed flat on the right. Both parts really are in this character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
5 strokes
In real words
- 倾轧qīng yàto engage in internal strife; to jostle and push each other out轧 = yà
Go deeper
All readings
to roll over; to crush
to roll over; to run over with a wheel; to crush; (figuratively) to push others out
用轮子或滚轮碾压；引申指互相排挤。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 倾轧qīng yàto engage in internal strife; to jostle and push each other out轧 = yà
to roll (steel)
to roll (metal) between rollers, as in a steel mill
把金属坯料用轧机压成一定形状。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 轧钢zhá gāngto roll steel; steel rolling轧 = zhá
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 轧 mean?
轧 (yà) means to roll over; to run over with a wheel; to crush; (figuratively) to push others out.
How do you pronounce 轧?
Its main reading is yà. It also has a second reading, zhá, which only shows up in certain words such as 轧钢 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.
Why is 轧 sometimes pronounced zhá?
Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 轧钢 it is read zhá.
What parts is 轧 made of?
车 (vehicle; cart) and 乙 (second Heavenly Stem), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分候选 + hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（笔画 1-4 = 车，笔画 5 = 乙）；部首取康熙 車部. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 轧 have?
5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 轧?
车. 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 轧?
Common ones are 倾轧. The reading of 轧 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.