酉 (yǒu) is a Chinese character meaning “the tenth of the twelve Earthly Branches”. It is written from 西 (west) and 一 (one), and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “tenth earthly branch — the hour 5–7 p.m.”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
西 + 一
Overlapping structure
Structure from: hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph stroke inspection (酉的六笔外形与「西」逐笔对应，框内另加一短横)
Memory aid
Take 西 (west) and seal one extra bar (一) inside the box — that bar is the wine resting in the jar.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 酉时yǒu shíthe hour of You, 5–7 p.m.酉 = yǒu
- 丁酉dīng yǒuDing-You, the 34th year of the sexagenary cycle酉 = yǒu
- 癸酉guǐ yǒuGui-You, the 10th year of the sexagenary cycle (e.g. 1993)酉 = yǒuspoken asguí yǒu
Go deeper
All readings
tenth earthly branch
the tenth of the twelve Earthly Branches; the hour 5–7 p.m.; the Rooster year in the zodiac cycle
十二地支的第十位，对应生肖鸡，也指下午五点到七点的酉时。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 酉时yǒu shíthe hour of You, 5–7 p.m.酉 = yǒu
- 丁酉dīng yǒuDing-You, the 34th year of the sexagenary cycle酉 = yǒu
- 癸酉guǐ yǒuGui-You, the 10th year of the sexagenary cycle (e.g. 1993)酉 = yǒuspoken asguí yǒu
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 酉 mean?
酉 (yǒu) means the tenth of the twelve Earthly Branches; the hour 5–7 p.m.; the Rooster year in the zodiac cycle.
How do you pronounce 酉?
It is pronounced yǒu.
What parts is 酉 made of?
西 (west) and 一 (one). The recorded source is: hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph stroke inspection (酉的六笔外形与「西」逐笔对应，框内另加一短横). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 酉 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 酉?
酉. 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 酉?
Common ones are 酉时 and 丁酉. The reading of 酉 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.