竹 (zhú): (bound form) bamboo, Kangxi radical 118
竹 (zhú) is a Chinese character meaning “(bound form) bamboo.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), with radical 竹 (bamboo). It ranks #1577 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically pictographic, 竹 two stalks of bamboo. Its radical form 竹 (bamboo) appears in many related characters such as 笑 (xiào, to laugh), 第 (dì, (prefix indicating ordinal number, as in 第六 "sixth")), 等 (děng, to wait for).
Definitions
- (bound form) bamboo
- Kangxi radical 118
Etymology & Origin
pictographicTwo stalks of bamboo
Stroke Order
Practice writing 竹 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 竹
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 青梅竹马phrase | qīng méi zhú mǎ | lit. green plums and hobby-horse (idiom) |
| 胸有成竹 | xiōng yǒu chéng zhú | (idiom) to have a well-thought-out plan in mind |
| 爆竹noun | bào zhú | firecracker |
| 竹竿noun | zhú gān | bamboo pole |
| 竹节虫 | zhú jié chóng | walking stick |
| 竹筒noun | zhú tǒng | bamboo tube |
| 竹林noun | zhú lín | bamboo forest |
| 势如破竹 | shì rú pò zhú | like a hot knife through butter (idiom) |
| 夹竹桃noun | jiā zhú táo | oleander (Nerium oleander) |
| 竹篮noun | zhú lán | wicker basket |
| 成竹在胸phrase | chéng zhú zài xiōng | see 胸有成竹 |
| 罄竹难书 | qìng zhú nán shū | (lit.) too numerous to record on bamboo slips (idiom) |
| 毛竹noun | máo zhú | moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis), used as timber etc |
| 敲竹杠verb | qiāo zhú gàng | extortion by taking advantage of sb's weakness |
| 石竹noun | shí zhú | China pink |
竹 appears in 100 compound words: 49 as the first character, 35 as the last, and 16 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 竹 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (12)
(lit.) string and wind instruments (idiom); (fig.) traditional Chinese ensemble music
lit. smash bamboo, overturn water tank (idiom); fig. irresistible force
lit. smash bamboo, overturn water tank (idiom); fig. irresistible force
Showing 10 of 12 idioms containing 竹.
Example Sentences
了解竹字的来源，有助于理解中国文化。
le xiè zhú zì de lái yuán , yǒu zhù yú lǐ xiè zhōng guó wén huā .
Understanding the origin of the character for bamboo helps to comprehend Chinese culture.
竹县爱讲“客”推学校客语能力 扩大奖励对象
zhú xiàn ài jiǎng kè tuī xué jiào kè yǔ néng lì kuò dà jiǎng lì duì xiàng
Zhu County loves to speak "guests" and promote the school's Hakka language ability to expand the reward objects
彰化竹塘慈航宫总斗首之争 第三轮PK分胜负 桃...
zhāng huà zhú táng cí háng gōng zǒng dǒu shǒu zhī zhēng dì sān lún P K fēn shèng fù táo . . .
Changhua Zhutang Cihang Palace overall battle battle third round PK point victory or defeat peach...
年初八拜天公是否可燃放爆竹 胡栋强促倪可敏交代
nián chū bā bài tiān gōng shì fǒu kě rán fàng bào zhú hú dòng qiáng cù 倪 kě mǐn jiāo dài
On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, whether it is possible to set off firecrackers Hu Dong forced Ni Kemin to explain
一环内禁燃!云岩区春节期间烟花爆竹禁限放区域、时间..
yī huán nèi jīn rán ! yún yán qū chūn jié qī jiān yān huā bào zhú jīn xiàn fàng qū yù , shí jiān . .
No combustion in the first ring! During the Spring Festival in Yunyan District, fireworks and firecrackers are prohibited and restricted:
汤姆被敲竹杠了。
Tāngmǔ bèi qiāo zhúgàng le.
Tom got ripped off.
只有竹内没有接受邀请。
Zhǐ yǒu Zhúnèi méiyǒu jiēshòu yāoqǐng.
Only Takeuchi didn't accept the invitation.
花园里有竹子在生长。
Huāyuán lǐ yǒu zhúzi zài shēngzhǎng.
There's bamboo growing in the garden.
新竹的风很大，因此有「风城」的美称。
Xīnzhú de fēng hěn dà, yīncǐ yǒu 「 Fēngchéng 」 de měichēng.
Hsinchu is very windy, which is why it is nicknamed the "Windy City."
春天的时候，新竹城外的竹林特别翠绿。
Chūntiān de shíhou, Xīnzhú chéngwài de zhúlín tèbié cuìlǜ.
In spring, the bamboo grove outside Hsinchu City is especially green.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is 竹 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 竹 with real-time feedback
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