术 (shù) is a Chinese character meaning “skill”. It is written from 木 (tree; wood) and 丶 (dot stroke), and takes 5 strokes.
Build the character for “skill; art”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
木 + 丶
Overlapping structure
Structure from: Unicode IDS ⿻木丶（现代字形拆分，已对照 hanzi-writer-data 术 的 5 笔核验：前 4 笔与 木 一致，第 5 笔为右上一点）
Memory aid
A tree 木 with one small dot 丶 flicked onto its upper right — the mark a craftsman leaves on plain wood. That extra touch is the skill.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
5 strokes
In real words
- 艺术yì shùart术 = shùHSK 4
- 手术shǒu shùsurgery; surgical operation术 = shùHSK 5
- 武术wǔ shùmartial arts术 = shù
Go deeper
All readings
skill; art
skill; art; technique; method; tactics
技艺；技能；方法、策略。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 艺术yì shùart术 = shùHSK 4
- 手术shǒu shùsurgery; surgical operation术 = shùHSK 5
- 武术wǔ shùmartial arts术 = shù
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 术 mean?
术 (shù) means skill; art; technique; method; tactics.
How do you pronounce 术?
It is pronounced shù.
What parts is 术 made of?
木 (tree; wood) and 丶 (dot stroke). The recorded source is: Unicode IDS ⿻木丶（现代字形拆分，已对照 hanzi-writer-data 术 的 5 笔核验：前 4 笔与 木 一致，第 5 笔为右上一点）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 术 have?
5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 术?
木. 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 术?
Common ones are 艺术 and 手术. The reading of 术 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.