拾 (shí) is a Chinese character meaning “to pick up (from the ground)”. It is written from 扌 (hand (radical form)) and 合 (to close; to join together), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “to pick up”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
扌 + 合
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 拾，掇也。从手合聲
Memory aid
A hand (扌) closing (合) around something on the ground — you pick it up. Both parts are really in this character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 收拾shōu shíto tidy up; to put in order拾 = shíspoken asshōu shi
- 拾取shí qǔto pick up; to gather up拾 = shí
- 玖拾jiǔ shíninety (formal figures)拾 = shí
- 叁拾sān shíthirty (formal figures)拾 = shí
- 壹拾yī shíten (formal figures)拾 = shí
- 捌拾bā shíeighty (formal numerals, as written on cheques)拾 = shí
- 柒拾qī shíseventy (formal figures)拾 = shí
- 贰拾èr shítwenty (formal figures)拾 = shí
Go deeper
All readings
to pick up
to pick up (from the ground); to gather; ten (banker's anti-fraud form of 十)
把地上的东西捡起来；收集。也用作「十」的大写。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 收拾shōu shíto tidy up; to put in order拾 = shíspoken asshōu shi
- 拾取shí qǔto pick up; to gather up拾 = shí
- 玖拾jiǔ shíninety (formal figures)拾 = shí
- 叁拾sān shíthirty (formal figures)拾 = shí
- 壹拾yī shíten (formal figures)拾 = shí
- 捌拾bā shíeighty (formal numerals, as written on cheques)拾 = shí
- 柒拾qī shíseventy (formal figures)拾 = shí
- 贰拾èr shítwenty (formal figures)拾 = shí
Rare readings, not taught: shè
Sound component
合 family diverged
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 拾 mean?
拾 (shí) means to pick up (from the ground); to gather; ten (banker's anti-fraud form of 十).
How do you pronounce 拾?
It is pronounced shí.
What parts is 拾 made of?
扌 (hand (radical form)) and 合 (to close; to join together), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 拾，掇也。从手合聲. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 拾 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 拾?
手. 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 拾?
Common ones are 收拾 and 拾取. The reading of 拾 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.