型 (xíng) is a Chinese character meaning “type”. It is written from 刑 (punishment) and 土 (earth; soil), one above the other, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “type; model”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
刑 + 土
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 说文解字：型，鑄器之灋也。从土刑聲（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 1–6 与 刑 逐笔对应，笔画 7–9 为 土）
Memory aid
Punishment (刑) sits on top of earth (土): clay packed into a rigid frame that every copy must obey. That frame is 型 — a mould, a model, a type.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 血型xuè xíngblood type型 = xíng
- 型号xíng hàomodel number型 = xíng
Go deeper
All readings
type; model
type; model; pattern; mould; style
铸造器物用的模子；泛指类别、样式。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 血型xuè xíngblood type型 = xíng
- 型号xíng hàomodel number型 = xíng
Sound component
刑 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 型 mean?
型 (xíng) means type; model; pattern; mould; style.
How do you pronounce 型?
It is pronounced xíng.
What parts is 型 made of?
刑 (punishment) and 土 (earth; soil), one above the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字：型，鑄器之灋也。从土刑聲（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 1–6 与 刑 逐笔对应，笔画 7–9 为 土）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 型 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 型?
土. 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 型?
Common ones are 血型 and 型号. The reading of 型 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.