仁 (rén) is a Chinese character meaning “benevolence”. It is written from 亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 二 (two), side by side, and takes 4 strokes.
Build the character for “benevolent; humane”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
亻 + 二
Left–right structure
Structure from: Unicode U+4EC1 与 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 现代字形核验（左「亻」2 笔 + 右「二」2 笔 = 4 笔）
Memory aid
On the left a person (亻), on the right the number two (二). Both parts are really in this character: 仁 is about what happens between two people — treating the other one well.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
4 strokes
In real words
- 仁爱rén àibenevolence; kindheartedness仁 = rén
- 仁慈rén cíkind; merciful仁 = rén
- 杏仁xìng rénapricot kernel; almond仁 = rén
- 虾仁xiā rénshelled shrimp; shrimp meat仁 = rén
Go deeper
All readings
benevolent; humane
benevolence; humaneness; kindness toward others
对别人亲善、有同情心的品德；儒家思想的核心道德。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 仁爱rén àibenevolence; kindheartedness仁 = rén
- 仁慈rén cíkind; merciful仁 = rén
- 杏仁xìng rénapricot kernel; almond仁 = rén
- 虾仁xiā rénshelled shrimp; shrimp meat仁 = rén
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 仁 mean?
仁 (rén) means benevolence; humaneness; kindness toward others.
How do you pronounce 仁?
It is pronounced rén.
What parts is 仁 made of?
亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 二 (two), side by side. The recorded source is: Unicode U+4EC1 与 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 现代字形核验（左「亻」2 笔 + 右「二」2 笔 = 4 笔）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 仁 have?
4. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 仁?
人. 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 仁?
Common ones are 仁爱 and 仁慈. The reading of 仁 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.