陈 (chén) is a Chinese character meaning “to lay out”. It is written from 阝 (left form: mound (阜); right form: city or settlement (邑)) and 东 (east), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “to lay out; old”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
阝 + 东
Left–right structure
Structure from: Unicode U+9648; modern decomposition ⿰阝东 checked against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke geometry (2 + 5 = 7 strokes)
Memory aid
The ear-shaped 阝 is a wall on the left; 东 (east) stands next to it — goods laid out along the east wall for everyone to see.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 陈旧chén jiùold-fashioned; outdated陈 = chén
- 陈列chén lièto display; to exhibit陈 = chén
Go deeper
All readings
to lay out; old
to lay out; to display; to state; old; stale; also a very common surname
把东西摆出来；也指时间久的、旧的。还是常见姓氏。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 陈旧chén jiùold-fashioned; outdated陈 = chén
- 陈列chén lièto display; to exhibit陈 = chén
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 陈 mean?
陈 (chén) means to lay out; to display; to state; old; stale; also a very common surname.
How do you pronounce 陈?
It is pronounced chén.
What parts is 陈 made of?
阝 (left form: mound (阜); right form: city or settlement (邑)) and 东 (east), side by side. The recorded source is: Unicode U+9648; modern decomposition ⿰阝东 checked against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke geometry (2 + 5 = 7 strokes). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 陈 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 陈?
阝. 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 陈?
Common ones are 陈旧 and 陈列. The reading of 陈 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.