The character 主 — “owner”: how to write it and what it means
owner; main
The Chinese character 主 is read zhǔ and means “owner; main”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 主
主 has 5 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 主, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 主 is made of
王 with a dot on top. It hints at the sound in 住 and 注 zhù.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 主
- 主要main; mainlyHSK 3
- 主意idea, planHSK 4
- 主人host, ownerHSK 5
- 主食staple foodHSK 5
- 车主car ownerHSK 5
- 主动on one's own initiativeHSK 5
- 主观subjectiveHSK 5
- 主任director, headHSK 5
- 主席chairmanHSK 5
- 主题theme, topicHSK 5
- 主持host (a program)HSK 5
- 主管be in charge; manager (of a department)HSK 6
- 主办host, organizeHSK 6
- 主导dominate; leading roleHSK 6
- 民主democracy; democraticHSK 6
- 主流mainstreamHSK 6
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 主?
主 has 5 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 主 mean?
主 means “owner; main”. It appears in 主要 (“main”), 主意 (“idea”), 主人 (“host”), 主食 (“staple food”).
How do you pronounce 主?
主 is read zhǔ. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 主 have?
5 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 主 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
Start for free