张
stretch, open
At a glance · 张
Evolution of the glyph
Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.
Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE
⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.
张字小篆从弓长声，为形声字；本义为拉开弓弦。甲骨文未见。
What the sketch shows
Origins & notes
张本义为开弓，引申为展开、张大。
Structure
形声字，左部『弓』为意符表弓，右部『长』为声符。
At a glance
Pinyinzhāng
Radical弓
Strokes7
UnicodeU+5F20
Character type形声
Theme动作
Six languages, one character
Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.
English
stretch, open
Zhang is a phonetic-semantic character meaning to draw a bow, hence to stretch and open.
Français
tendre, ouvrir
Zhang est un caractère phonético-sémantique signifiant tendre un arc, d'où étendre et ouvrir.
Español
tender, abrir
Zhang es un carácter fonosemántico que significa tensar un arco, de ahí extender y abrir.
العربية
يشد، يفتح
تشانغ حرف صوتي دلالي يعني شد القوس، ومنه الامتداد والفتح.
Русский
натягивать, открывать
Чжан — фоносемантический знак, означающий натягивать лук, отсюда — расправлять и открывать.
Common words
- 张开zhāng kāiopen
- 一张yī zhāngone sheet