丛 (cóng) is a Chinese character meaning “to crowd together”. It is written from 从 (to follow; two people one behind the other) and 一 (one), one above the other, and takes 5 strokes.
Build the character for “cluster; thicket”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
从 + 一
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: Unicode U+4E1B and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (strokes 1-4 = 从, stroke 5 = 一); simplified form of 叢, so this split describes the modern shape only, not the historical formation
Memory aid
Two people walking one behind the other (从) crowded onto a single line of ground (一): everything squeezed together into one clump.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
5 strokes
In real words
- 丛林cóng línjungle丛 = cóng
- 草丛cǎo cónga clump of tall grass; the undergrowth丛 = cóng
Go deeper
All readings
cluster; thicket
to crowd together; a cluster or clump (of plants or people); a thicket
聚集在一起；聚集生长的草木，也指聚在一起的人或事物。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 丛林cóng línjungle丛 = cóng
- 草丛cǎo cónga clump of tall grass; the undergrowth丛 = cóng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 丛 mean?
丛 (cóng) means to crowd together; a cluster or clump (of plants or people); a thicket.
How do you pronounce 丛?
It is pronounced cóng.
What parts is 丛 made of?
从 (to follow; two people one behind the other) and 一 (one), one above the other. The recorded source is: Unicode U+4E1B and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (strokes 1-4 = 从, stroke 5 = 一); simplified form of 叢, so this split describes the modern shape only, not the historical formation. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 丛 have?
5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 丛?
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 丛?
Common ones are 丛林 and 草丛. The reading of 丛 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.