灶
Character learning workspace

zào · kitchen, oven, stove

Master the form, understand its parts, and learn how it behaves in real Chinese.

HSK 3.0 · Level 7-9
Watch · inspect · write

Learn every stroke in 灶

Replay the complete order, pause on difficult movements, inspect one stroke at a time, then write it yourself with live correction.

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Stroke graphics: Make Me a Hanzi / Arphic Public License
Step-by-step explorer

See how 灶 is constructed

Switch between the accumulated form and the isolated movement of each stroke.

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Character anatomy

Understand the reusable parts

The decomposition shows how the visual pieces fit together, not necessarily the character’s historical origin.

Writing notes

Shape and proportion

7Total strokes

Count each continuous pen movement once, including turns and hooks.

Left-rightCharacter structure

Keep the left side compact and leave enough room for the right side.

火Key radical

Use the highlighted radical in the animation as a visual anchor for remembering the form.

Print and practise

Download a 灶 writing sheet

Get a ready-to-use A4 sheet immediately, or open the full builder to change its grid and guidance.

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Includes the stroke sequence, progressive tracing, and blank writing squares. Generated locally in your browser.

Vocabulary in context

Common words with 灶

Open a word for its full breakdown, or listen before reading the meaning.

Read and listen

Example sentences

Notice where 灶 sits in each complete thought.

Yuē hàn lí kāi le gōng sī, lìng qǐ lú zào.约翰离开了公司,另起炉灶。

John turned his back on the company and started on his own.

Source: Tatoeba #602924 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Tā qī zǐ zài zào páng zuò fàn, ér tā zài zuò zhe dú shū.他妻子在灶旁做饭,而他在坐着读书。

He sat down and read while his wife was cooking by the fire.

Source: Tatoeba #7771959 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Pēng rèn jié shù hòu qǐng qīng jié lú zào hé kǎo xiāng.烹飪結束後請清潔爐灶和烤箱。

Clean the stove and oven after cooking.

Source: Tatoeba #13556538 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Turn reference into recall

How to study 灶 in context

  1. Say zào, then recall the core meaning: kitchen, oven, stove.
  2. Write all 7 strokes while keeping the left-right balanced.
  3. Use it in 炉灶 (lú zào), meaning “stove”.
  4. Read the complete sentence aloud once, then cover the translation and explain how 灶 works in that context.

Definitions and traditional forms are compiled from Make Me a Hanzi, HSK curriculum data, and CC-CEDICT. Sourced example sentences link to Tatoeba; editorial examples are labeled separately. Review data sources and licenses.