The character 怎 — “how”: how to write it and what it means

怎
zěn

how

9 strokes · HSK 1

The Chinese character 怎 is read zěn and means “how”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.

Stroke order: how to write 怎

怎 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 怎, with strokes to trace and empty squares.

What 怎 is made of

Below, 心 “heart”.

The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.

Words with 怎

Frequently asked questions

How do you write the character 怎?

怎 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 怎 mean?

怎 means “how”. It appears in 怎么 (“how”), 怎么样 (“how”), 怎样 (“how”), 怎么办 (“what to do?”).

How do you pronounce 怎?

怎 is read zěn. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.

How many strokes does 怎 have?

9 strokes.

← 后 behind知 know →

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 怎 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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