帖 (tiě) is a Chinese character meaning “invitation card”. It is written from 巾 (cloth) and 占 (to divine; to occupy), side by side, and takes 8 strokes. It has a second reading, tiè, which turns up in 字帖 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.
Build the character for “invitation card”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
巾 + 占
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：巾 3 画 + 占 5 画 = 8 画）
Memory aid
A strip of cloth (巾) that claims (占) a spot for you — that is what an invitation card does. Both parts are really in this character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 请帖qǐng tiěinvitation card帖 = tiěspoken asqíng tiě
- 帖子tiě zipost (on an online forum); short note帖 = tiě
Go deeper
All readings
invitation card; note
invitation card; short written note; a post on an online forum
写有简短内容的纸片，如请柬、便条；也指网上发的帖子。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 请帖qǐng tiěinvitation card帖 = tiěspoken asqíng tiě
- 帖子tiě zipost (on an online forum); short note帖 = tiě
calligraphy copybook
a copybook of model calligraphy used for tracing and practice
供临摹练习的书法范本。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 字帖zì tiècalligraphy copybook帖 = tiè
Sound component
占 family diverged
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 帖 mean?
帖 (tiě) means invitation card; short written note; a post on an online forum.
How do you pronounce 帖?
Its main reading is tiě. It also has a second reading, tiè, which only shows up in certain words such as 字帖 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.
Why is 帖 sometimes pronounced tiè?
Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 字帖 it is read tiè.
What parts is 帖 made of?
巾 (cloth) and 占 (to divine; to occupy), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：巾 3 画 + 占 5 画 = 8 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 帖 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 帖?
巾. 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 帖?
Common ones are 请帖 and 帖子. The reading of 帖 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.