Chinese symbol for “spool”
轴
zhóu
Traditional: 軸
axis; axle; spool (for thread); roller (for scrolls)
The closest CC-CEDICT match for spool is 轴 (zhóu), defined as: axis; axle; spool (for thread); roller (for scrolls); classifier for calligraphy rolls etc.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Traditional forms
Other Chinese words for “spool”
Related words
Other words that share a character with 轴.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 轴承 (軸承) | zhóu chéng | (mechanical) bearing |
| 主轴 (主軸) | zhǔ zhóu | axis; principal axis (in mechanics, optics, botany etc) |
| 卷轴 (卷軸) | juàn zhóu | scroll (book or painting) |
| 时间轴 (時間軸) | shí jiān zhóu | time axis; timeline |
| 轴线 (軸線) | zhóu xiàn | central axis (line) |
| 中轴线 (中軸線) | zhōng zhóu xiàn | central axis (line) |
See also: Japanese symbol for “spool”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.