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.
左zuǒleft
左 is a single shape of 5 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.
右yòuright; right-hand side
右 is a single shape of 5 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.
How to write 左右
左 5 strokes · 右 5 strokes
Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.
Stroke order chart for 左右 (zuǒyòu). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.
左右 (zuǒyòu) means “about” or “or so”. It is an HSK 4 word.
Say it zuǒyòu: zuǒ with a 3rd tone, then yòu with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 左右 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type zuoyou with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 左右 from the suggestions. Typing zuoyou into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
左右 is an HSK 4 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.
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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.
左zuǒ3rd tone, dipping
右yòu4th tone, falling
