着 (zhe) is a Chinese character meaning “aspect particle after a verb: indicates an ongoing action”. It is written from 羊 (sheep; goat) and 目 (eye), one enclosing the other, and takes 11 strokes. It has a second reading, zháo, which turns up in 着急 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.
Build the character for “-ing (ongoing action)”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
羊 + 目
Enclosing structure
Structure from: IDS (cjkvi-ids ⿸⿱𦍌丿目; makemeahanzi decomposition ⿸羊目), checked against hanzi-writer-data strokes 0–5 / 6–10
Memory aid
A sheep (羊) sweeps its long tail over an eye (目) that keeps watching it — the action is still going on. That ongoing "-ing" is what this character adds after a verb.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 接着jiē zhenext; then; to carry on着 = zhe
- 随着suí zhealong with; as (something changes)着 = zhe
- 盯着dīng zhestaring at; watching closely着 = zhe
- 沿着yán zhealong; following (a road, river or edge)着 = zhe
- 趴着pā zheto be lying face-down着 = zhe
Go deeper
All readings
(particle) -ing; ongoing state
aspect particle after a verb: indicates an ongoing action or a continuing state
用在动词后面，表示动作正在进行或状态持续。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 接着jiē zhenext; then; to carry on着 = zhe
- 随着suí zhealong with; as (something changes)着 = zhe
- 盯着dīng zhestaring at; watching closely着 = zhe
- 沿着yán zhealong; following (a road, river or edge)着 = zhe
- 趴着pā zheto be lying face-down着 = zhe
to touch; to be affected by; to succeed in
to touch; to feel; to be affected by; used after a verb to show the action succeeds
接触；感受到；受到影响。用在动词后表示达到目的。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 着急zháo jíto worry; to feel anxious; to be in a flap着 = zháoHSK 3
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 着 mean?
着 (zhe) means aspect particle after a verb: indicates an ongoing action or a continuing state.
How do you pronounce 着?
Its main reading is zhe. It also has a second reading, zháo, which only shows up in certain words such as 着急 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.
Why is 着 sometimes pronounced zháo?
Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 着急 it is read zháo.
What parts is 着 made of?
羊 (sheep; goat) and 目 (eye), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: IDS (cjkvi-ids ⿸⿱𦍌丿目; makemeahanzi decomposition ⿸羊目), checked against hanzi-writer-data strokes 0–5 / 6–10. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 着 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 着?
目. 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 着?
Common ones are 接着 and 随着. The reading of 着 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.