珠 (zhū) is a Chinese character meaning “pearl”. It is written from 王 (king) and 朱 (vermilion; bright red), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “pearl; bead”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
王 + 朱
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字：珠，蚌之陰精。从玉朱聲。现代字形拆分依据 hanzi-writer-data 的十笔几何核验（第 1–4 笔为左旁王，第 5–10 笔为右旁朱）
Memory aid
On the left, 王 — here it is the jade radical, a precious stone. On the right, 朱: vermilion red. A small glowing gem, round and precious like jade: a pearl, a bead.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 珍珠zhēn zhūpearl珠 = zhū
- 珠子zhū zibead; pearl珠 = zhū
Go deeper
All readings
pearl; bead
pearl; bead; a small round thing like a bead (e.g. a drop of water, an eyeball)
珍珠；也指像珠子一样的小圆粒，如水珠、眼珠。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 珍珠zhēn zhūpearl珠 = zhū
- 珠子zhū zibead; pearl珠 = zhū
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 珠 mean?
珠 (zhū) means pearl; bead; a small round thing like a bead (e.g. a drop of water, an eyeball).
How do you pronounce 珠?
It is pronounced zhū.
What parts is 珠 made of?
王 (king) and 朱 (vermilion; bright red), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字：珠，蚌之陰精。从玉朱聲。现代字形拆分依据 hanzi-writer-data 的十笔几何核验（第 1–4 笔为左旁王，第 5–10 笔为右旁朱）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 珠 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 珠?
玉. 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 珠?
Common ones are 珍珠 and 珠子. The reading of 珠 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.