卑 (bēi) is a Chinese character meaning “low”. It is written from 白 (white; plain) and 丿 (left-falling stroke) and 十 (ten), one above the other, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “low; lowly”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
白 + 丿 + 十
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: modern glyph shape verified against hanzi-writer-data stroke order (strokes 1-5 = 白, stroke 6 = 丿, strokes 7-8 = 十)
Memory aid
A white (白) tablet, one stroke (丿) sliding off its lower left, and a cross (十) pinned underneath — the whole thing is pressed down low: 卑, lowly.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 自卑zì bēito feel inferior; to have low self-esteem卑 = bēi
Go deeper
All readings
lowly
low; lowly; humble; inferior in status
地位低下、低微；也指自认低人一等。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 自卑zì bēito feel inferior; to have low self-esteem卑 = bēi
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 卑 mean?
卑 (bēi) means low; lowly; humble; inferior in status.
How do you pronounce 卑?
It is pronounced bēi.
What parts is 卑 made of?
白 (white; plain) and 丿 (left-falling stroke) and 十 (ten), one above the other. The recorded source is: modern glyph shape verified against hanzi-writer-data stroke order (strokes 1-5 = 白, stroke 6 = 丿, strokes 7-8 = 十). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 卑 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 卑?
十. 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 卑?
Common ones are 自卑. The reading of 卑 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.