丑 (chǒu) is a Chinese character meaning “ugly”. It is written from ㇕ (horizontal-turning stroke) and ㇑ (vertical stroke) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke), and takes 4 strokes.
Build the character for “ugly; clown”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
㇕ + ㇑ + ㇐ + ㇐
Overlapping structure
- ㇕ horizontal-turning stroke unknown
- ㇑ vertical stroke unknown
- ㇐ horizontal stroke unknown
- ㇐ horizontal stroke unknown
Structure from: Unicode U+4E11 and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (four strokes: 横折 / 竖 / 横 / 横)
Memory aid
A horizontal-turning stroke (㇕) drops down on the right like a hanging curtain. A vertical (㇑) pushes down beside it, a short horizontal (㇐) crosses the middle, and one long horizontal (㇐) lies flat underneath as the stage floor.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
4 strokes
In real words
- 小丑xiǎo chǒuclown; buffoon丑 = chǒuspoken asxiáo chǒu
- 丑陋chǒu lòuugly; unsightly丑 = chǒu
Go deeper
All readings
ugly; clown
ugly; unsightly; the clown role in Chinese opera; shameful
难看的、不体面的；也指戏曲里的丑角。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 小丑xiǎo chǒuclown; buffoon丑 = chǒuspoken asxiáo chǒu
- 丑陋chǒu lòuugly; unsightly丑 = chǒu
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 丑 mean?
丑 (chǒu) means ugly; unsightly; the clown role in Chinese opera; shameful.
How do you pronounce 丑?
It is pronounced chǒu.
What parts is 丑 made of?
㇕ (horizontal-turning stroke) and ㇑ (vertical stroke) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke). The recorded source is: Unicode U+4E11 and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (four strokes: 横折 / 竖 / 横 / 横). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 丑 have?
4. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 丑?
一. 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 丑?
Common ones are 小丑 and 丑陋. The reading of 丑 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.