浊 (zhuó) is a Chinese character meaning “turbid”. It is written from 氵 (water (left-side form)) and 虫 (insect; bug; worm), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “muddy; not clear”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
氵 + 虫
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分，以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：9 画 = 氵 3 画 + 虫 6 画；部首取康熙 85 水部；右侧「虫」在现代读音上与 zhuó 不合（虫 chóng），不标为声符
Memory aid
Water (氵) with a bug (虫) wriggling in it — you would not drink that glass. Cloudy, dirty water is 浊.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 浑浊hún zhuóturbid; muddy; murky浊 = zhuó
- 污浊wū zhuófilthy; foul; dirty浊 = zhuó
Go deeper
All readings
turbid; muddy
turbid; muddy; not clear; dirty; (of a voice) deep and heavy
水等液体含有杂质、不清澈；不干净。也形容声音低沉重浊。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 浑浊hún zhuóturbid; muddy; murky浊 = zhuó
- 污浊wū zhuófilthy; foul; dirty浊 = zhuó
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 浊 mean?
浊 (zhuó) means turbid; muddy; not clear; dirty; (of a voice) deep and heavy.
How do you pronounce 浊?
It is pronounced zhuó.
What parts is 浊 made of?
氵 (water (left-side form)) and 虫 (insect; bug; worm), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分，以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：9 画 = 氵 3 画 + 虫 6 画；部首取康熙 85 水部；右侧「虫」在现代读音上与 zhuó 不合（虫 chóng），不标为声符. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 浊 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 浊?
水. 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 浊?
Common ones are 浑浊 and 污浊. The reading of 浊 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.