How to Write 周 (zhōu) — Meaning “week / circle / cycle”

Think of a week as a cycle: the outer frame (冂) is the week’s circle, the earth (土) are the days inside, and the mouth (口) at the bottom is you saying 'week!' This picture helps you recall the shape and meaning together.

Write the top enclosure (冂) first: left vertical, then top horizontal and right vertical. Next, add the middle 土: horizontal, vertical, horizontal. Finally, the bottom 口: vertical, horizontal fold, horizontal. Keep the 土 small and centered, and the bottom 口 slightly narrower than the top.

周 has a frame on top and earth inside, making it a compact square. 吁 (xū) is left-right, with a mouth (口) on the left and 于 on the right, meaning 'sigh'. 吂 (máng) is top-bottom, with a mouth (口) above and 亡 below, used in rare words. The key visual clue is the internal 'earth' shape in 周.

周 commonly means 'week' in words like 周末 (weekend) and 下周 (next week). It also appears in 周围 (surroundings) to mean 'around'. As a surname, 周 (Zhou) is very common. You will see it often in calendars and schedules.

Common words containing 周 include: 周末 (zhōu mò) — weekend; 下周 (xià zhōu) — next week; 周围 (zhōu wéi) — surroundings / around.