物 (wù) is a Chinese character meaning “thing”. It is written from 牛 (ox; cow) and 勿 (do not), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “thing; object”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
牛 + 勿
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 物，萬物也。牛為大物；天地之數，起於牽牛。从牛勿聲
Memory aid
An ox (牛) on the left — for a farmer the single biggest thing he owns. On the right sits 勿, "do not": do not touch my things. Both parts are really in this character, and together they hold the meaning "thing".
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 动物dòng wùanimal物 = wù
- 礼物lǐ wùgift; present物 = wùHSK 2
- 购物gòu wùto shop; shopping物 = wù
- 物质wù zhìmatter; substance物 = wù
- 博物馆bó wù guǎnmuseum物 = wù
- 宠物chǒng wùpet物 = wù
- 废物fèi wùwaste; junk; useless material物 = wù
- 植物zhí wùplant; flora物 = wù
- 秽物huì wùfilth; dirt; excrement物 = wù
- 赃物zāng wùstolen goods; loot物 = wù
- 食物shí wùfood物 = wù
Go deeper
All readings
thing; object
thing; object; matter; goods; also the outside world beyond oneself
东西；事物。也指自己以外的人或环境。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 动物dòng wùanimal物 = wù
- 礼物lǐ wùgift; present物 = wùHSK 2
- 购物gòu wùto shop; shopping物 = wù
- 物质wù zhìmatter; substance物 = wù
- 博物馆bó wù guǎnmuseum物 = wù
- 宠物chǒng wùpet物 = wù
- 废物fèi wùwaste; junk; useless material物 = wù
- 植物zhí wùplant; flora物 = wù
- 秽物huì wùfilth; dirt; excrement物 = wù
- 赃物zāng wùstolen goods; loot物 = wù
- 食物shí wùfood物 = wù
Sound component
勿 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 物 mean?
物 (wù) means thing; object; matter; goods; also the outside world beyond oneself.
How do you pronounce 物?
It is pronounced wù.
What parts is 物 made of?
牛 (ox; cow) and 勿 (do not), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 物，萬物也。牛為大物；天地之數，起於牽牛。从牛勿聲. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 物 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 物?
牛. 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 物?
Common ones are 动物, 礼物, 购物. The reading of 物 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.