偶 (ǒu) is a Chinese character meaning “accidentally”. It is written from 亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 禺 (yú — a sound component (as in 偶, 遇, 寓, 愚)), side by side, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “by chance; pair”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
亻 + 禺
Left–right structure
- 亻 person (the form 人 takes on the left) · rén meaning
- 禺 yú — a sound component (as in 偶, 遇, 寓, 愚) · yú sound
Structure from: 说文解字：偶，桐人也。从人，禺声
Memory aid
The person radical 亻 on the left says this is about people — a figure, a partner, a pair. The right part 禺 (yú) only carries a sound hint; today the reading has drifted to ǒu. Both parts are really in the character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 偶尔ǒu ěroccasionally; once in a while偶 = ǒuspoken asóu ěr
- 偶然ǒu ránby chance; accidental偶 = ǒu
Go deeper
All readings
by chance; pair
accidentally; occasionally; even (number); pair; spouse; image, idol
偶然、间或；双数、成对的；配偶；用木头或泥土做的人像。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 偶尔ǒu ěroccasionally; once in a while偶 = ǒuspoken asóu ěr
- 偶然ǒu ránby chance; accidental偶 = ǒu
Sound component
禺 family diverged
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 偶 mean?
偶 (ǒu) means accidentally; occasionally; even (number); pair; spouse; image, idol.
How do you pronounce 偶?
It is pronounced ǒu.
What parts is 偶 made of?
亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 禺 (yú — a sound component (as in 偶, 遇, 寓, 愚)), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字：偶，桐人也。从人，禺声. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 偶 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 偶?
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 偶?
Common ones are 偶尔 and 偶然. The reading of 偶 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.