How to Write 朱 (zhū) — Meaning “Vermilion / Bright red / (Surname)”

Imagine a tree (木) with a red horizontal stripe painted across its middle. The stripe represents the vermilion color, and the top left-falling stroke is like a painter's brush adding that bright red mark.

The stroke order is: left-falling, horizontal, horizontal, vertical, left-falling, dot. A common mistake is to write the first stroke as a horizontal like in 未, but 朱 starts with a left-falling stroke. Also, keep the top horizontal shorter than the bottom one to maintain balance.

木 (tree) has just four strokes with no extra horizontal line, while 朱 has an extra horizontal stroke through the middle. 未 (not yet) starts with a horizontal stroke and has a longer top line, whereas 朱 starts with a left-falling stroke and the top line is shorter. Meaning also differs: 朱 means 'vermilion', 木 means 'wood', and 未 means 'not yet'.

朱 is most commonly used as a surname (Zhu), one of the most frequent Chinese family names. It also appears in the color word 朱红色 (vermilion), a vivid red used in traditional Chinese art and architecture, such as the walls of the Forbidden City, symbolizing good fortune and power.

Common words containing 朱 include: 朱红色 (zhū hóng sè) — Vermilion / Bright red; 朱先生 (zhū xiān shēng) — Mr. Zhu; 朱小姐 (zhū xiǎo jiě) — Ms. Zhu.