How to Write 床 (chuáng) — Meaning “bed”

Picture a roof (广) covering a wooden board (木) where you sleep. Imagine you are lying on that wooden board under the roof — that's your bed, which is 床.

Write the radical 广 first: a dot, then a horizontal line, then a left-falling stroke. Then add 木 inside, making sure its vertical stroke lines up with the center of the radical. A common mistake is making the 木 too wide or too tall.

平 (píng, flat) uses a different top part (一 and 丷) and means 'flat' or 'level', not a bed. 庀 (pǐ, to prepare) also has the radical 广 but contains 匕 (a spoon-like shape) inside, while 床 contains 木 (wood).

床 is a common noun for 'bed', used in everyday words like 起床 (to get up) and 床上 (on the bed). In Chinese culture, beds are often lower and firmer than Western ones, but the character is used the same way for any type of bed.

Common words containing 床 include: 起床 (qǐ chuáng) — to get out of bed; to get up; 床上 (chuáng shàng) — on the bed; 单人床 (dān rén chuáng) — single bed.