巡 (xún) is a Chinese character meaning “to patrol”. It is written from 辶 (walk; go — the "movement" radical (chuò)) and 巛 (winding streams; flowing water), one enclosing the other, and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “to patrol; to go around inspecting”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
辶 + 巛
Enclosing structure
- 辶 walk; go — the "movement" radical (chuò) · chuò meaning
- 巛 winding streams; flowing water · chuān unknown
Structure from: IDS 拆分 ⿺辶巛，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「巛」的三笔弯曲水流（位于右上），笔画 3–5 为「辶」（点、横折折撇、平捺）
Memory aid
Three winding streams (巛) ride on the road radical 辶. You follow the water's course round and round, covering the same ground again and again — that is what it means to patrol. Both parts really are in this character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 巡逻xún luóto patrol; to go on patrol巡 = xún
- 巡视xún shìto tour and inspect; to look around巡 = xún
Go deeper
All readings
to patrol; to make a round of inspection
to patrol; to make a tour of inspection; to go around from place to place
往来查看；到各处视察。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 巡逻xún luóto patrol; to go on patrol巡 = xún
- 巡视xún shìto tour and inspect; to look around巡 = xún
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 巡 mean?
巡 (xún) means to patrol; to make a tour of inspection; to go around from place to place.
How do you pronounce 巡?
It is pronounced xún.
What parts is 巡 made of?
辶 (walk; go — the "movement" radical (chuò)) and 巛 (winding streams; flowing water), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: IDS 拆分 ⿺辶巛，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「巛」的三笔弯曲水流（位于右上），笔画 3–5 为「辶」（点、横折折撇、平捺）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 巡 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 巡?
辶. 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 巡?
Common ones are 巡逻 and 巡视. The reading of 巡 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.