决 (jué) is a Chinese character meaning “to decide”. It is written from 冫 (ice; two dots of ice) and 夬 (a hand pulling apart; splitting open), side by side, and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “to decide”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
冫 + 夬
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分 ⿰冫夬，已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数核验（2+4=6）
Memory aid
Two dots of ice (冫) on the left, a hand splitting something open (夬) on the right. The ice cracks in one clean line — once it splits, the matter is decided.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 决定jué dìngto decide; decision决 = juéHSK 3
- 解决jiě juéto solve; to settle (a problem)决 = juéHSK 3
- 判决pàn juécourt verdict; to sentence; to rule决 = jué
Go deeper
All readings
to decide
to decide; to settle; to determine; decidedly (before a negative)
拿定主意，做出最后判断；用在否定词前表示绝对。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 决定jué dìngto decide; decision决 = juéHSK 3
- 解决jiě juéto solve; to settle (a problem)决 = juéHSK 3
- 判决pàn juécourt verdict; to sentence; to rule决 = jué
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 决 mean?
决 (jué) means to decide; to settle; to determine; decidedly (before a negative).
How do you pronounce 决?
It is pronounced jué.
What parts is 决 made of?
冫 (ice; two dots of ice) and 夬 (a hand pulling apart; splitting open), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分 ⿰冫夬，已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数核验（2+4=6）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 决 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 决?
冫. 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 决?
Common ones are 决定 and 解决. The reading of 决 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.