语 (yǔ) is a Chinese character meaning “language”. It is written from 讠 (speech radical) and 五 (five) and 口 (mouth), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “language”
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Structure
讠 + 五 + 口
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 語，論也。从言吾聲 (简化后 言→讠)
Memory aid
The speech radical (讠) beside five (五) over a mouth (口): five mouths all talking at once — that is language.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 语言yǔ yánlanguage语 = yǔ
- 英语yīng yǔthe English language语 = yǔ
- 外语wài yǔforeign language语 = yǔHSK 3
- 吴语wú yǔWu Chinese, the dialect group spoken around Shanghai and Suzhou语 = yǔ
- 咒语zhòu yǔincantation; magic spell语 = yǔ
- 沪语hù yǔShanghainese; the Shanghai dialect语 = yǔ
- 谚语yàn yǔproverb; common saying语 = yǔ
- 谜语mí yǔriddle语 = yǔ
- 韩语Hán yǔKorean (language)语 = yǔ
Go deeper
All readings
language; speech
language; speech; words; to speak
话；语言。也指说话。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 语言yǔ yánlanguage语 = yǔ
- 英语yīng yǔthe English language语 = yǔ
- 外语wài yǔforeign language语 = yǔHSK 3
- 吴语wú yǔWu Chinese, the dialect group spoken around Shanghai and Suzhou语 = yǔ
- 咒语zhòu yǔincantation; magic spell语 = yǔ
- 沪语hù yǔShanghainese; the Shanghai dialect语 = yǔ
- 谚语yàn yǔproverb; common saying语 = yǔ
- 谜语mí yǔriddle语 = yǔ
- 韩语Hán yǔKorean (language)语 = yǔ
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 语 mean?
语 (yǔ) means language; speech; words; to speak.
How do you pronounce 语?
It is pronounced yǔ.
What parts is 语 made of?
讠 (speech radical) and 五 (five) and 口 (mouth), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 語，論也。从言吾聲 (简化后 言→讠). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 语 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 语?
讠. 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 语?
Common ones are 语言, 英语, 外语. The reading of 语 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.