昭 (zhāo): bright, clear

昭 (zhāo) is a Chinese character meaning “bright.” Outside the HSK 3.0 syllabus (CLEC 2022), it is composed of 日 (semantic) and 召 (phonetic). It ranks #2833 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 昭 sun. Its radical form 日 (sun) appears in many related characters such as 日 (rì, sun, day), 时 (shí, time, hour), 明 (míng, bright, tomorrow).

Spoken pronunciation

Radical: 日 sun9 strokesFrequency #2833日 semantic 召 phonetic

Definitions

bright
clear

Etymology & Origin

昭

pictophoneticsun

Decomposition: ⿰日召 (layout: left-right)

Components:日semantic 召phonetic

Stroke Order

Practice writing 昭 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
臭名昭著phrase	chòu míng zhāo zhù	notorious
昭和proper-noun	zhāo hé	Shōwa, Japanese era name, corresponding to the reign (1925-1989) of emperor Hirohito 裕仁
昭雪verb	zhāo xuě	to exonerate
昭示verb	zhāo shì	to declare publicly
昭然若揭phrase	zhāo rán ruò jiē	abundantly clear
王昭君	wáng zhāo jūn	Wang Zhaojun (52-19 BC), famous beauty at the court of Han emperor Yuan 漢元帝\|汉元帝, one of the four lege...
司马昭	sī mǎ zhāo	Sima Zhao (211-265), military general and statesman of Cao Wei 曹魏
司马昭之心路人皆知	sī mǎ zhāo zhī xīn lù rén jiē zhī	lit. Sima Zhao's intentions are obvious to everyone (idiom)
昭通市	zhāo tōng shì	Zhaotong, prefecture-level city in Yunnan Province 雲南省\|云南省
昭化区	zhāo huà qū	Zhaohua, a district of Guangyuan City 廣元市\|广元市, Sichuan
恶名昭著phrase	è míng zhāo zhù	notorious
昭阳区	zhāo yáng qū	Zhaoyang, a district of Zhaotong City 昭通市, Yunnan
昭通proper-noun	zhāo tōng	see 昭通市
昭平proper-noun	zhāo píng	see 昭平縣\|昭平县
昭化	zhāo huà	see 昭化區\|昭化区

Total compounds

As first character

As last character

As middle character

昭 appears in 31 compound words: 61 as the first character, 3 as the last, and 35 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.

Idioms & Chengyu (8)

臭名昭彰chòu míng zhāo zhāng

notorious for his misdeeds (idiom); infamous

phrase

臭名昭着chòumíngzhāozhù

notorious

phrase

跌宕昭彰diē dàng zhāo zhāng

flowing (of prose); free

phrase

恶名昭彰èmíngzhāozhāng

notorious, criminals doing all kinds of crimes and make their conducts well known

phrase

恶名昭着èmíngzhāozhù

notorious

phrase

昭然若揭zhāoránruòjiē

to be all too obvious; to be as clear as the sun at noonday

phrase

众目昭彰zhòng mù zhāo zhāng

lit. the masses are sharp-eyed (idiom); fig. one is subjected to the scrutiny of the general public

phrase

Showing 7 of 8 idioms containing 昭.

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

昭照充足的地方，庄稼长得特别好。

zhāo zhào chōng zú de dì fāng , zhuāng jià cháng dé tè bié hǎo .

In areas with plenty of sunlight, the crops grow exceptionally well.

少数派Aug 2026

《昭和米国物语》公布最新预告《昭和米国物语》公布最新预告。

zhāo hé mǐ guó wù yǔ gōng bù zuì xīn yù gào zhāo hé mǐ guó wù yǔ gōng bù zuì xīn yù gào .

"Showa: A Tale of America" Unveils New Trailer "Showa: A Tale of America" Unveils New Trailer.

中国新闻网·文化Aug 2026

退休后，张克华连续多年到昭阳区避暑旅居。

tuì xiū hòu , zhāng kè huá lián xù duō nián dào zhāo yáng qū bì shǔ lǚ jū .

Since retiring, Zhang Kehua has spent the summer in Zhaoyang District for several years in a row.

中国新闻网·体育Aug 2026

赛场观众席上“后会有期”的标语昭示着：赛事终有落幕之时，但体育精神却恒久延续。

sài chǎng guàn zhòng xí shàng hòu huì yǒu qī de biāo yǔ zhāo shì zhe : sài shì zhōng yǒu luò mù zhī shí , dàn tǐ yù jīng shén què héng jiǔ yán xù .

The "See you again" banners in the stands signaled that while the competition must eventually come to an end, the spirit of sports endures forever.

中国新闻网·文化Aug 2026

仓廪充盈、礼义昭彰，这，不正是中国式现代化该有的模样？

cāng 廪 chōng yíng , lǐ yì zhāo zhāng , zhè , bù zhèng shì zhōng guó shì xiàn dài huà gāi yǒu de mó yàng ?

With granaries overflowing and the principles of propriety and righteousness shining brightly—isn’t this exactly what Chinese-style modernization should look like?

LtnApr 2026

名家分享~陈昭仁》京华城案的公播为何不包括交互诘问?

míng jiā fēn xiǎng chén zhāo rén jīng huá chéng àn de gōng bō wéi hé bù bāo kuò jiāo hù 诘 wèn ?

Expert Insight ~ Chen Zhaoren: Why Did the Public Broadcast of the Jinghua City Case Omit the Cross-Examination?

Character Family

Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 日 (sun) component

时shí 显xiǎn 星xīng 暗àn 春chūn 昨zuó 暂zàn 晨chén 晓xiǎo 映yìng

Related Characters

日rì 时shí 明míng 早zǎo 晚wǎn 昨zuó 春chūn 星xīng 是shì 景jǐng

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 昭 (zhāo) mean in Chinese?

昭 (zhāo) primarily means "bright." It is not part of the HSK 3.0 syllabus. It ranks #2833 in character frequency.

What's the difference between 昭 and 暧?

昭 (zhāo) and 暧 (ài) are often confused. antonym. The key distinguishing feature: 昭 (bright) vs 暧 (dim).

How many strokes does 昭 have?

昭 is written with 9 strokes. The correct stroke order matters for recognition and handwriting speed — practice with the animated guide above to build proper technique.

What is the radical of 昭?

The radical associated with 昭 is 日 (sun). This radical appears in many characters related to sun.

What are the components of 昭?

昭 is composed of: 日 (semantic), 召 (phonetic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿰日召 with a left-right layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.

What are common words containing 昭?

Common words with 昭 include: 臭名昭著 (chòu míng zhāo zhù, "notorious"); 昭和 (zhāo hé, "Shōwa, Japanese era name, corresponding to the reign (1925-1989) of emperor Hirohito 裕仁"); 昭雪 (zhāo xuě, "to exonerate"); 昭示 (zhāo shì, "to declare publicly"); 昭然若揭 (zhāo rán ruò jiē, "abundantly clear"). There are over 31 compound words containing this character.

Is 昭 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?

Yes, 昭 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

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