应 (yīng) is a Chinese character meaning “should”. It is written from 广 (wide; dotted cliff radical) and 丷 (two spreading strokes) and 丿 (left-falling stroke) and 一 (one), one enclosing the other, and takes 7 strokes. It has a second reading, yìng, which turns up in 应用 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.
Build the character for “should”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
广 + 丷 + 丿 + 一
Enclosing structure
- 广 wide; dotted cliff radical · guǎng unknown
- 丷 two spreading strokes unknown
- 丿 left-falling stroke unknown
- 一 one · yī unknown
Structure from: Unicode U+5E94；现代简化字形按 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 笔画几何核验（第 1–3 笔为广，第 4–5 笔为两点，第 6 笔撇，第 7 笔横）
Memory aid
Under the shelter (广), two dots (丷) nod yes, a falling stroke (丿) comes down, and one line (一) closes the floor — someone inside answers: yes, that is what I should do.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 应该yīng gāishould; ought to应 = yīng
- 应届yīng jièof the current year's graduating class应 = yīng
Go deeper
All readings
should
should; ought to; must
应该；应当；理当如此。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 应该yīng gāishould; ought to应 = yīng
- 应届yīng jièof the current year's graduating class应 = yīng
to respond
to respond; to answer; to comply with; to deal with
回答；答应；对付、适应。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 应用yìng yòngto apply; application应 = yìng
- 供应gōng yìngto supply; supply (of goods)应 = yìngHSK 5
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 应 mean?
应 (yīng) means should; ought to; must.
How do you pronounce 应?
Its main reading is yīng. It also has a second reading, yìng, which only shows up in certain words such as 应用 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.
Why is 应 sometimes pronounced yìng?
Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 应用 it is read yìng.
What parts is 应 made of?
广 (wide; dotted cliff radical) and 丷 (two spreading strokes) and 丿 (left-falling stroke) and 一 (one), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: Unicode U+5E94；现代简化字形按 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 笔画几何核验（第 1–3 笔为广，第 4–5 笔为两点，第 6 笔撇，第 7 笔横）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 应 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 应?
广. 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 应?
Common ones are 应该. The reading of 应 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.