世 (shì) is a Chinese character meaning “world”. It is written from ㇐ (horizontal stroke) and 凵 (open box) and ㇗ (vertical-turning stroke), and takes 5 strokes.
Build the character for “world; generation”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
㇐ + 凵 + ㇗
Overlapping structure
Structure from: Unicode U+4E16 与 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 现代字形观察（第 1 笔长横、第 2–4 笔构成中部凵形、第 5 笔竖折）
Memory aid
A long horizontal (㇐) stretches across like a horizon. Under it sits a small open box (凵), and one turning stroke (㇗) runs down the left side and along the bottom to close the ground. Horizon over an open box on solid ground: the world you live in.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
5 strokes
In real words
- 世界shì jièworld世 = shìHSK 3
- 世纪shì jìcentury世 = shì
- 袁世凯yuán shì kǎiYuan Shikai (1859–1916), general and first formal president of the Republic of China世 = shì
- 逝世shì shìto pass away (formal, respectful)世 = shì
Go deeper
All readings
world; generation
world; age; era; generation; lifetime
人的一辈子；一代；也指人间、世界。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 世界shì jièworld世 = shìHSK 3
- 世纪shì jìcentury世 = shì
- 袁世凯yuán shì kǎiYuan Shikai (1859–1916), general and first formal president of the Republic of China世 = shì
- 逝世shì shìto pass away (formal, respectful)世 = shì
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 世 mean?
世 (shì) means world; age; era; generation; lifetime.
How do you pronounce 世?
It is pronounced shì.
What parts is 世 made of?
㇐ (horizontal stroke) and 凵 (open box) and ㇗ (vertical-turning stroke). The recorded source is: Unicode U+4E16 与 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 现代字形观察（第 1 笔长横、第 2–4 笔构成中部凵形、第 5 笔竖折）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 世 have?
5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 世?
一. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 世?
Common ones are 世界 and 世纪. The reading of 世 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.