阵 (zhèn) is a Chinese character meaning “battle formation”. It is written from 阝 (left form: mound (阜); right form: city or settlement (邑)) and 车 (vehicle; cart), side by side, and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “battle formation; a burst of”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
阝 + 车
Left–right structure
- 阝 left form: mound (阜); right form: city or settlement (邑) · fù unknown
- 车 vehicle; cart · chē unknown
Structure from: 现代字形拆分（对照笔顺数据核验：阝 2 画 + 车 4 画 = 6 画）
Memory aid
A slope of high ground (阝) with a war cart (车) drawn up beside it — troops lined up in formation. Both parts really are in this character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 阵地zhèn dìposition; front; battlefront阵 = zhèn
- 一阵yī zhèna burst; a spell; a short while阵 = zhènspoken asyí zhèn
Go deeper
All readings
battle formation; a burst (measure word)
battle formation; front line; also a measure word for a short spell or burst (of rain, wind, pain, laughter)
作战时布置的队伍或阵地；也作量词，表示持续一段短时间的事情，如一阵风、一阵雨。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 阵地zhèn dìposition; front; battlefront阵 = zhèn
- 一阵yī zhèna burst; a spell; a short while阵 = zhènspoken asyí zhèn
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 阵 mean?
阵 (zhèn) means battle formation; front line; also a measure word for a short spell or burst (of rain, wind, pain, laughter).
How do you pronounce 阵?
It is pronounced zhèn.
What parts is 阵 made of?
阝 (left form: mound (阜); right form: city or settlement (邑)) and 车 (vehicle; cart), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分（对照笔顺数据核验：阝 2 画 + 车 4 画 = 6 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 阵 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 阵?
阜. 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 阵?
Common ones are 阵地 and 一阵. The reading of 阵 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.