出 (chū) is a Chinese character meaning “to go out”. It is written from 屮 (sprout; young plant) and 凵 (open box), one above the other, and takes 5 strokes.
Build the character for “to go out”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
屮 + 凵
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: Unicode U+51FA; 康熙字典 凵部三画（凵 + 屮）; 现代字形拆分候选 ⿱屮凵 已逐笔对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画中线（前三笔与 屮 一致，后两笔与 凵 一致）
Memory aid
A sprout (屮) pushes up through the open hollow (凵) below it — it comes out.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
5 strokes
In real words
- 出去chū qùto go out出 = chūHSK 1
- 日出rì chūsunrise出 = chū
- 凸出tū chūto protrude; to stick out出 = chū
- 出发chū fāto set out; to depart出 = chūHSK 3
- 出汗chū hànto sweat出 = chū
- 出版chū bǎnto publish; to come out in print出 = chū
- 取出qǔ chūto take out; to withdraw (money, an item)出 = chū
- 吐出tǔ chūto spit out出 = chū
- 拔出bá chūto pull out; to draw out出 = chū
- 杰出jié chūoutstanding; remarkable出 = chū
- 出售chū shòuto sell; to offer for sale出 = chū
- 出差chū chāito go on a business trip出 = chū
- 出席chū xíto attend (a meeting, ceremony, etc.)出 = chū
- 出租chū zūto rent out; to let出 = chū
- 指出zhǐ chūto point out出 = chū
- 掏出tāo chūto pull out; to take out出 = chū
- 退出tuì chūto quit; to exit; to withdraw from出 = chū
Go deeper
All readings
to go out
to go out; to come out; to exit; to produce; to appear or happen
从里面到外面；也表示产生、发生或超过。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 出去chū qùto go out出 = chūHSK 1
- 日出rì chūsunrise出 = chū
- 凸出tū chūto protrude; to stick out出 = chū
- 出发chū fāto set out; to depart出 = chūHSK 3
- 出汗chū hànto sweat出 = chū
- 出版chū bǎnto publish; to come out in print出 = chū
- 取出qǔ chūto take out; to withdraw (money, an item)出 = chū
- 吐出tǔ chūto spit out出 = chū
- 拔出bá chūto pull out; to draw out出 = chū
- 杰出jié chūoutstanding; remarkable出 = chū
- 出售chū shòuto sell; to offer for sale出 = chū
- 出差chū chāito go on a business trip出 = chū
- 出席chū xíto attend (a meeting, ceremony, etc.)出 = chū
- 出租chū zūto rent out; to let出 = chū
- 指出zhǐ chūto point out出 = chū
- 掏出tāo chūto pull out; to take out出 = chū
- 退出tuì chūto quit; to exit; to withdraw from出 = chū
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 出 mean?
出 (chū) means to go out; to come out; to exit; to produce; to appear or happen.
How do you pronounce 出?
It is pronounced chū.
What parts is 出 made of?
屮 (sprout; young plant) and 凵 (open box), one above the other. The recorded source is: Unicode U+51FA; 康熙字典 凵部三画（凵 + 屮）; 现代字形拆分候选 ⿱屮凵 已逐笔对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画中线（前三笔与 屮 一致，后两笔与 凵 一致）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 出 have?
5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 出?
凵. 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 出?
Common ones are 出去 and 日出. The reading of 出 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.