zhàng
noun #24,235

Measure Word

zhàng

Meanings

  1. 1 a unit of length (approx. 3.3 meters)
  2. 2 husband (in 丈夫)

Examples

HSK 3
Zhàngfu hěn gāo.
The husband is very tall.
HSK 4
Yī zhàng děngyú shí chǐ.
One zhàng equals ten chǐ.

Tips

usage
Most commonly seen in 丈夫 (husband) in modern Chinese.

Components

radical
one; horizontal stroke
is the indexing radical and acts as a measuring rod laid across the body of the char. It gives its sense of marked length - the unit (about 3.3 m) was originally measured by a man's outstretched arm, with this stroke as the yardstick.
semantic
yòu
right hand
pictures a right hand. Strict etymology reads as a hand holding a stick, both an instrument of measure and a symbol of the elder male - which is why also became an honorific for husband in compounds like 丈夫.

Stroke Order

zhàng