How to Write 章 (zhāng) — Meaning “Chapter; seal; badge”

Imagine a seal stamp that stands (立) on a document early in the morning (早) to mark the start of a new chapter. This picture helps link the components to the meanings of 'seal' and 'chapter'.

Keep the top part '立' slightly narrower than the bottom '早'. The last horizontal stroke of '早' should be the longest, and the middle horizontal of '早' should be shorter. A common mistake is making the lower part too tall.

章 has '早' (morning) below, while 亲 has '木' (tree) and 竖 has '豆' (bean). Their meanings are completely different: 章 means chapter or seal, 亲 means parent or close, and 竖 means vertical.

章 appears in common words like 文章 (article/essay), 第一章 (first chapter), and 盖章 (to stamp a seal). In Chinese culture, personal or official seals (章) are still used to sign documents, and chapters in books are also called 章.

Common words containing 章 include: 文章 (wén zhāng) — Article; Essay; 第一章 (dì yī zhāng) — Chapter 1; 盖章 (gài zhāng) — to stamp / to seal.