售 (shòu) is a Chinese character meaning “to sell”. It is written from 隹 (short-tailed bird) and 口 (mouth), one above the other, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “to sell”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
隹 + 口
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 说文解字新附: 售，賣去手也。从口，雔省聲；现代字形拆分对照笔顺数据核验：隹 8 画 + 口 3 画 = 11 画
Memory aid
A bird (隹) perched above an open mouth (口): the seller shouts to sell the bird. Both parts are really in this character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 出售chū shòuto sell; to offer for sale售 = shòu
- 销售xiāo shòuto sell; sales售 = shòu
Go deeper
All readings
to sell
to sell
卖出货物。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 出售chū shòuto sell; to offer for sale售 = shòu
- 销售xiāo shòuto sell; sales售 = shòu
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 售 mean?
售 (shòu) means to sell.
How do you pronounce 售?
It is pronounced shòu.
What parts is 售 made of?
隹 (short-tailed bird) and 口 (mouth), one above the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字新附: 售，賣去手也。从口，雔省聲；现代字形拆分对照笔顺数据核验：隹 8 画 + 口 3 画 = 11 画. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 售 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 售?
口. 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 售?
Common ones are 出售 and 销售. The reading of 售 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.