件 (jiàn) is a Chinese character meaning “item”. It is written from 亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 牛 (ox; cow), side by side, and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “item; piece”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
亻 + 牛
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 件，分也。从人从牛。牛大物，故可分也
Memory aid
A person (亻) standing beside an ox (牛). Livestock gets counted one head at a time — and that is what 件 does: it counts things one item at a time.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 文件wén jiàndocument; file件 = jiàn
- 事件shì jiànevent; incident件 = jiàn
- 文件夹wén jiàn jiāfolder; file folder件 = jiàn
- 条件tiáo jiàncondition; requirement; terms件 = jiàn
- 软件ruǎn jiànsoftware件 = jiàn
- 附件fù jiànattachment (to an email or document); accessory part件 = jiàn
Go deeper
All readings
item; piece
item; piece; measure word for matters, clothes, luggage and documents
量词，用于事情、衣服、行李等；也指可以一件一件计数的东西，如文件。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 文件wén jiàndocument; file件 = jiàn
- 事件shì jiànevent; incident件 = jiàn
- 文件夹wén jiàn jiāfolder; file folder件 = jiàn
- 条件tiáo jiàncondition; requirement; terms件 = jiàn
- 软件ruǎn jiànsoftware件 = jiàn
- 附件fù jiànattachment (to an email or document); accessory part件 = jiàn
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 件 mean?
件 (jiàn) means item; piece; measure word for matters, clothes, luggage and documents.
How do you pronounce 件?
It is pronounced jiàn.
What parts is 件 made of?
亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 牛 (ox; cow), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 件，分也。从人从牛。牛大物，故可分也. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 件 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 件?
人. 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 件?
Common ones are 文件 and 事件. The reading of 件 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.