羞 (xiū) is a Chinese character meaning “shy”. It is written from 𦍌 (sheep top (羊 without its vertical tail), top-left part of 羞 and 差) and 丑 (ugly; clown), one enclosing the other, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “shy; ashamed”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
𦍌 + 丑
Enclosing structure
- 𦍌 sheep top (羊 without its vertical tail), top-left part of 羞 and 差 unknown
- 丑 ugly; clown · chǒu unknown
Structure from: modern-glyph (hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：第 1–6 笔构成 𦍌，第 7–10 笔构成 丑)
Memory aid
A sheep top (𦍌) whose tail sweeps down and wraps around 丑 ("ugly"). Feeling ugly, you hide under the sheep — you are shy.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 害羞hài xiūshy; bashful羞 = xiū
- 羞耻xiū chǐshame; sense of shame羞 = xiū
- 羞涩xiū sèshy; bashful; embarrassed羞 = xiū
Go deeper
All readings
shy; ashamed
shy; bashful; ashamed; to feel embarrassed; shame
难为情，不好意思；感到耻辱。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 害羞hài xiūshy; bashful羞 = xiū
- 羞耻xiū chǐshame; sense of shame羞 = xiū
- 羞涩xiū sèshy; bashful; embarrassed羞 = xiū
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 羞 mean?
羞 (xiū) means shy; bashful; ashamed; to feel embarrassed; shame.
How do you pronounce 羞?
It is pronounced xiū.
What parts is 羞 made of?
𦍌 (sheep top (羊 without its vertical tail), top-left part of 羞 and 差) and 丑 (ugly; clown), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: modern-glyph (hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：第 1–6 笔构成 𦍌，第 7–10 笔构成 丑). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 羞 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 羞?
羊. 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 羞?
Common ones are 害羞 and 羞耻. The reading of 羞 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.