载 (zài) is a Chinese character meaning “to carry”. It is written from 戈 (dagger-axe (ancient pole weapon); Kangxi radical 62) and 十 (ten) and 车 (vehicle; cart), one enclosing the other, and takes 10 strokes. It has a second reading, zǎi, which turns up in 记载 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.
Build the character for “to carry; to load”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
戈 + 十 + 车
Enclosing structure
- 戈 dagger-axe (ancient pole weapon); Kangxi radical 62 · gē sound
- 十 ten · shí sound
- 车 vehicle; cart · chē meaning
Structure from: 说文解字：載，乘也。从車𢦏聲；现代字形拆分（戈/十/车）经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验
Memory aid
A dagger-axe (戈) stands guard over a cross-shaped stake (十) and a cart (车) tucked underneath — the cart is loaded up and ready to go: 载 means to carry or load.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 下载xià zàito download载 = zài
- 装载zhuāng zàito load (cargo or passengers)载 = zài
Go deeper
All readings
to carry; to load
to carry; to load (goods or passengers); to download or upload data.
用交通工具装运、承载；也指把数据下载或上传。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 下载xià zàito download载 = zài
- 装载zhuāng zàito load (cargo or passengers)载 = zài
to record; year
to record in writing; (literary) year.
记录、刊登；书面语中也指年。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 记载jì zǎito record; a written record载 = zǎi
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 载 mean?
载 (zài) means to carry; to load (goods or passengers); to download or upload data..
How do you pronounce 载?
Its main reading is zài. It also has a second reading, zǎi, which only shows up in certain words such as 记载 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.
Why is 载 sometimes pronounced zǎi?
Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 记载 it is read zǎi.
What parts is 载 made of?
戈 (dagger-axe (ancient pole weapon); Kangxi radical 62) and 十 (ten) and 车 (vehicle; cart), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字：載，乘也。从車𢦏聲；现代字形拆分（戈/十/车）经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 载 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 载?
车. 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 载?
Common ones are 下载 and 装载. The reading of 载 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.