How to Write 张 (zhāng) — Meaning “Zhang (a common surname); to open.”

Imagine a bow (弓) that is very long (长) – when you pull it open, it makes a "zhāng" sound. You can also think of the famous surname Zhang, like a long bow stretched across history.

The left part 弓 should be narrow; write it with three strokes: horizontal bend, horizontal, then vertical bend hook. The right part 长 starts with a left-falling stroke, then horizontal, vertical lift, and finally a right-falling stroke – keep the vertical lift aligned with the bend hook.

张 has 长 (long) on the right, while 弗 has two simple strokes (a vertical and a left-falling line) and means "not" or "no." 弘 has a small 厶 (private) on the right and means "great" or "enlarge" – all three share the bow radical but differ in right-side components and meanings.

张 is one of the most common Chinese surnames, used like "Mr. Zhang" (张先生). It also acts as a measure word for flat objects, such as 一张纸 (a piece of paper), and appears in 紧张 (nervous, meaning a tight bow). Culturally, the name Zhang appears in many historical figures like Zhang Fei.

Common words containing 张 include: 一张纸 (yī zhāng zhǐ) — a piece of paper; a sheet of paper; 张老师 (zhāng lǎo shī) — Teacher Zhang.; 紧张 (jǐn zhāng) — nervous, tense.