希 (xī) is a Chinese character meaning “to hope”. It is written from 乂 (crossing strokes) and 布 (cloth), one above the other, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “to hope”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
乂 + 布
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: modern-glyph split verified against hanzi-writer-data stroke order (strokes 1-2 = 乂, strokes 3-7 = 布)
Memory aid
A cross of two strokes (乂) marked on a piece of cloth (布) — you mark the cloth for the thing you are still hoping for.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 希望xī wàngto hope; hope希 = xī
Go deeper
All readings
to hope
to hope; to wish for; (in some words) sparse, rare
盼望；期望。也有「稀少」的意思。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 希望xī wàngto hope; hope希 = xī
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 希 mean?
希 (xī) means to hope; to wish for; (in some words) sparse, rare.
How do you pronounce 希?
It is pronounced xī.
What parts is 希 made of?
乂 (crossing strokes) and 布 (cloth), one above the other. The recorded source is: modern-glyph split verified against hanzi-writer-data stroke order (strokes 1-2 = 乂, strokes 3-7 = 布). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 希 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 希?
巾. 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 希?
Common ones are 希望. The reading of 希 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.