锄 (chú): a hoe
锄 (chú) is a Chinese character meaning “a hoe.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 钅 (structural) and 助 (structural). It ranks #3131 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 锄 a metal 钅 tool 助; 助 also provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 钅 (metal) appears in many related characters such as 金 (jīn, metal, gold), 钱 (qián, money), 银 (yín, silver, bank).
Definitions
- a hoe
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA metal 钅 tool 助; 助 also provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿰钅助 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 锄 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 锄头noun | chú tou | hoe |
| 锄草verb | chú cǎo | to hoe |
| 锄奸 | chú jiān | to weed out the traitors |
| 诛锄异己 | zhū chú yì jǐ | to wipe out dissenters |
| 锄强扶弱phrase | chú qiáng fú ruò | to root out the strong and support the weak (idiom) |
| 锄地verb | chú dì | to hoe |
| 鹤嘴锄noun | hè zuǐ chú | pickax |
| 锄犁noun | chú lí | plow |
| 诛锄 | zhū chú | to uproot |
锄 appears in 9 compound words: 67 as the first character, 22 as the last, and 11 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 锄 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (2)
Example Sentences
学习锄字需要反复练习，才能写得工整。
xué xí chú zì xū yāo fǎn fù liàn xí , cái néng xiě dé gōng zhěng .
Writing the character "锄" requires repeated practice to ensure it is written neatly.
如今，传统年画在当地已形成“农忙扛锄头，农闲握笔头”的活态传承生态。
rú jīn , chuán tǒng nián huà zài dāng dì yǐ xíng chéng nóng máng gāng chú tóu , nóng xián wò bǐ tóu de huó tài chuán chéng shēng tài .
Today, traditional New Year paintings have fostered a vibrant tradition in the local community, where people “wield hoes during the busy farming season and pick up brushes during the off-season.”
放下锄头 对准镜头 盛夏，东渡镇南湖村的2800多亩油茶树郁郁葱葱，正铆足了劲生长。
fàng xià chú tóu duì zhǔn jìng tóu shèng xià , dōng dù zhèn nán hú cūn de 2 8 0 0 duō mǔ yóu chá shù yù yù cōng cōng , zhèng 铆 zú le jìn shēng cháng .
Putting down their hoes and facing the camera: In the height of summer, the more than 2,800 mu of camellia trees in Nanhu Village, Dongdu Town, are lush and green, growing with vigor.
Character Family
钅 Radical Family — Characters sharing the metal radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 锄 (chú) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 锄 have?
What is the radical of 锄?
What are the components of 锄?
What are common words containing 锄?
Is 锄 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 锄 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.