What does 午 mean in Chinese?

午 is a Chinese character with the radical 十.

How do you write 午?

午 is written with 4 strokes, starting from the 十 (ten) radical and following standard Chinese stroke order (top to bottom, left to right). See the interactive stroke-order tool for the full animation.

What is the radical of 午?

The radical of 午 is 十 (ten, Kangxi radical #24). Other common HSK characters using the same radical include 半, 十, 千.

How many strokes does 午 have?

The Chinese character 午 has 4 strokes.

What HSK level is 午?

On the new HSK exam syllabus, 午 is a character to recognise at HSK 1 and to write by hand at HSK 2 (the handwriting list HSK 1 and 2 share).

午: Chinese Character Details

午

HSK 1 character 4 strokes Radical: 十 (ten)

Quick Answer

午 is a Chinese character with 4 strokes, radical 十 (ten), HSK 1 on the new exam.

Full dictionary entry for 午 →Animated stroke-order for 午 →

Etymology

Oracle-bone origin

Oracle bone and bronze forms of 午 depict a pestle, shown as a shaft with a thickened head used for pounding grain. The character is a pictograph of this tool, and some scholars additionally link the shape to a length of rope or a crossed stake.

Form evolution

The bronze pestle shape narrowed and regularised in seal script (篆书) into a symmetrical figure with a horizontal top. Clerical script (隶书) flattened the curves into straight strokes, producing the four-stroke form that 楷书 inherits today with a top-left slant, a horizontal, another horizontal, and a vertical.

How the meaning evolved

The original meaning of pestle was lost early, as the character was borrowed to name the seventh of the twelve Earthly Branches. That branch corresponds to the hours around noon, which is how 午 came to mean midday in modern Mandarin, as in 中午 (noon) and 下午 (afternoon).

Cultural note

端午节, the Dragon Boat Festival, falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month and takes its name from this Earthly Branch rather than from any sense of noon, which catches many learners off guard.

Mnemonic

The sun at its peak — noon

Basic info

Stroke count	4 strokes
Radical	十 (#24: ten)
New HSK exam	Recognise at HSK 1, write by hand at HSK 1-2
Frequency	#595 most common

Example sentences

中午我吃午饭。
Zhōngwǔ wǒ chī wǔfàn.
At noon I eat lunch.
From 中午 (HSK 1)
上午我有三节课。
Shàngwǔ wǒ yǒu sān jié kè.
I have three classes in the morning.
From 上午 (HSK 1)
下午我们去公园。
Xiàwǔ wǒmen qù gōngyuán.
In the afternoon we go to the park.
From 下午 (HSK 1)