洲 (zhōu): continent, island in a river
洲 (zhōu) is a Chinese character meaning “continent.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 氵 (structural) and 州 (structural). It ranks #701 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 洲 a state 州 surrounded by water 氵; 州 also provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 氵 (water) appears in many related characters such as 水 (shuǐ, water), 汉 (hàn, Han ethnic group), 汽 (qì, steam).
Definitions
- continent
- island in a river
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA state 州 surrounded by water 氵; 州 also provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿰氵州 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 洲 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 洲
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 非洲noun | fēi zhōu | Africa | 5 |
| 欧洲noun | ōu zhōu | Europe (abbr. for 歐羅巴洲|欧罗巴洲[Ou1 luo2 ba1 Zhou1]) | 5 |
| 亚洲noun | yà zhōu | Asia (abbr. for 亞細亞洲|亚细亚洲[Ya4 xi4 ya4 Zhou1]) | 4 |
| 南美洲noun | nán měi zhōu | South America | 6 |
| 南极洲noun | nán jí zhōu | Antarctica | 6 |
| 北美洲noun | běi měi zhōu | North America | 6 |
| 大洋洲noun | dà yáng zhōu | Oceania | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 美洲 | měi zhōu | America (including North, Central and South America) |
| 澳洲 | ào zhōu | Australia (abbr. for 澳大利亞洲|澳大利亚洲[Ao4 da4 li4 ya4 Zhou1]) |
| 拉丁美洲 | lā dīng měi zhōu | Latin America |
| 三角洲 | sān jiǎo zhōu | delta (geography) |
| 美洲狮 | měi zhōu shī | cougar |
| 满洲 | mǎn zhōu | Manchuria |
| 美洲豹 | měi zhōu bào | jaguar (Panthera onca) |
| 美洲虎 | měi zhōu hǔ | jaguar |
| 绿洲 | lǜ zhōu | oasis |
| 洲际 | zhōu jì | intercontinental |
| 中美洲 | zhōng měi zhōu | Central America |
| 沙洲 | shā zhōu | sandbank |
| 大洲 | dà zhōu | continent |
| 婆罗洲 | pó luó zhōu | Borneo island (of Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei) |
| 洲际导弹 | zhōu jì dǎo dàn | intercontinental ballistic missile ICBM |
洲 appears in 100 compound words: 3 as the first character, 44 as the last, and 53 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 洲 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (9)
Showing 8 of 9 idioms containing 洲.
Example Sentences
清晨的洲面波光粼粼，倒映着岸边的柳树。
qīng chén de zhōu miàn bō guāng 粼 粼 , dǎo yìng zhe àn biān de liǔ shù .
The river surface glistened in the early morning light, reflecting the willow trees along the shore.
MG宣布“欧洲新车累积销量突破百万辆”!电动化布局成核...
M G xuān bù ōu zhōu xīn chē lěi jī xiāo liàng tū pò bǎi wàn liàng ! diàn dòng huà bù jú chéng hé . . .
MG announced that "the cumulative sales of new cars in Europe exceeded one million units"! The electrification layout is nucleated...
...股强势 吸金额挑战新高...投资人看好欧洲经济
. . . gǔ qiáng shì xī jīn é tiāo zhàn xīn gāo . . . tóu zī rén kàn hǎo ōu zhōu jīng jì
... Stocks are strong and the amount of money is challenged to a new high... Investors are optimistic about the European economy
(图表)欧洲三大股指2月20日全线上涨
( tú biǎo ) ōu zhōu sān dà gǔ zhǐ 2 yuè 2 0 rì quán xiàn shàng zhǎng
(Chart) The three major European stock indexes rose across the board on February 20
俄方称欧洲在乌克兰问题上更倾向于延续冲突
é fāng chèn ōu zhōu zài wū kè lán wèn tí shàng gēng qīng xiàng yú yán xù chōng tū
Russia said that Europe is more inclined to continue the conflict on the Ukraine issue
新春走基层丨国网株洲供电公司党员突击队护航春节绿色..
xīn chūn zǒu jī céng 丨 guó wǎng zhū zhōu gōng diàn gōng sī dǎng yuán tū jī duì hù háng chūn jié lǜ sè . .
New Year to the grassroots丨State Grid Zhuzhou Power Supply Company party member commando escorts the Spring Festival green:
汤姆去了澳洲几次？
Tāngmǔ qù le àozhōu jǐcì?
How many times has Tom been to Australia?
欧洲的人口比亚洲少。
ōuzhōu de rénkǒu Bǐyà zhōu shǎo.
Europe has a smaller population than Asia.
悉尼是澳洲最大的城市。
Xīní shì àozhōu zuì dà de chéngshì.
Sydney is the largest city in Australia.
翻译是欧洲的语言。
Fānyì shì ōuzhōu de yǔyán.
Translation is the language of Europe.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 洲 (zhōu)?
Is 洲 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 洲 with real-time feedback
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