玉 (yù) is a Chinese character meaning “jade”. It is written from 王 (king) and 丶 (dot stroke), and takes 5 strokes.
Build the character for “jade”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
王 + 丶
Overlapping structure
Structure from: Unicode IDS ⿻王丶（现代字形拆分，已对照 hanzi-writer-data 玉 的 5 笔核验：王 4 笔 + 丶 1 笔）
Memory aid
王 fills the whole square, and one lone dot 丶 hides in its lower right — the single speck that tells jade apart from a king.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
5 strokes
In real words
- 玉石yù shíjade; jade stone玉 = yù
- 玉米yù mǐcorn; maize玉 = yù
Go deeper
All readings
jade
jade; a fine, precious stone; (figuratively) pure and beautiful
温润有光泽的美石，即玉石；也用来比喻美好、洁白。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 玉石yù shíjade; jade stone玉 = yù
- 玉米yù mǐcorn; maize玉 = yù
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 玉 mean?
玉 (yù) means jade; a fine, precious stone; (figuratively) pure and beautiful.
How do you pronounce 玉?
It is pronounced yù.
What parts is 玉 made of?
王 (king) and 丶 (dot stroke). The recorded source is: Unicode IDS ⿻王丶（现代字形拆分，已对照 hanzi-writer-data 玉 的 5 笔核验：王 4 笔 + 丶 1 笔）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 玉 have?
5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 玉?
玉. 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 玉?
Common ones are 玉石 and 玉米. The reading of 玉 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.