思 (sī) is a Chinese character meaning “to think”. It is written from 田 (field; farmland) and 心 (heart; mind), one above the other, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “to think”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
田 + 心
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 现代字形笔画核验（第1–5笔与「田」逐笔一致，第6–9笔与「心」逐笔一致）
Memory aid
A heart (心) carrying a field (田) on top of it. Both parts really are in this character: the heart is where thinking happens, and the field above is the ground you turn over again and again — that is what it feels like to think something through.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 思考sī kǎoto think over; to ponder; to reflect on思 = sī
- 思想sī xiǎngthought; thinking; ideology思 = sī
- 思维sī wéithinking; way of thinking思 = sī
Go deeper
All readings
to think
to think; to consider; to ponder; thought
动脑筋，反复地想；也指想出来的内容。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 思考sī kǎoto think over; to ponder; to reflect on思 = sī
- 思想sī xiǎngthought; thinking; ideology思 = sī
- 思维sī wéithinking; way of thinking思 = sī
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 思 mean?
思 (sī) means to think; to consider; to ponder; thought.
How do you pronounce 思?
It is pronounced sī.
What parts is 思 made of?
田 (field; farmland) and 心 (heart; mind), one above the other. The recorded source is: hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 现代字形笔画核验（第1–5笔与「田」逐笔一致，第6–9笔与「心」逐笔一致）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 思 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 思?
心. 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 思?
Common ones are 思考 and 思想. The reading of 思 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.