The character 咱 — “we”: how to write it and what it means
we (you and I)
The Chinese character 咱 is read zán and means “we (you and I)”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 咱
咱 has 9 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 咱, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 咱 is made of
On the left, 口 “mouth”; on the right, 自 “self”.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 咱
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 咱?
咱 has 9 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 咱 mean?
咱 means “we (you and I)”. It appears in 咱们 (“we”).
How do you pronounce 咱?
咱 is read zán. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 咱 have?
9 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 咱 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.
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