How to Write 朝 (cháo/zhāo) — Meaning “Morning; dynasty; towards”

Think of the left side as ten (十) and early (早) — so 'ten early' — and the right side as the moon (月). Imagine you have to get up 'ten early' in the morning while the moon is still out, and you face (朝向) the sunrise to start your dynasty (朝代).

This character has a left-right structure. The left component (龺) has three horizontal strokes and two vertical strokes; be careful not to add extra strokes. The right side (月) is written with a left-falling stroke first (撇), then two horizontal strokes inside, and finally the right vertical line — keep the two sides balanced in height.

朝 has the left side 龺 and right side 月, while 朔 has the opposite order (月 on left, 龺 on right) and means 'new moon'. 朕 has 月 on the left too, but its right side is different (关 with two dots) and it means 'I' used by emperors — it is not related to time or direction.

朝 has two pronunciations: cháo (for 'dynasty' or 'towards') and zhāo (for 'morning'). Common words include 朝向 (orientation), 朝代 (dynasty), and 朝阳 (morning sun). Culturally, 'dynasty' is a key concept in Chinese history, and the phrase '朝朝暮暮' (every morning and evening) appears in poetry.

Common words containing 朝 include: 朝向 (cháo xiàng) — Orientation; to face; 朝代 (cháo dài) — Dynasty; 朝阳 (zhāo yáng) — The morning sun.