叔 (shū) is a Chinese character meaning “father’s younger brother”. It is written from 上 (above; up) and 小 (small) and 又 (again), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “father’s younger brother”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
上 + 小 + 又
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字·又部：叔，拾也。从又尗聲（现代字形左旁 尗 由 上、小 组成）
Memory aid
A small one (小) looking up (上), with a hand (又) on the right ready to help — that is 叔, your father’s younger brother.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 叔叔shū shuuncle (father’s younger brother)叔 = shū
- 大叔dà shūuncle (polite address for a middle-aged man)叔 = shū
Go deeper
All readings
father’s younger brother
father’s younger brother; uncle; a polite form of address for a man of ones father’s generation
父亲的弟弟；也用来称呼与父亲同辈而年纪较小的男子。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 叔叔shū shuuncle (father’s younger brother)叔 = shū
- 大叔dà shūuncle (polite address for a middle-aged man)叔 = shū
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 叔 mean?
叔 (shū) means father’s younger brother; uncle; a polite form of address for a man of ones father’s generation.
How do you pronounce 叔?
It is pronounced shū.
What parts is 叔 made of?
上 (above; up) and 小 (small) and 又 (again), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字·又部：叔，拾也。从又尗聲（现代字形左旁 尗 由 上、小 组成）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 叔 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 叔?
又. 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 叔?
Common ones are 叔叔 and 大叔. The reading of 叔 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.