叙 (xù) is a Chinese character meaning “to narrate”. It is written from 余 (surplus; remaining; I (literary)) and 又 (again), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “to tell what happened, in order”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
余 + 又
Left–right structure
Structure from: hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（现代字形 ⿰余又，7+2=9 笔）；声符依据 说文解字「敘，次弟也。从攴余聲」
Memory aid
余 is what's left over, 又 is a hand doing something again. A hand goes back over what's left and lays it out piece by piece — that's telling a story in order.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 叙述xù shùto narrate; to recount叙 = xù
- 叙事xù shìto narrate events; narrative叙 = xù
Go deeper
All readings
to narrate
to narrate; to recount; to relate in order; sequence
按次序说出或写下事情的经过；也指次序。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 叙述xù shùto narrate; to recount叙 = xù
- 叙事xù shìto narrate events; narrative叙 = xù
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 叙 mean?
叙 (xù) means to narrate; to recount; to relate in order; sequence.
How do you pronounce 叙?
It is pronounced xù.
What parts is 叙 made of?
余 (surplus; remaining; I (literary)) and 又 (again), side by side. The recorded source is: hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（现代字形 ⿰余又，7+2=9 笔）；声符依据 说文解字「敘，次弟也。从攴余聲」. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 叙 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 叙?
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 叙?
Common ones are 叙述 and 叙事. The reading of 叙 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.