努 (nǔ) is a Chinese character meaning “to put out one's strength”. It is written from 奴 (slave; servant) and 力 (strength; power), one above the other, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “to exert; to strive”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
奴 + 力
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: modern-glyph decomposition (IDS ⿱奴力; 奴 = ⿰女又), cross-checked against hanzi-writer-data stroke counts 5+2=7
Memory aid
A servant (奴) on top of strength (力): pouring out every bit of force you have — making an effort.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 努力nǔ lìto make an effort; to work hard努 = nǔ
Go deeper
All readings
to exert; to strive
to put out one's strength; to exert oneself; to strive
把力气尽量使出来；用力。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 努力nǔ lìto make an effort; to work hard努 = nǔ
Sound component
奴 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 努 mean?
努 (nǔ) means to put out one's strength; to exert oneself; to strive.
How do you pronounce 努?
It is pronounced nǔ.
What parts is 努 made of?
奴 (slave; servant) and 力 (strength; power), one above the other. The recorded source is: modern-glyph decomposition (IDS ⿱奴力; 奴 = ⿰女又), cross-checked against hanzi-writer-data stroke counts 5+2=7. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 努 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 努?
力. 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 努?
Common ones are 努力. The reading of 努 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.