How to Write 长 (cháng/zhǎng) — Meaning “long; to grow; chief”

Picture a person stretching both arms out sideways, with the top horizontal stroke as the head, the middle strokes as arms, and the bottom sweeping stroke as a long body. This image of reaching out to show something "long" helps fix the character in your mind.

The stroke order is: horizontal, vertical, horizontal, then a final right-falling stroke (捺). A common mistake is making the vertical stroke too short—it should be long and straight. The last stroke should sweep outward gracefully to balance the shape.

长度 (cháng dù) means "length" and is used for measurements, e.g., 桌子的长度 (the length of the table). 特长 (tè cháng) means "specialty" or "strong point," as in 他的特长是画画 (His specialty is painting). 生长 (shēng zhǎng) means "to grow," often for plants or living things.

长 has two pronunciations: cháng for "long" (e.g., 长头发 long hair) and zhǎng for "to grow" or "chief" (e.g., 长大 grow up, 校长 school principal). This dual usage is common, so pay attention to context. As a surname, it is read as Zhǎng.

Common words containing 长 include: 长度 (cháng dù) — length; 特长 (tè cháng) — specialty; 生长 (shēng zhǎng) — to grow; growth.