Pronunciation

Characters pronounced zhou.

13 name characters share this pronunciation across tones. Pinyin alone does not identify a character; choose the Hanzi you want.

All 13 characters are listed below. Each links to its own page with meaning, structure, and names that use it.

咒 zhòu curse, damn, incantation 宙 zhòu time as concept; infinite time 昼 zhòu bright daytime, daylight 皱 zhòu classic wrinkles, creases, folds 骤 zhòu procedure; gallop; sudden(ly) 轴 zhóu natural axle, axletree; pivot; axis 周 zhōu Zhou dynasty; circumference 州 zhōu administrative division, state 洲 zhōu continent; island; islet 粥 zhōu rice gruel, congee 舟 zhōu boat, ship; Kangxi radical 137 帚 zhǒu broom, broomstick 肘 zhǒu the elbow; help a person shoulder a load

Why several characters share one pinyin

Mandarin has many homophones. Tone narrows the sound, but different characters can still share the same syllable and tone. The Hanzi is the identity; the pinyin is only the sound.

Browse all name characters or use Search to look up a character by meaning.