杂

雜
zá
adjective HSK 6 #7,135

Meanings

  1. 1 mixed; miscellaneous
  2. 2 messy; disorderly

Examples

HSK 4
Zhège fángjiān tài záluàn le.
This room is too messy.
HSK 4
Tā kàn le yī běn zázhì.
He read a magazine.
HSK 5
Zhè piān wénzhāng nèiróng záluàn, quēfá jīběn de luóji.
This article's content is jumbled and lacks basic logic.

Tips

usage
杂 appears in 杂志 (magazine), 复杂 (complex), 杂乱 (messy), and 杂技 (acrobatics). The traditional form 雜 is much more complex than the simplified 杂.

Components

radical
木 mù
tree; wood
The tree radical at the base indexes 杂 in modern usage. In the traditional 雜 the 木 was hidden inside the lower portion; the simplification has lifted it into clear view as the dictionary anchor for 'mixed, miscellaneous'.
semantic
九 jiǔ
nine; mixed shape (simplified residue)
The top two strokes are written as 九 in the simplified form, replacing the much heavier traditional 雜 top (which had 衣 robes and 隹 short-tailed bird stacked together). 九 here functions as a shape placeholder for 'many, various' - the mixing of disparate things.

Stroke Order

杂 zá