泽 (zé) is a Chinese character meaning “marsh”. It is written from 氵 (water (left-side form)) and 又 (again) and 干 (dry), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “marsh”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
氵 + 又 + 干
Left–right structure
Structure from: hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（简化字形 8 画：氵3 + 又2 + 干3）
Memory aid
Water (氵) creeps back again and again (又) over the dry poles (干) of the flats, until the ground never dries out — a marsh. All three parts are really in this character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 沼泽zhǎo zémarsh; swamp; wetland泽 = zé
- 光泽guāng zéluster; sheen; gloss泽 = zé
Go deeper
All readings
marsh; luster
marsh; swamp; damp low ground; also the moist shine of a surface, luster
水草聚集的低湿地带；也指物体表面的润泽光亮。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 沼泽zhǎo zémarsh; swamp; wetland泽 = zé
- 光泽guāng zéluster; sheen; gloss泽 = zé
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 泽 mean?
泽 (zé) means marsh; swamp; damp low ground; also the moist shine of a surface, luster.
How do you pronounce 泽?
It is pronounced zé.
What parts is 泽 made of?
氵 (water (left-side form)) and 又 (again) and 干 (dry), side by side. The recorded source is: hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（简化字形 8 画：氵3 + 又2 + 干3）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 泽 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 泽?
氵. 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 泽?
Common ones are 沼泽 and 光泽. The reading of 泽 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.