尔 (ěr) is a Chinese character meaning “you (literary)”. It is written from ⺈ (top form of 刀 (knife); a short slash with a turning stroke tucked under it) and 小 (small), one above the other, and takes 5 strokes.
Build the character for “you (literary)”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
⺈ + 小
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画：⺈ 2 笔 + 小 3 笔 = 尔 5 笔，第 3–5 笔与「小」笔画位置一致）
Memory aid
A slanted cap (⺈) resting over something small (小): a small marker set down in front of the person you are talking to — 尔, the old written word for "you".
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
5 strokes
In real words
- 偶尔ǒu ěroccasionally; once in a while尔 = ěrspoken asóu ěr
- 鄂尔多斯è ěr duō sīOrdos (a city in Inner Mongolia)尔 = ěr
Go deeper
All readings
you (literary)
you (literary); thus, so, like that; used in written compounds
文言中的「你」；也表示「如此、那样」，多用于书面词语。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 偶尔ǒu ěroccasionally; once in a while尔 = ěrspoken asóu ěr
- 鄂尔多斯è ěr duō sīOrdos (a city in Inner Mongolia)尔 = ěr
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 尔 mean?
尔 (ěr) means you (literary); thus, so, like that; used in written compounds.
How do you pronounce 尔?
It is pronounced ěr.
What parts is 尔 made of?
⺈ (top form of 刀 (knife); a short slash with a turning stroke tucked under it) and 小 (small), one above the other. The recorded source is: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画：⺈ 2 笔 + 小 3 笔 = 尔 5 笔，第 3–5 笔与「小」笔画位置一致）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 尔 have?
5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 尔?
小. 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 尔?
Common ones are 偶尔. The reading of 尔 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.