倍 (bèi) is a Chinese character meaning “times”. It is written from 亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 咅 (pǒu — a sound component (立 over 口), heard in 倍, 陪, 部), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “times; -fold”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
亻 + 咅
Left–right structure
- 亻 person (the form 人 takes on the left) · rén meaning
- 咅 pǒu — a sound component (立 over 口), heard in 倍, 陪, 部 · pǒu sound
Structure from: IDS 现代字形拆分 ⿰亻咅；与 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数据核验：第 1–2 笔属 亻，第 3–10 笔属 咅；说文解字：倍，反也。从人咅声
Memory aid
A person (亻) keeps adding to the 咅 stack beside them — look again and it has doubled. Both parts are really in this character: 倍 means "times" or "-fold".
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 加倍jiā bèito double; to redouble倍 = bèi
- 倍数bèi shùmultiple (in math); number of times倍 = bèi
Go deeper
All readings
times; -fold
times; -fold (as in twice, three times); double; to increase by the same amount
跟原数相同的数；某数的几倍就是用几乘某数。也指加倍、更加。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 加倍jiā bèito double; to redouble倍 = bèi
- 倍数bèi shùmultiple (in math); number of times倍 = bèi
Sound component
咅 family diverged
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 倍 mean?
倍 (bèi) means times; -fold (as in twice, three times); double; to increase by the same amount.
How do you pronounce 倍?
It is pronounced bèi.
What parts is 倍 made of?
亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 咅 (pǒu — a sound component (立 over 口), heard in 倍, 陪, 部), side by side. The recorded source is: IDS 现代字形拆分 ⿰亻咅；与 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数据核验：第 1–2 笔属 亻，第 3–10 笔属 咅；说文解字：倍，反也。从人咅声. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 倍 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 倍?
亻. 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 倍?
Common ones are 加倍 and 倍数. The reading of 倍 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.