席 (xí) is a Chinese character meaning “mat (for sitting or sleeping)”. It is written from 广 (wide; dotted cliff radical) and 廿 (twenty) and 巾 (cloth), one enclosing the other, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “seat; mat; banquet”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
广 + 廿 + 巾
Enclosing structure
Structure from: 现代简化字形拆分（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：0-2 广 / 3-6 廿 / 7-9 巾）
Memory aid
Under a roof (广), twenty (廿) pieces of cloth (巾) are laid out on the floor as mats — each one is a seat.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 主席zhǔ xíchairman; chairperson席 = xí
- 出席chū xíto attend (a meeting, ceremony, etc.)席 = xí
Go deeper
All readings
seat; mat; banquet
mat (for sitting or sleeping); seat, place; banquet, feast; measure word for talks and banquets
用草或苇子编成的铺垫用具；座位、席位；酒席；量词，用于谈话、酒席等。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 主席zhǔ xíchairman; chairperson席 = xí
- 出席chū xíto attend (a meeting, ceremony, etc.)席 = xí
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 席 mean?
席 (xí) means mat (for sitting or sleeping); seat, place; banquet, feast; measure word for talks and banquets.
How do you pronounce 席?
It is pronounced xí.
What parts is 席 made of?
广 (wide; dotted cliff radical) and 廿 (twenty) and 巾 (cloth), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: 现代简化字形拆分（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：0-2 广 / 3-6 廿 / 7-9 巾）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 席 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 席?
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 席?
Common ones are 主席 and 出席. The reading of 席 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.