优 (yōu) is a Chinese character meaning “excellent”. It is written from 亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 尤 (especially; outstanding), side by side, and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “excellent”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
亻 + 尤
Left–right structure
Structure from: Unicode U+4F18; modern decomposition candidate checked against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke geometry (2 + 4 = 6 strokes)
Memory aid
A person (亻) who stands out especially (尤) — that is what 优 calls excellent.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 优秀yōu xiùexcellent; outstanding优 = yōu
- 优点yōu diǎnstrong point; merit; advantage优 = yōu
- 优势yōu shìadvantage; superiority; upper hand优 = yōu
- 优惠券yōu huì quàncoupon; discount voucher优 = yōu
Go deeper
All readings
excellent
excellent; outstanding; superior; better than the rest
好的；出色的，胜过一般水平的。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 优秀yōu xiùexcellent; outstanding优 = yōu
- 优点yōu diǎnstrong point; merit; advantage优 = yōu
- 优势yōu shìadvantage; superiority; upper hand优 = yōu
- 优惠券yōu huì quàncoupon; discount voucher优 = yōu
Sound component
尤 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 优 mean?
优 (yōu) means excellent; outstanding; superior; better than the rest.
How do you pronounce 优?
It is pronounced yōu.
What parts is 优 made of?
亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 尤 (especially; outstanding), side by side. The recorded source is: Unicode U+4F18; modern decomposition candidate checked against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke geometry (2 + 4 = 6 strokes). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 优 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 优?
亻. 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 优?
Common ones are 优秀 and 优点. The reading of 优 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.