HSK 6 · Nature
宇宙 yǔzhòu “universe” in Chinese
Same in Traditional
What 宇宙 means
- universe
- cosmos
- space
How to say 宇宙
宇yǔ3rd tone, dipping
宙zhòu4th tone, falling
宇宙 in a sentence
How 宇宙 is built
Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

宇yǔroom
- 宀roof · miánMeaning part
- 于part of the characterSound part

宙zhòueternity
- 宀roof · miánMeaning part
- 由cause · yóuSound part
宀 hints at the meaning (roof); 由 (yóu) hints at the sound. Compare it with zhòu.
How to write 宇宙
宇 6 strokes · 宙 8 strokes
Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

Words related to 宇宙
More words: Nature & Environment
FAQs
宇宙 (yǔzhòu) means “universe” or “cosmos”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it yǔzhòu: yǔ with a 3rd tone, then zhòu with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 宇宙 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type yuzhou with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 宇宙 from the suggestions. Typing yuzhou into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
宇宙 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.
Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.