矢 (shǐ) is a Chinese character meaning “arrow”. It is written from 𠂉 (top stroke form) and 大 (big), one above the other, and takes 5 strokes.
Build the character for “arrow”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
𠂉 + 大
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: Unicode U+77E2; modern decomposition candidate checked against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke geometry
Memory aid
An arrow standing up: the notched tail (𠂉) on top, and below it a big (大) shaft spreading into the point.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
5 strokes
In real words
- 矢量shǐ liàngvector (a quantity with both size and direction)矢 = shǐ
- 矢志shǐ zhìto vow; to pledge oneself to a goal矢 = shǐ
Go deeper
All readings
arrow
arrow; (in compounds) to vow, to pledge
箭。也用在词里表示发誓、立志。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 矢量shǐ liàngvector (a quantity with both size and direction)矢 = shǐ
- 矢志shǐ zhìto vow; to pledge oneself to a goal矢 = shǐ
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 矢 mean?
矢 (shǐ) means arrow; (in compounds) to vow, to pledge.
How do you pronounce 矢?
It is pronounced shǐ.
What parts is 矢 made of?
𠂉 (top stroke form) and 大 (big), one above the other. The recorded source is: Unicode U+77E2; modern decomposition candidate checked against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke geometry. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 矢 have?
5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 矢?
矢. 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 矢?
Common ones are 矢量 and 矢志. The reading of 矢 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.