周 — to make a circuit; to circle
to make a circuit; to circle; circle; circumference; lap; cycle
- Pinyin
- zhōu · Zhōu
- Strokes
- 8
- HSK level
- HSK 2
- Handwriting
- recognition only
This character has more than one reading — zhōu, Zhōu — and the pronunciation depends on the word it appears in. The list below gives the syllabus reading for each word.
How to write 周: 8 strokes
Each cell adds one stroke to the previous ones, with the new stroke in red. Stroke order is not decoration: it sets the proportions of the character and makes handwriting legible to a reader. The syllabus asks you to recognise this character rather than write it by hand.
Words with 周 in the HSK syllabus: 14
Every word in the official 2026 syllabus that contains this character, with the level it is introduced at. Learning a character pays off through these: each one combines with the characters you already know.
- 周zhōuZhou DynastyHSK 2
- 周末zhōumòweekendHSK 3
- 周围zhōuwéienvirons; surroundings; peripheryHSK 4
- 四周sìzhōuall aroundHSK 5
- 周年zhōuniánanniversary; annualHSK 5
- 众所周知zhòngsuǒzhōuzhīas everyone knowsHSK 6
- 周边zhōubiānperiphery; rim; perimeter; surroundings; peripheralHSK 6
- 周到zhōudàothoughtful; considerate; attentive; thoroughHSK 6
- 周期zhōuqīperiod; cycleHSK 6
- 周密zhōumìcareful; thorough; meticulousHSK 7–9
- 周岁zhōusuìone full yearHSK 7–9
- 周旋zhōuxuánto mix with others; to socialize; to deal withHSK 7–9
- 周折zhōuzhétwists and turns; vicissitude; complicationHSK 7–9
- 周转zhōuzhuǎnto rotate; to circulate; turnover; circulationHSK 7–9
Glosses come from CC-CEDICT, used under CC BY-SA 4.0, and are the dictionary’s first sense rather than a translation chosen for context.