矩 (jǔ) is a Chinese character meaning “carpenter's square”. It is written from 矢 (arrow) and 巨 (huge; giant), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “carpenter's square; right angle”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
矢 + 巨
Left–right structure
Structure from: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：矢 5 + 巨 4 = 9）
Memory aid
An arrow (矢) held against a giant (巨) L-shaped frame: the carpenter's square you check every right angle against.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 矩形jǔ xíngrectangle矩 = jǔ
- 规矩guī jǔrules; established practice矩 = jǔspoken asguī ju
Go deeper
All readings
carpenter's square
carpenter's square; right angle; by extension, a rule or standard
画直角或方形用的尺；引申指法度、标准。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 矩形jǔ xíngrectangle矩 = jǔ
- 规矩guī jǔrules; established practice矩 = jǔspoken asguī ju
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 矩 mean?
矩 (jǔ) means carpenter's square; right angle; by extension, a rule or standard.
How do you pronounce 矩?
It is pronounced jǔ.
What parts is 矩 made of?
矢 (arrow) and 巨 (huge; giant), side by side. The recorded source is: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：矢 5 + 巨 4 = 9）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 矩 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 矩?
矢. 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 矩?
Common ones are 矩形 and 规矩. The reading of 矩 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.