书 (shū) is a Chinese character meaning “book”. It is written from ㇕ (horizontal-turning stroke) and ㇆ (horizontal-turning hook stroke) and ㇑ (vertical stroke) and ㇔ (dot stroke), and takes 4 strokes.
Build the character for “book”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
㇕ + ㇆ + ㇑ + ㇔
Overlapping structure
- ㇕ horizontal-turning stroke unknown
- ㇆ horizontal-turning hook stroke unknown
- ㇑ vertical stroke unknown
- ㇔ dot stroke unknown
Structure from: stroke-level decomposition verified against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 medians (4 strokes: 横折 / 横折钩 / 竖 / 点); no reliable component IDS available for the simplified glyph
Memory aid
㇕ and ㇆ stack like two open pages, the long ㇑ runs down the spine that holds them, and ㇔ is the drop of ink left by the brush.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
4 strokes
In real words
- 书本shū běnbook; books书 = shūHSK 1
- 读书dú shūto read; to study书 = shūHSK 1
- 书包shū bāoschoolbag; satchel书 = shū
- 书柜shū guìbookcase书 = shū
- 旧书jiù shūold book; second-hand book书 = shū
- 书店shū diànbookstore书 = shūHSK 1
- 书斋shū zhāistudy (room)书 = shū
- 书架shū jiàbookshelf书 = shū
- 书桌shū zhuōwriting desk书 = shū
- 图书馆tú shū guǎnlibrary书 = shū
- 念书niàn shūto study; to read aloud from a book书 = shū
- 教书jiāo shūto teach (as a job); to be a teacher书 = shū
- 秘书mì shūsecretary书 = shū
- 隶书lì shūclerical script (the Han-dynasty calligraphic style)书 = shū
Go deeper
All readings
book
book; to write; document; letter
装订成册的著作；也指书写、字体或书信。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 书本shū běnbook; books书 = shūHSK 1
- 读书dú shūto read; to study书 = shūHSK 1
- 书包shū bāoschoolbag; satchel书 = shū
- 书柜shū guìbookcase书 = shū
- 旧书jiù shūold book; second-hand book书 = shū
- 书店shū diànbookstore书 = shūHSK 1
- 书斋shū zhāistudy (room)书 = shū
- 书架shū jiàbookshelf书 = shū
- 书桌shū zhuōwriting desk书 = shū
- 图书馆tú shū guǎnlibrary书 = shū
- 念书niàn shūto study; to read aloud from a book书 = shū
- 教书jiāo shūto teach (as a job); to be a teacher书 = shū
- 秘书mì shūsecretary书 = shū
- 隶书lì shūclerical script (the Han-dynasty calligraphic style)书 = shū
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 书 mean?
书 (shū) means book; to write; document; letter.
How do you pronounce 书?
It is pronounced shū.
What parts is 书 made of?
㇕ (horizontal-turning stroke) and ㇆ (horizontal-turning hook stroke) and ㇑ (vertical stroke) and ㇔ (dot stroke). The recorded source is: stroke-level decomposition verified against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 medians (4 strokes: 横折 / 横折钩 / 竖 / 点); no reliable component IDS available for the simplified glyph. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 书 have?
4. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 书?
乙. 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 书?
Common ones are 书本 and 读书. The reading of 书 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.