种 (zhǒng) is a Chinese character meaning “a kind, sort or type”. It is written from 禾 (grain; standing grain) and 中 (middle; center), side by side, and takes 9 strokes. It has a second reading, zhòng, which turns up in 种树 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.
Build the character for “kind; seed”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
禾 + 中
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字：种，从禾中聲；Unicode U+79CD 现代字形与笔顺数据一致（9 画 = 禾 5 画 + 中 4 画）
Memory aid
Grain (禾) and a mark straight through the middle (中): pick out the one kind of seed at the center of the crop, and that is the kind you plant.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 种子zhǒng ziseed种 = zhǒng
- 各种gè zhǒngall kinds of; various种 = zhǒng
- 种类zhǒng lèikind; type; variety种 = zhǒng
Go deeper
All readings
kind; seed
a kind, sort or type; a seed; a species or race
事物的类别；也指植物的籽实。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 种子zhǒng ziseed种 = zhǒng
- 各种gè zhǒngall kinds of; various种 = zhǒng
- 种类zhǒng lèikind; type; variety种 = zhǒng
to plant
to plant; to grow; to cultivate
把种子或幼苗埋进土里让它生长；栽培。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 种树zhòng shùto plant trees种 = zhòng
- 种地zhòng dìto farm; to till the land种 = zhòng
- 种植zhòng zhíto plant; to grow (crops)种 = zhòng
- 耕种gēng zhòngto till and plant; to farm种 = zhòng
Sound component
中 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 种 mean?
种 (zhǒng) means a kind, sort or type; a seed; a species or race.
How do you pronounce 种?
Its main reading is zhǒng. It also has a second reading, zhòng, which only shows up in certain words such as 种树 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.
Why is 种 sometimes pronounced zhòng?
Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 种树 it is read zhòng.
What parts is 种 made of?
禾 (grain; standing grain) and 中 (middle; center), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字：种，从禾中聲；Unicode U+79CD 现代字形与笔顺数据一致（9 画 = 禾 5 画 + 中 4 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 种 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 种?
禾. 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 种?
Common ones are 种子 and 各种. The reading of 种 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.