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

zhāo to summon; to recruit; to levy 8 strokes · Radical (hand) · HSK 4 recognition character (认读字)
👁 Recognition only: the official HSK 4 syllabus asks you to recognize 招 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 zhāo.

Stroke Order & Practice

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

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
招 — 8 strokes, numbered in writing order. 笔顺图(数字为下笔顺序)。

Decomposition

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

=
left hand
right imperial decree

Radical

The radical of is — meaning hand. 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: .

How the character is built

is an ideographic compound — its meaning is suggested by the combination of its parts rather than by sound. A call 召 to arms 扌; 召 also provides the pronunciation.

HSK 4 Words Containing 招

dǎ zhāohu to greet; to say hello
他笑着跟我打招呼。
Tā xiàozhe gēn wǒ dǎ zhāohu.
He greeted me with a smile.
zhāopìn to recruit; to hire
这家公司正在招聘工程师。
Zhè jiā gōngsī zhèngzài zhāopìn gōngchéngshī.
This company is recruiting engineers.

Seen in the Real Exams / 真题例句

appears in 14 questions across the 19 mock & official HSK 4 exams on this site. Real exam sentences using it:

那家杂志社在人。
From Mock Exam 14 →
女的为什么没和男的打呼?
From Mock Exam 19 →
大家希望什么时候举行聘会?
From Mock Exam 05 →

Tasks Featuring 招 / 相关任务

Words containing appear in these official HSK 4 task scenarios — study the character in context:

📚 介绍职业经历与单位情况
Career & Company · 招聘
📚 介绍风俗传统
Customs & Traditions · 打招呼

FAQ

What does 招 mean in Chinese?

招 (zhāo) means to summon; to recruit; to levy. It is one of the 441 characters HSK 4 requires you to recognize when reading (认读字).

How many strokes does 招 have?

招 is written in 8 strokes. Use the practice tool above to see the correct stroke order and trace it yourself.

What is the radical of 招?

The radical of 招 is 扌 (hand). Other HSK 4 characters with the same radical include 抱, 技, 扔, 掉, 拉.

What is the pinyin for 招?

招 is pronounced zhāo.

What HSK 4 words use 招?

In our HSK 4 vocabulary, 招 appears in 2 words, including 打招呼 (dǎ zhāohu), 招聘 (zhāopìn). See the full list above.

zhàng All Characters zhé →