How to Write 丈 (zhàng) — Meaning “zhang (unit of length, approx. 3.33m); husband; elder male relative”

Imagine a person standing with arms stretched wide to measure something, like a carpenter measuring wood. The top horizontal line is the arms, and the two diagonal strokes are the legs—this helps you recall that 丈 means a unit of length.

The stroke order is: first the horizontal line from left to right, then the left-falling diagonal, and finally the right-falling diagonal. Do not connect the two diagonals into one stroke—they must be written separately, and the horizontal line should be shorter than the diagonals.

一 is just a single horizontal line with no other strokes, while 丈 has two diagonal strokes below. 丁 has a horizontal line and a vertical hook stroke, not diagonal strokes, so 丈's crossed diagonals make it unique. Also, 丈 means 'unit of length' or 'husband', while 一 means 'one' and 丁 means 'nail' or 'fourth heavenly stem'.

丈 appears in common words like 丈夫 (husband) and 丈母娘 (mother-in-law). As a unit of length, it is still used in traditional contexts, such as measuring land in rural areas, but it is less common than metric units. Culturally, 丈夫 carries the idea of a man as the 'pillar' of the home.

Common words containing 丈 include: 丈夫 (zhàng fū) — husband; 丈量 (zhàng liáng) — to measure (land or area); 丈母娘 (zhàng mǔ niáng) — mother-in-law (wife's mother).