How to Write 乍 (zhà) — Meaning “suddenly / at first”

Imagine a person who suddenly jumps up—the initial left-falling stroke (丿) is like an arm shooting up. Then the remaining strokes form a surprised face or a quick movement, reminding you of something happening all at once.

Write the left-falling stroke first, then a short horizontal, then a vertical hook that curves slightly right, and finally two horizontal lines. Common mistakes include making the vertical hook too long or writing the horizontals unevenly—keep the character compact and balanced.

乍 has a distinct vertical hook stroke, while 丹 contains a dot (丶) and a horizontal line, and 久 has a right-falling stroke (捺). Visually, 乍 looks like a hook shape, 丹 looks like a square with a dot, and 久 is more angular. Their meanings are also unrelated—乍 means "suddenly," 丹 means "cinnabar," and 久 means "long time."

乍 is used in formal or literary expressions like 乍看 (at first glance) and 乍听 (at first hearing), often to introduce an initial impression that might change. It appears in phrases like 乍冷乍热 (suddenly cold then hot) to describe rapid changes. While not common in casual speech, it is important for reading written Chinese.

Common words containing 乍 include: 乍看 (zhà kàn) — at first glance; 乍听 (zhà tīng) — at first hearing; 乍一想 (zhà yī xiǎng) — at first thought.