久 (jiǔ) is a Chinese character meaning “for a long time”. It is written from ㇒ and ㇇ and ㇏, and takes 3 strokes.
Build the character for “long time”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
㇒ + ㇇ + ㇏
Left–middle–right structure
Structure from: Unicode U+4E45 and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke inspection
Memory aid
A left-falling stroke (㇒), a horizontal-turning stroke (㇇), and a right-falling stroke (㇏) join to form 久.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
3 strokes
In real words
- 久等jiǔ děngto wait a long time久 = jiǔ
- 长久cháng jiǔlong-lasting久 = jiǔ
- 永久yǒng jiǔpermanent; everlasting久 = jiǔspoken asyóng jiǔ
- 悠久yōu jiǔlong-standing; age-old久 = jiǔ
Go deeper
All readings
long time
for a long time; long-lasting; length of time
时间长；长时间；表示时间的长短。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 久等jiǔ děngto wait a long time久 = jiǔ
- 长久cháng jiǔlong-lasting久 = jiǔ
- 永久yǒng jiǔpermanent; everlasting久 = jiǔspoken asyóng jiǔ
- 悠久yōu jiǔlong-standing; age-old久 = jiǔ
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 久 mean?
久 (jiǔ) means for a long time; long-lasting; length of time.
How do you pronounce 久?
It is pronounced jiǔ.
What parts is 久 made of?
㇒ and ㇇ and ㇏. The recorded source is: Unicode U+4E45 and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke inspection. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 久 have?
3. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 久?
丿. 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 久?
Common ones are 久等 and 长久. The reading of 久 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.