损 (sǔn) is a Chinese character meaning “to decrease”. It is written from 扌 (hand (radical form)) and 员 (member; person in a role), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “to lose; to damage”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
扌 + 员
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字（損，減也。从手員聲）
Memory aid
A hand (扌) takes something away from a member (员) of the team — the group suffers a loss.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 损失sǔn shīloss; to lose损 = sǔn
- 损坏sǔn huàito damage; to break损 = sǔn
- 亏损kuī sǔnloss; deficit损 = sǔn
Go deeper
All readings
to lose; to damage
to decrease; to lose; to damage; to harm
减少；丧失；使受到伤害或破坏。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 损失sǔn shīloss; to lose损 = sǔn
- 损坏sǔn huàito damage; to break损 = sǔn
- 亏损kuī sǔnloss; deficit损 = sǔn
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 损 mean?
损 (sǔn) means to decrease; to lose; to damage; to harm.
How do you pronounce 损?
It is pronounced sǔn.
What parts is 损 made of?
扌 (hand (radical form)) and 员 (member; person in a role), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字（損，減也。从手員聲）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 损 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 损?
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 损?
Common ones are 损失, 损坏, 亏损. The reading of 损 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.