顿 (dùn) is a Chinese character meaning “to pause”. It is written from 屯 (village; to station) and 页 (head; page, leaf (of a book)), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “to pause”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
屯 + 页
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 頓，下首也。从頁屯聲
Memory aid
A head (页) bows down and stops beside a village (屯) — a sudden pause. This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 停顿tíng dùnto pause; a pause顿 = dùn
- 顿时dùn shíimmediately; at once顿 = dùn
- 捶胸顿足chuí xiōng dùn zúto beat one's chest and stamp one's feet (in grief or anger)顿 = dùn
Go deeper
All readings
to pause; a meal (measure word)
to pause; to stop briefly; suddenly; measure word for meals or scoldings
停顿；稍停。也表示立刻、忽然，又用作量词，用于饭食、斥责等。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 停顿tíng dùnto pause; a pause顿 = dùn
- 顿时dùn shíimmediately; at once顿 = dùn
- 捶胸顿足chuí xiōng dùn zúto beat one's chest and stamp one's feet (in grief or anger)顿 = dùn
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 顿 mean?
顿 (dùn) means to pause; to stop briefly; suddenly; measure word for meals or scoldings.
How do you pronounce 顿?
It is pronounced dùn.
What parts is 顿 made of?
屯 (village; to station) and 页 (head; page, leaf (of a book)), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 頓，下首也。从頁屯聲. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 顿 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 顿?
页. 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 顿?
Common ones are 停顿 and 顿时. The reading of 顿 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.