祖
Character learning workspace

zǔ · ancestor, forefather

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

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Learn every stroke in 祖

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 祖 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

9Total 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.

礻Key radical

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

Print and practise

Download a 祖 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 祖

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

zǔWords pronounced zǔ
Read and listen

Example sentences

Notice where 祖 sits in each complete thought.

Wǒ ài wǒ de zǔ guó.我爱我的祖国。

I love the fatherland.

Source: Tatoeba #507219 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Wǒ zǔ fù de zhào piàn zài qiáng shàng guà zhe.我祖父的照片在墙上挂着。

My grandfather's photograph is on the wall.

Source: Tatoeba #5983610 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Tā shì yóu tā de zǔ mǔ dài dà de.她是由她的祖母带大的。

She was brought up by her grandmother.

Source: Tatoeba #397106 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Wǒ shēn ài wǒ de zǔ guó.我深爱我的祖国。

I love my country with every fiber of my being.

Source: Tatoeba #6451988 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Tā de zǔ guó shì dé guó.他的祖国是德国。

His home country is Germany.

Source: Tatoeba #1314196 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Wǒ zǔ fù de fángzi zài zhè tiáo jiē shàng.我祖父的房子在这条街上。

My grandfather's house was on this street.

Source: Tatoeba #11524942 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Turn reference into recall

How to study 祖 in context

  1. Say zǔ, then recall the core meaning: ancestor, forefather.
  2. Write all 9 strokes while keeping the left-right balanced.
  3. Use it in 祖国 (zǔ guó), meaning “motherland”.
  4. Read the complete sentence aloud once, then cover the translation and explain how 祖 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.