How to write 午 (wǔ, “7th earthly branch”)
午 (wǔ), an HSK 1 character, means “7th earthly branch”. As an overlapping character it splits into 丿 (“slash”), stroke 1; 干 (“dry”), strokes 2–4, written the first part first. Among the HSK words it appears in 上午 (“morning”), 下午 (“afternoon”) and 中午 (“noon”). Japanese reads it go, “noon”, as a JLPT N5 kanji.
- Pinyin
- wǔ
- Strokes
- 4
- HSK
- 1
- Radical
- 十 (“ten”)
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Left-falling stroke ㇒topdown and right → down and left
- Horizontal ㇐toprightwards
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Vertical ㇑topdownwards
Japanese and Chinese
Japanese and Chinese draw all 4 strokes in the same order and direction, by our stroke-by-stroke comparison.
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Pinyin and meaning
| Pinyin | Meanings | Traditional | In words |
|---|---|---|---|
| wǔ third tone | 7th earthly branch: 11 a.m.-1 p.m., noon, 5th solar month (6th June-6th July), year of the Horse; ancient Chinese compass point: 180° (south) | — | 上午 下午 中午 午饭 |
- HSK 2025 syllabus
- level 1
- 2021 standard
- level 1
- HSK 2.0
- in a level 1 word
- Words with it
- 32 in CC-CEDICT
Words with 午
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 上午 | shàngwǔ | morning HSK 1 |
| 下午 | xiàwǔ | afternoon; p.m. HSK 1 |
| 中午 | zhōngwǔ | noon; midday HSK 1 |
| 午饭 午飯 | wǔfàn | lunch HSK 1 |
| 午餐 | wǔcān | lunch; luncheon HSK 4 |
| 午休 | wǔxiū | noon break; lunch break |
| 午前 | wǔqián | morning; a.m. |
| 午后 午後 | wǔhòu | afternoon |
| 午时 午時 | wǔshí | 11 am-1 pm |
| 午睡 | wǔshuì | to take a nap in the afternoon |
HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).
Practice sheet
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HSK 1, in list order: