则 (zé) — HSK 4 Recognition Character: Meaning, Radical & Stroke Order

zé rule, law, regulation; grades 6 strokes · Radical 刂 (knife) · HSK 4 recognition character (认读字)

👁 Recognition only: the official HSK 4 syllabus asks you to recognize 则 when reading — handwriting it is not required (that applies to the 150 writing characters). The stroke animation below is optional but helps memory.

Pronunciation & meaning

Pronounced zé.

rule
law
regulation
grades

Stroke Order & Practice

Click Animate to see the correct stroke order, then Practice to trace it yourself.

则 — 6 strokes, numbered in writing order. 笔顺图（数字为下笔顺序）。

Decomposition

则 breaks down into 2 components arranged as Left + Right. Recognizing the components makes the character easier to remember and write.

则 =

贝 left sea shell

刂 right knife

Radical

The radical of 则 is 刂 — meaning knife. Radicals are the indexing components used in Chinese dictionaries; they often hint at a character's broad meaning category.

Other HSK 4 characters that share this radical: 划利剧列判剩.

How the character is built

则 is an ideographic compound — its meaning is suggested by the combination of its parts rather than by sound. Laws inscribed 刂 on a slate 贝.

HSK 4 Words Containing 则

否则 fǒuzé otherwise; or else; if not

快点走，否则就要迟到了。

Kuài diǎn zǒu, fǒuzé jiù yào chídào le.

Hurry up, otherwise we'll be late.

Seen in the Real Exams / 真题例句

则 appears in 16 questions across the 19 mock & official HSK 4 exams on this site. Real exam sentences using it:

人脑不是电脑，所以密码不能太复杂，不过也不能太简单，否则不安全。

From Mock Exam 04 →

FAQ

What does 则 mean in Chinese?

则 (zé) means rule, law, regulation; grades. It is one of the 441 characters HSK 4 requires you to recognize when reading (认读字).

How many strokes does 则 have?

则 is written in 6 strokes. Use the practice tool above to see the correct stroke order and trace it yourself.

What is the radical of 则?

The radical of 则 is 刂 (knife). Other HSK 4 characters with the same radical include 划, 利, 剧, 列, 判.

What is the pinyin for 则?

则 is pronounced zé.

What HSK 4 words use 则?

In our HSK 4 vocabulary, 则 appears in 1 word, including 否则 (fǒuzé). See the full list above.