周

Tap the pinyin to hear it

to make a circuit; to circle; circle; circumference; lap; cycle; complete; all; all over; thorough; to help financially

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Ideographic compound (会意字)

Border 冂 around land 土 with a well 口

Components 冂土口

circumference · Heisig RSH #333

lidded crock + helmet — as a component also called: lap

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
不周山	Bù zhōu Shān	Buzhou Mountain, a mountain from Chinese legend
周口市	Zhōu kǒu Shì	Zhoukou, prefecture-level city in Henan Province 河南省[He2 nan2 Sheng3]
周转不开	zhōu zhuǎn bù kāi	to have financial difficulties; unable to make ends meet
周作人	Zhōu Zuò rén	Zhou Zuoren (1885-1967), brother of Lu Xun 魯迅\|鲁迅[Lu3 Xun4], academic in Japanese and Greek…
周有光	Zhōu Yǒu guāng	Zhou Youguang (1906-2017), PRC linguist, considered the father of Hanyu Pinyin 漢語拼音\|汉语拼音[H…
周日运动	zhōu rì yùn dòng	(astronomy) diurnal motion
太阳黑子周	tài yáng hēi zǐ zhōu	sunspot cycle
林周县	Lín zhōu Xiàn	Lhünzhub, a county in Lhasa City 拉薩市\|拉萨市[La1 sa4 Shi4], Tibet
黄金周	huáng jīn zhōu	Golden Week, two 7-day national holiday periods
东西周	Dōng Xī Zhōu	Western Zhou (1045-771 BC) and Eastern Zhou (770-256 BC)
开发周期	kāi fā zhōu qī	development cycle; development period; also written 開發週期\|开发周期
开发周期	kāi fā zhōu qī	development cycle; development period
不周	bù zhōu	not satisfactory; thoughtless; inconsiderate
一周	yī zhōu	one week; all the way around; a whole cycle
周一	Zhōu yī	Monday
周转金	zhōu zhuǎn jīn	revolving fund; working capital; petty cash; turnover
周中	zhōu zhōng	weekday; midweek
周天	Zhōu tiān	Sunday
上周	shàng zhōu	last week
周会	zhōu huì	weekly meeting; weekly assembly

These characters use 周 as their sound component — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
周 sound part	zhōu	Zhou dynasty; circumference
调	tiáo	tune, melody, key; to transfer, to exchange
雕	diāo	to carve, to engrave; eagle, vulture
绸	chóu	silk cloth, satin damask
稠	chóu	crowded, dense; viscous, thick
凋	diāo	withered, fallen; exhausted
赒	zhōu	to give to charity; to give alms
鲷	diāo	porgy; Pagrosomus major
啁	zhōu	to chirp, to twitter
惆	chóu	distressed, regretful, sad
碉	diāo	watchtower
椆	chóu	a species of tree resistant to cold weather
蜩	tiáo	cicada, broad locust