吮 (shǔn) is a Chinese character meaning “to suck”. It is written from 口 (mouth) and 允 (to allow; to permit), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “to suck”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
口 + 允
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字：吮，欶也。从口允聲。IDS 构形核验（口 3 画 + 允 4 画 = 7 画，与 hanzi-writer-data 笔画一致）
Memory aid
Both halves are really in this character. 口 on the left is the mouth doing the work; 允 yǔn on the right is the sound side, though it has drifted a long way from shǔn. Mouth plus 允 — the mouth closes on something and pulls.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 吮吸shǔn xīto suck吮 = shǔn
Go deeper
All readings
to suck
to suck; to draw liquid in with the lips
用嘴唇把液体吸进口中。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 吮吸shǔn xīto suck吮 = shǔn
Sound component
允 family diverged
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 吮 mean?
吮 (shǔn) means to suck; to draw liquid in with the lips.
How do you pronounce 吮?
It is pronounced shǔn.
What parts is 吮 made of?
口 (mouth) and 允 (to allow; to permit), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字：吮，欶也。从口允聲。IDS 构形核验（口 3 画 + 允 4 画 = 7 画，与 hanzi-writer-data 笔画一致）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 吮 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 吮?
口. 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 吮?
Common ones are 吮吸. The reading of 吮 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.