字Study Chinese Characters
肩

jiān shoulder

8 strokes

肩 (jiān) is a Chinese character meaning “shoulder”. It is written from 户 (door; household) and 月 (moon; month), one enclosing the other, and takes 8 strokes.

Build the character for “shoulder”

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Structure

户 + 月

Enclosing structure

  • 户 door; household · hù unknown
  • 月 moon; month · yuè unknown

Structure from: 现代字形拆分（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：0-3 户 / 4-7 月，4+4=8 画）；只描述今形，不追溯古字来源

Memory aid

A door (户) with the moon (月) tucked under its eaves. Both parts are really in this character: your shoulder is the doorframe your arm swings from.

This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.

Stroke order

8 strokes

In real words

  • 肩膀jiān bǎngshoulder; shoulders肩 = jiān
  • 披肩pī jiānshawl; shoulder wrap肩 = jiān
  • 坎肩kǎn jiānsleeveless jacket; vest肩 = jiān
  • 耸肩sǒng jiānto shrug (one's shoulders)肩 = jiān
Go deeper

All readings

jiān main reading

shoulder

shoulder; to shoulder (a duty or burden)

人体上肢与躯干相连的部位；也表示担负。 — studyhanzi 编写

Words with this reading

  • 肩膀jiān bǎngshoulder; shoulders肩 = jiān
  • 披肩pī jiānshawl; shoulder wrap肩 = jiān
  • 坎肩kǎn jiānsleeveless jacket; vest肩 = jiān
  • 耸肩sǒng jiānto shrug (one's shoulders)肩 = jiān

Other characters with these parts

户 → 启妒庐所护沪芦驴

月 → 明有用甩肋肌肘肖

Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions

Questions people ask about this character

What does 肩 mean?

肩 (jiān) means shoulder; to shoulder (a duty or burden).

How do you pronounce 肩?

It is pronounced jiān.

What parts is 肩 made of?

户 (door; household) and 月 (moon; month), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：0-3 户 / 4-7 月，4+4=8 画）；只描述今形，不追溯古字来源. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.

How many strokes does 肩 have?

8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.

What is the radical of 肩?

月. 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 肩?

Common ones are 肩膀 and 披肩. The reading of 肩 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.