Learn a Chinese Character - 州 (zhōu) - Prefecture

1. Character Basics (汉字基本信息)

Radical: 川 (River radical)

Stroke Count: 6 (Number of strokes)

Character Decomposition: 像几条河流环绕着陆地 (It resembles several rivers surrounding a piece of land)

Stroke Order:

2. Pronunciation (发音)

Pinyin: zhōu (First tone)

3. Meaning (含义)

州 originally referred to an area of land surrounded by water, later used to denote an administrative division like a prefecture. (州最初指被水环绕的陆地，后来用来表示如州、郡等行政区域。)

4. Common Words (常用词汇)

• 广州 (Guǎngzhōu) - Guangzhou (a city name)
• 苏州 (Sūzhōu) - Suzhou (a city name)
• 九州 (Jiǔzhōu) - Nine Prefectures, a traditional name for China

5. Grammar & Usage (语法与用法)

州 is often used in proper nouns, especially in the names of cities and historical administrative regions. (州常用于专有名词，特别是城市名和历史行政区划名中。)

6. Cultural Background (文化背景)

In ancient China, the land was divided into nine states, which became a symbol of the whole country. (在中国古代，天下分为九州，“九州”成为中国的代名词。)

7. Example Sentence (例句)

8. Memory Tips (记忆技巧)

You can remember 州 by imagining three rivers (the radical 川) surrounding a piece of land. (你可以想象三条河流（部首 川）环绕着一块陆地来记忆 州 这个字。)