着 (zhe) means "[aspectual particle indicating a continuous state]" with 11 strokes, radical 目 (eye), HSK 2 on the new exam.
Pronunciation
Meaning
Primary: [aspectual particle indicating a continuous state]
Etymology
Oracle-bone origin
着 is a relatively late graphic variant of 著, which itself is a phono-semantic compound: the grass radical 艸 (艹) on top with 者 below as the phonetic. There is no oracle-bone form of 着 specifically; it emerged in clerical and later scripts as a handwritten simplification of 著, eventually splitting off with its own set of meanings and readings.
Form evolution
Because 着 is a post-seal-script variant, its earlier history belongs to 著: the grass component above 者 is visible from seal script onward, and clerical script regularised the strokes into the recognisable 艹 plus 者 structure. In later handwriting the lower 日 of 者 was often written as a simplified shape, producing the 着 form now standardised in Simplified Chinese. Traditional script still uses 著 for most written senses and 着 in some regional usage.
How the meaning evolved
著 originally referred to something prominent or attached, extended to 'to show', 'to write', and 'to wear'. As 着 branched off, it took over the 'attach to, come into contact with' range of meanings, giving modern senses like 'to touch, to catch (fire), to wear' (zháo, zhuó) and the aspect particle zhe marking ongoing or resultant state. The split kept 著 for 'notable, to author' and pushed the action and grammatical uses onto 着.
Cultural note
Learners often treat 着 as a single particle, but it carries at least four readings (zhe, zháo, zhuó, zhāo) with different meanings: 看着 (kànzhe, watching), 着火 (zháohuǒ, catch fire), 穿着 (chuānzhuó, attire), 高着 (gāozhāo, clever move). Checking which reading is active in a compound is often the fastest way to decode unfamiliar words.
Mnemonic
Eyes on the sheep — watching, ongoing action
Decomposition
Breaking a character into its components makes it far easier to recall. Each component above links to its own detail page.
Basic info
| Pinyin | zhe |
| Meanings | [aspectual particle indicating a continuous state] |
| Stroke count | 11 strokes |
| Radical | 目 (#109: eye) |
| New HSK exam | Recognise at HSK 2 |
| Frequency | #237 most common |
Example sentences
Words containing 着
Related characters
Similar meaning (abstract)
On the new HSK 2 exam
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Frequently Asked Questions
Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.