衰 (shuāi) is a Chinese character meaning “to decline”. It is written from 亠 (lid) and 𠀎 (box crossed by a long horizontal (middle of 衰)) and 𧘇 (lower part of 衣 (flowing robe strokes)), and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “to decline”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
亠 + 𠀎 + 𧘇
Top–middle–bottom structure
- 亠 lid · tóu unknown
- 𠀎 box crossed by a long horizontal (middle of 衰) unknown
- 𧘇 lower part of 衣 (flowing robe strokes) unknown
Structure from: Unicode U+8870; modern decomposition candidate checked against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke geometry (strokes 1-2 亠, 3-6 𠀎 = 口 crossed by a long horizontal, 7-10 𧘇)
Memory aid
A lid (亠) on top, a box pinned by a bar (𠀎) in the middle, and the worn hem (𧘇) sagging below — clothes grown thin and tired with age. That is 衰, to decline.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 衰老shuāi lǎoto grow old; aging衰 = shuāi
- 衰退shuāi tuìto decline; to fall off; recession衰 = shuāi
Go deeper
All readings
to decline
to decline; to weaken; to wane; to decay
由强转弱，渐渐衰落、衰退。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 衰老shuāi lǎoto grow old; aging衰 = shuāi
- 衰退shuāi tuìto decline; to fall off; recession衰 = shuāi
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 衰 mean?
衰 (shuāi) means to decline; to weaken; to wane; to decay.
How do you pronounce 衰?
It is pronounced shuāi.
What parts is 衰 made of?
亠 (lid) and 𠀎 (box crossed by a long horizontal (middle of 衰)) and 𧘇 (lower part of 衣 (flowing robe strokes)). The recorded source is: Unicode U+8870; modern decomposition candidate checked against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke geometry (strokes 1-2 亠, 3-6 𠀎 = 口 crossed by a long horizontal, 7-10 𧘇). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 衰 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 衰?
衣. 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 衰?
Common ones are 衰老 and 衰退. The reading of 衰 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.