指 (zhǐ) is a Chinese character meaning “finger”. It is written from 扌 (hand (radical form)) and 旨 (intent; purpose (also a sound component reading zhǐ)), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “finger; to point at”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
扌 + 旨
Left–right structure
- 扌 hand (radical form) · shǒu meaning
- 旨 intent; purpose (also a sound component reading zhǐ) · zhǐ sound
Structure from: 说文解字「指，手指也。从手旨聲」；IDS 拆分 ⿰扌旨，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「扌」三笔，笔画 3–8 与「旨」逐笔对应（3+6=9画）
Memory aid
The hand radical 扌 on the left tells you this is something a hand does; 旨 on the right is the sound part (zhǐ → zhǐ). A hand with a purpose in mind — it points.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 手指shǒu zhǐfinger指 = zhǐspoken asshóu zhǐ
- 指出zhǐ chūto point out指 = zhǐ
- 拇指mǔ zhǐthumb指 = zhǐspoken asmú zhǐ
- 指纹zhǐ wénfingerprint指 = zhǐ
- 指挥zhǐ huīto direct; to command; a conductor (of an orchestra)指 = zhǐ
Go deeper
All readings
finger; to point at
finger; to point at; to point out; to refer to
手指；用手指着；引申为指出、指的是。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 手指shǒu zhǐfinger指 = zhǐspoken asshóu zhǐ
- 指出zhǐ chūto point out指 = zhǐ
- 拇指mǔ zhǐthumb指 = zhǐspoken asmú zhǐ
- 指纹zhǐ wénfingerprint指 = zhǐ
- 指挥zhǐ huīto direct; to command; a conductor (of an orchestra)指 = zhǐ
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 指 mean?
指 (zhǐ) means finger; to point at; to point out; to refer to.
How do you pronounce 指?
It is pronounced zhǐ.
What parts is 指 made of?
扌 (hand (radical form)) and 旨 (intent; purpose (also a sound component reading zhǐ)), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字「指，手指也。从手旨聲」；IDS 拆分 ⿰扌旨，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「扌」三笔，笔画 3–8 与「旨」逐笔对应（3+6=9画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 指 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 指?
扌. 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 指?
Common ones are 手指 and 指出. The reading of 指 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.