笋 (sǔn) is a Chinese character meaning “bamboo shoot”. It is written from ⺮ (bamboo radical (top form of 竹)) and 尹 (to govern; an official (as a standalone character, yǐn)), one above the other, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “bamboo shoot”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
⺮ + 尹
Top–bottom structure
- ⺮ bamboo radical (top form of 竹) · zhú meaning
- 尹 to govern; an official (as a standalone character, yǐn) · yǐn unknown
Structure from: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 10 笔核验：⺮ 6 笔 + 尹 4 笔）
Memory aid
Bamboo (⺮) on top, and below it 尹 standing like a young stalk pushing up out of the ground — a bamboo shoot.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 竹笋zhú sǔnbamboo shoot笋 = sǔn
- 春笋chūn sǔnspring bamboo shoots笋 = sǔn
Go deeper
All readings
bamboo shoot
bamboo shoot; young and tender (of shoots)
竹子初生的嫩芽，可以做菜吃。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 竹笋zhú sǔnbamboo shoot笋 = sǔn
- 春笋chūn sǔnspring bamboo shoots笋 = sǔn
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 笋 mean?
笋 (sǔn) means bamboo shoot; young and tender (of shoots).
How do you pronounce 笋?
It is pronounced sǔn.
What parts is 笋 made of?
⺮ (bamboo radical (top form of 竹)) and 尹 (to govern; an official (as a standalone character, yǐn)), one above the other. The recorded source is: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 10 笔核验：⺮ 6 笔 + 尹 4 笔）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 笋 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 笋?
竹. 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 笋?
Common ones are 竹笋 and 春笋. The reading of 笋 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.