宙 (zhòu): eternity, (geology) eon
宙 (zhòu) is a Chinese character meaning “eternity.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 宀 (semantic) and 由 (phonetic). It ranks #1412 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 宙 roof - the sky. Its radical form 宀 (roof) appears in many related characters such as 客 (kè, guest, customer), 家 (jiā, home, family), 它 (tā, it).
Definitions
- eternity
- (geology) eon
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 宙 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 宇宙noun | yǔ zhòu | universe |
| 宙斯proper-noun | zhòu sī | Zeus |
| 宇宙飞船noun | yǔ zhòu fēi chuán | spaceship |
| 宇宙射线noun | yǔ zhòu shè xiàn | cosmic ray |
| 显生宙proper-noun | xiǎn shēng zhòu | Phanerozoic, geological eon lasting since the Cambrian 寒武紀|寒武纪, c. 540m year ago |
| 宙斯盾战斗系统 | zhòu sī dùn zhàn dòu xì tǒng | Aegis Combat System (weapons system developed for the US Navy) |
| 太古宙proper-noun | tài gǔ zhòu | Archaean (geological eon before 2500m years ago) |
| 平行宇宙 | píng xíng yǔ zhòu | parallel universe |
| 多元宇宙noun | duō yuán yǔ zhòu | multiverse (cosmology) |
| 隐生宙 | yǐn shēng zhòu | Cryptozoic |
| 元古宙proper-noun | yuán gǔ zhòu | pre-Cambrian (geological eon 2500-645m) |
| 宇宙速度noun | yǔ zhòu sù dù | escape velocity |
| 宇宙学noun | yǔ zhòu xué | cosmology |
| 宇宙观noun | yǔ zhòu guān | world view |
| 宇宙线noun | yǔ zhòu xiàn | cosmic ray |
宙 appears in 17 compound words: 12 as the first character, 47 as the last, and 41 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 宙 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (3)
Example Sentences
学习宙字需要反复练习，才能写得工整。
xué xí zhòu zì xū yāo fǎn fù liàn xí , cái néng xiě dé gōng zhěng .
Mastering the character "宙" requires repeated practice to write it neatly.
电磁场-2.2:我们都是宇宙海洋里的涟漪 #硬核科普 #物理 #量子...
diàn cí chǎng 2 . 2 : wǒ men dōu shì yǔ zhòu hǎi yáng lǐ de 涟 漪 yìng hé kē pǔ wù lǐ liàng zǐ . . .
Electromagnetic Fields - 2.2: We Are All Ripples in the Cosmic Ocean #HardcoreScience #Physics #Quantum...
Meta元宇宙梦醒 核心产品停止支援VR装置、重心转向...
M e t a yuán yǔ zhòu mèng xǐng hé xīn chǎn pǐn tíng zhǐ zhī yuán V R zhuāng zhì , chóng xīn zhuǎn xiàng . . .
Meta's Metaverse Dream Fades: Core Product Stops Supporting VR Devices, Shifts Focus to...
元宇宙梦碎?Meta 将在 6 月起正式终止 ...
yuán yǔ zhòu mèng suì ? M e t a jiāng zài 6 yuè qǐ zhèng shì zhōng zhǐ . . .
Is the metaverse dream over? Meta will officially discontinue ... starting in June
新研究揭示:本地宇宙膨胀速度可能比此前认为的更慢
xīn yán jiū jiē shì : běn dì yǔ zhòu péng zhàng sù dù kě néng bǐ cǐ qián rèn wéi de gēng màn
New research reveals: The local universe may be expanding more slowly than previously thought
日本女偶像水宙翠自拍惊现“胸部变化”引热议 晒照澄清是...
rì běn nǚ ǒu xiàng shuǐ zhòu cuì zì pāi jīng xiàn xiōng bù biàn huà yǐn rè yì shài zhào chéng qīng shì . . .
Japanese female idol Shui Zhoucui's selfie surprised the "breast change" to arouse heated discussions, and the photo clarified that it was...
宇宙毫无疑问是无限的。
Yǔzhòu háowúyíwèn shì wúxiàn de.
There's no doubt: the universe is infinite.
宇宙是怎样形成的？
Yǔzhòu shì zěnyàng xíngchéng de?
How was the universe formed?
宇宙里有多少个星系呀？
Yǔzhòu lǐ yǒu duōshao gè xīngxì ya?
How many galaxies are there in the universe?
谣传一架宇宙飞船在上海附近被见到了。
Yáochuán yī jià yǔzhòufēichuán zài Shànghǎi fùjìn bèi jiàndào le.
It is rumoured that a spaceship has been seen near Shanghai.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 宀 (roof - the sky) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 宙 (zhòu) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 宙 and 油?
How many strokes does 宙 have?
What is the radical of 宙?
What are the components of 宙?
What are common words containing 宙?
What characters sound the same as 宙 (zhòu)?
Is 宙 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 宙 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.