冲 (chōng) is a Chinese character meaning “to rush”. It is written from 冫 (ice; two dots of ice) and 中 (middle; center), side by side, and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “to rush; to flush”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
冫 + 中
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字·水部（沖，涌搖也。从水中聲）；「冲」为「沖」的通行简化字形，左旁由氵减省为冫。现代字形以 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 核验：6 画 = 冫 2 画 + 中 4 画
Memory aid
Two drops of water (冫) shooting straight at the middle (中) — that is 冲: to rush at something, or to flush it with water.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 冲动chōng dòngimpulse; to act on impulse; impulsive冲 = chōng
- 冲突chōng tūconflict; clash冲 = chōng
Go deeper
All readings
to rush; to flush
to rush; to dash against; to charge forward; to rinse or flush with water
很快地向前闯；也指用水浇、洗。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 冲动chōng dòngimpulse; to act on impulse; impulsive冲 = chōng
- 冲突chōng tūconflict; clash冲 = chōng
Sound component
中 family onset shift
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 冲 mean?
冲 (chōng) means to rush; to dash against; to charge forward; to rinse or flush with water.
How do you pronounce 冲?
It is pronounced chōng.
What parts is 冲 made of?
冫 (ice; two dots of ice) and 中 (middle; center), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字·水部（沖，涌搖也。从水中聲）；「冲」为「沖」的通行简化字形，左旁由氵减省为冫。现代字形以 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 核验：6 画 = 冫 2 画 + 中 4 画. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 冲 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 冲?
冫. 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 冲?
Common ones are 冲动 and 冲突. The reading of 冲 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.