Meaning & readings

create, make, structure, physique

On’yomi ゾウ
Kun’yomi つく.る、つく.り、-づく.り
Nanori ずくり、づくり、み

Origin

This character combines the idea of "announce" or "inform" (the top part, ) with the "walk" or "movement" radical (the left side, ⻌ — the same shape you see in characters about going places). Together, these suggest the process of building or creating something by moving forward with purpose and communication. Over time, this came to mean the broader idea of "make" or "construct" — the deliberate assembly of something new. The character's structure reflects how creation involves both planning (the announcement component) and active work (the movement component).

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Compound ideographic (combined meanings).

10 strokes

Components

  • meaning part nyoc
  • radical bottom-left wrap

Common words

  • 改造 かいぞう remodeling; remodelling
  • 偽造 ぎぞう forgery; counterfeiting
  • 建造 けんぞう building; construction
  • 構造 こうぞう structure; construction
  • 酒造 しゅぞう brewing (sake); distilling (e.g. whisky)
  • 醸造 じょうぞう brewing
  • 人造 じんぞう artificial; man-made
  • 製造 せいぞう manufacture; production

Reference

Strokes
10
Kangxi radical
162
Grade
Grade 5 (Kyōiku)
Frequency rank
#429 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 2
Unicode
U+09020