宿 (sù) is a Chinese character meaning “to stay overnight”. It is written from 宀 (roof) and 佰 (hundred (formal written form); here: 亻 person beside 百), one above the other, and takes 11 strokes. It has a second reading, xiù, which turns up in 星宿 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.
Build the character for “to stay overnight”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
宀 + 佰
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: IDS (cjkvi-ids: ⿱宀佰), checked against hanzi-writer-data strokes 0–2 / 3–10
Memory aid
Under one roof (宀) sleep a hundred (佰) travellers — a place to stay for the night.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 宿舍sù shèdormitory宿 = sùHSK 4
- 住宿zhù sùto stay (at); accommodation宿 = sù
Go deeper
All readings
to stay overnight
to stay overnight; to lodge; long-held, former
夜里住下；过夜。也指一向有的、旧有的。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 宿舍sù shèdormitory宿 = sùHSK 4
- 住宿zhù sùto stay (at); accommodation宿 = sù
constellation
constellation; lunar mansion (in traditional Chinese astronomy)
中国古代天文学中的星座，如二十八宿。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 星宿xīng xiùconstellation (in traditional Chinese astronomy)宿 = xiù
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 宿 mean?
宿 (sù) means to stay overnight; to lodge; long-held, former.
How do you pronounce 宿?
Its main reading is sù. It also has a second reading, xiù, which only shows up in certain words such as 星宿 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.
Why is 宿 sometimes pronounced xiù?
Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 星宿 it is read xiù.
What parts is 宿 made of?
宀 (roof) and 佰 (hundred (formal written form); here: 亻 person beside 百), one above the other. The recorded source is: IDS (cjkvi-ids: ⿱宀佰), checked against hanzi-writer-data strokes 0–2 / 3–10. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 宿 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 宿?
宀. 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 宿?
Common ones are 宿舍 and 住宿. The reading of 宿 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.