众 (zhòng) is a Chinese character meaning “many”. It is written from 人 (person) and 从 (to follow; two people one behind the other), one above the other, and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “crowd; many people”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
人 + 从
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: modern-shape-decomposition (hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：人 2 画 + 从 4 画 = 6 画)
Memory aid
One person (人) stands in front, and two more (从) follow behind. Three people in one character — that is a crowd.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 大众dà zhòngthe general public; the masses众 = zhòng
- 众人zhòng réneverybody; the crowd众 = zhòng
- 与众不同yǔ zhòng bù tóngdifferent from the rest众 = zhòng
- 观众guān zhòngaudience; spectators; viewers众 = zhòng
Go deeper
All readings
crowd; many
many; numerous; the crowd; a large group of people
许多人；大家。也表示数量多。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 大众dà zhòngthe general public; the masses众 = zhòng
- 众人zhòng réneverybody; the crowd众 = zhòng
- 与众不同yǔ zhòng bù tóngdifferent from the rest众 = zhòng
- 观众guān zhòngaudience; spectators; viewers众 = zhòng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 众 mean?
众 (zhòng) means many; numerous; the crowd; a large group of people.
How do you pronounce 众?
It is pronounced zhòng.
What parts is 众 made of?
人 (person) and 从 (to follow; two people one behind the other), one above the other. The recorded source is: modern-shape-decomposition (hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：人 2 画 + 从 4 画 = 6 画). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 众 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 众?
人. 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 众?
Common ones are 大众 and 众人. The reading of 众 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.