寿 (shòu) is a Chinese character meaning “long life”. It is written from 三 (three) and 丿 (left-falling stroke) and 寸 (cun; inch), and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “long life; longevity”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
三 + 丿 + 寸
Overlapping structure
Structure from: modern glyph decomposition (三 / 丿 / 寸) verified stroke-by-stroke against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 medians (7 strokes: 3 + 1 + 3); historical structure of the simplified form not established
Memory aid
Three level bars (三) stack up like years piling on years; one long sweep (丿) cuts down across all of them, and a measure (寸) sits at the foot — a life measured out to its full length.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 长寿cháng shòulongevity; long life寿 = shòu
- 寿命shòu mìnglife span; lifetime寿 = shòu
Go deeper
All readings
long life; longevity
long life; longevity; life span; age; birthday of an elder
活得久；寿命。也指老人的生日和祝寿的事物。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 长寿cháng shòulongevity; long life寿 = shòu
- 寿命shòu mìnglife span; lifetime寿 = shòu
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 寿 mean?
寿 (shòu) means long life; longevity; life span; age; birthday of an elder.
How do you pronounce 寿?
It is pronounced shòu.
What parts is 寿 made of?
三 (three) and 丿 (left-falling stroke) and 寸 (cun; inch). The recorded source is: modern glyph decomposition (三 / 丿 / 寸) verified stroke-by-stroke against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 medians (7 strokes: 3 + 1 + 3); historical structure of the simplified form not established. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 寿 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 寿?
寸. 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 寿?
Common ones are 长寿 and 寿命. The reading of 寿 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.