崭 (zhǎn) is a Chinese character meaning “towering and steep”. It is written from 山 (mountain) and 斩 (to chop; to behead), one above the other, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “towering; brand-(new)”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
山 + 斩
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分，经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数据核验（山3画 + 斩8画 = 11画）
Memory aid
A mountain (山) peak so sharp it looks freshly chopped (斩) — towering, crisp, brand-new.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 崭新zhǎn xīnbrand-new崭 = zhǎn
- 崭露头角zhǎn lù tóu jiǎoto begin to show one's talent崭 = zhǎn
Go deeper
All readings
towering; brand-(new)
towering and steep; (dialect) excellent; mainly used in 崭新 "brand-new"
高峻突出。常用于「崭新」，表示极新。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 崭新zhǎn xīnbrand-new崭 = zhǎn
- 崭露头角zhǎn lù tóu jiǎoto begin to show one's talent崭 = zhǎn
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 崭 mean?
崭 (zhǎn) means towering and steep; (dialect) excellent; mainly used in 崭新 "brand-new".
How do you pronounce 崭?
It is pronounced zhǎn.
What parts is 崭 made of?
山 (mountain) and 斩 (to chop; to behead), one above the other. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分，经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数据核验（山3画 + 斩8画 = 11画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 崭 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 崭?
山. 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 崭?
Common ones are 崭新 and 崭露头角. The reading of 崭 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.