灸 (jiǔ) is a Chinese character meaning “moxibustion: to burn dried mugwort near an acupuncture”. It is written from 久 (long time) and 火 (fire), one above the other, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “moxibustion (burning heat used as medicine)”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
久 + 火
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分，以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：7 画 = 久 3 画 + 火 4 画；部首取 UCD CJKRadicals 火部；说文解字：灸，灼也，从火久聲
Memory aid
Fire (火) kept on one spot for a long time (久). That slow, steady burn is moxibustion — heat used as medicine.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 针灸zhēn jiǔacupuncture and moxibustion灸 = jiǔ
- 艾灸ài jiǔmoxibustion (treatment with burning mugwort)灸 = jiǔ
Go deeper
All readings
moxibustion
moxibustion: to burn dried mugwort near an acupuncture point as a heat treatment
中医疗法，用点燃的艾绒熏烤穴位。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 针灸zhēn jiǔacupuncture and moxibustion灸 = jiǔ
- 艾灸ài jiǔmoxibustion (treatment with burning mugwort)灸 = jiǔ
Sound component
久 family exact
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 灸 mean?
灸 (jiǔ) means moxibustion: to burn dried mugwort near an acupuncture point as a heat treatment.
How do you pronounce 灸?
It is pronounced jiǔ.
What parts is 灸 made of?
久 (long time) and 火 (fire), one above the other. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分，以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：7 画 = 久 3 画 + 火 4 画；部首取 UCD CJKRadicals 火部；说文解字：灸，灼也，从火久聲. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 灸 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 灸?
火. 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 灸?
Common ones are 针灸 and 艾灸. The reading of 灸 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.