酌 (zhuó) is a Chinese character meaning “to pour wine”. It is written from 酉 (wine jar; the tenth earthly branch) and 勺 (spoon; ladle), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “to pour wine; to weigh carefully”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
酉 + 勺
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字·酉部：酌，盛酒行觴也。从酉勺聲。（现代字形对照 hanzi-writer-data 核验：酉 7 画 + 勺 3 画 = 10 画）
Memory aid
A wine jar (酉) on the left, a ladle (勺) on the right: ladle out the wine one careful pour at a time — that is 斟酌, weighing things before you act.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 斟酌zhēn zhuóto consider carefully; to deliberate酌 = zhuó
- 酌情zhuó qíngto take the circumstances into account酌 = zhuó
Go deeper
All readings
to pour wine; to weigh
to pour wine; to drink; to consider carefully; to act as circumstances require
斟酒；饮酒。引申为考虑、度量。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 斟酌zhēn zhuóto consider carefully; to deliberate酌 = zhuó
- 酌情zhuó qíngto take the circumstances into account酌 = zhuó
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 酌 mean?
酌 (zhuó) means to pour wine; to drink; to consider carefully; to act as circumstances require.
How do you pronounce 酌?
It is pronounced zhuó.
What parts is 酌 made of?
酉 (wine jar; the tenth earthly branch) and 勺 (spoon; ladle), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字·酉部：酌，盛酒行觴也。从酉勺聲。（现代字形对照 hanzi-writer-data 核验：酉 7 画 + 勺 3 画 = 10 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 酌 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 酌?
酉. 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 酌?
Common ones are 斟酌 and 酌情. The reading of 酌 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.