字Study Chinese Characters
长

cháng long

also read zhǎng in 厂长 — see below

4 strokes

长 (cháng) is a Chinese character meaning “long (in space or time)”. It is written from ㇒ (left-falling stroke) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke) and ㇙ (vertical stroke that flicks up to the right at the bottom) and ㇏ (right-falling stroke), and takes 4 strokes. It has a second reading, zhǎng, which turns up in 厂长 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.

Build the character for “long”

Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.

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Structure

㇒ + ㇐ + ㇙ + ㇏

Overlapping structure

  • ㇒ left-falling stroke unknown
  • ㇐ horizontal stroke unknown
  • ㇙ vertical stroke that flicks up to the right at the bottom unknown
  • ㇏ falling-right stroke unknown

Structure from: Unicode U+957F and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (four strokes: 撇 / 横 / 竖提 / 捺)

Memory aid

One wide horizontal (㇐) is crossed by a vertical that flicks up at the bottom (㇙); a short sweep left (㇒) sits above it and a long sweep right (㇏) stretches away — the character keeps reaching out, so it is long.

This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.

Stroke order

4 strokes

In real words

  • 长久cháng jiǔlong-lasting长 = cháng
  • 长城cháng chéngthe Great Wall长 = cháng
  • 冗长rǒng chánglong-winded; tediously lengthy长 = cháng
  • 延长yán chángto extend; to lengthen; to prolong长 = cháng
  • 长吁短叹cháng xū duǎn tànto sigh and moan; to heave long and short sighs长 = cháng
  • 长寿cháng shòulongevity; long life长 = cháng
  • 长江cháng jiāngthe Yangtze River长 = cháng
  • 长矛cháng máolance; long spear; pike长 = cháng
  • 长袍cháng páolong robe; long gown长 = cháng
  • 长颈鹿cháng jǐng lùgiraffe长 = cháng
Go deeper

All readings

cháng main reading

long

long (in space or time); length; lasting; a strong point

两端之间距离大；时间久。也指长处、专长。 — studyhanzi 编写

Words with this reading

  • 长久cháng jiǔlong-lasting长 = cháng
  • 长城cháng chéngthe Great Wall长 = cháng
  • 冗长rǒng chánglong-winded; tediously lengthy长 = cháng
  • 延长yán chángto extend; to lengthen; to prolong长 = cháng
  • 长吁短叹cháng xū duǎn tànto sigh and moan; to heave long and short sighs长 = cháng
  • 长寿cháng shòulongevity; long life长 = cháng
  • 长江cháng jiāngthe Yangtze River长 = cháng
  • 长矛cháng máolance; long spear; pike长 = cháng
  • 长袍cháng páolong robe; long gown长 = cháng
  • 长颈鹿cháng jǐng lùgiraffe长 = cháng
zhǎng

to grow; head of

to grow; to develop; older; senior; the head or chief of an organization

生长；年纪较大的；某个单位的负责人。 — studyhanzi 编写

Words with this reading

  • 厂长chǎng zhǎngfactory director长 = zhǎng
  • 兄长xiōng zhǎngelder brother (respectful form of address)长 = zhǎng
  • 县长xiàn zhǎngcounty head; county magistrate长 = zhǎng
  • 州长zhōu zhǎnggovernor (of a US state); prefectural chief长 = zhǎng
  • 市长shì zhǎngmayor长 = zhǎng
  • 茁壮成长zhuó zhuàng chéng zhǎngto grow up strong and healthy; to thrive长 = zhǎng
  • 队长duì zhǎngteam leader; captain长 = zhǎng
  • 校长xiào zhǎngprincipal; headmaster长 = zhǎngHSK 3
  • 董事长dǒng shì zhǎngchairman of the board长 = zhǎng

Other characters with these parts

㇒ → 不丘为丹久乌乍乡

㇐ → 不丐丑且专世丘业

㇙ → 以氏民瓦辰

㇏ → 久之今介又尺木水

Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions

Questions people ask about this character

What does 长 mean?

长 (cháng) means long (in space or time); length; lasting; a strong point.

How do you pronounce 长?

Its main reading is cháng. It also has a second reading, zhǎng, which only shows up in certain words such as 厂长 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.

Why is 长 sometimes pronounced zhǎng?

Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 厂长 it is read zhǎng.

What parts is 长 made of?

㇒ (left-falling stroke) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke) and ㇙ (vertical stroke that flicks up to the right at the bottom) and ㇏ (right-falling stroke). The recorded source is: Unicode U+957F and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (four strokes: 撇 / 横 / 竖提 / 捺). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.

How many strokes does 长 have?

4. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.

What is the radical of 长?

长. 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 长?

Common ones are 长久 and 长城. The reading of 长 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.