呻 (shēn) is a Chinese character meaning “to moan”. It is written from 口 (mouth) and 申 (a boxed 日 with one vertical stroke driven straight through it; used as the sound part in 伸 / 神), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “to moan”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
口 + 申
Left–right structure
- 口 mouth · kǒu meaning
- 申 a boxed 日 with one vertical stroke driven straight through it; used as the sound part in 伸 / 神 · shēn sound
Structure from: 说文解字：呻，吟也。从口申聲
Memory aid
A mouth (口) letting out a sound that stretches on and on (申) — a long, low moan.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 呻吟shēn yínto moan; to groan呻 = shēn
Go deeper
All readings
to moan
to moan; to groan (in pain)
因痛苦而发出低沉的声音。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 呻吟shēn yínto moan; to groan呻 = shēn
Sound component
申 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 呻 mean?
呻 (shēn) means to moan; to groan (in pain).
How do you pronounce 呻?
It is pronounced shēn.
What parts is 呻 made of?
口 (mouth) and 申 (a boxed 日 with one vertical stroke driven straight through it; used as the sound part in 伸 / 神), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字：呻，吟也。从口申聲. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 呻 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 呻?
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 呻?
Common ones are 呻吟. The reading of 呻 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.