俗 (sú) is a Chinese character meaning “custom, the way people ordinarily do things”. It is written from 亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 谷 (valley), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “custom; common”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
亻 + 谷
Left–right structure
Structure from: hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（2+7=9，现代字形拆分，非字源）+ 读音比对：谷 gǔ → 俗 sú
Memory aid
A person (亻) doing exactly what everyone else down in the valley (谷) does — that is custom. Both parts really are in this character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 风俗fēng súcustom; social custom俗 = sú
- 俗话sú huàcommon saying; proverb俗 = sú
Go deeper
All readings
custom; common
custom, the way people ordinarily do things; also common or popular, and by extension unrefined or vulgar
社会上长期形成的风尚和习惯；也指大众通行的，或缺少品味的。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 风俗fēng súcustom; social custom俗 = sú
- 俗话sú huàcommon saying; proverb俗 = sú
Sound component
谷 family onset shift
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 俗 mean?
俗 (sú) means custom, the way people ordinarily do things; also common or popular, and by extension unrefined or vulgar.
How do you pronounce 俗?
It is pronounced sú.
What parts is 俗 made of?
亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 谷 (valley), side by side. The recorded source is: hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（2+7=9，现代字形拆分，非字源）+ 读音比对：谷 gǔ → 俗 sú. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 俗 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 俗?
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 俗?
Common ones are 风俗 and 俗话. The reading of 俗 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.