庶 (shù) is a Chinese character meaning “numerous”. It is written from 广 (wide; dotted cliff radical) and 廿 (twenty) and 灬 (fire dots (bottom form of 火)), one enclosing the other, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “numerous; common people”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
广 + 廿 + 灬
Enclosing structure
- 广 wide; dotted cliff radical · guǎng unknown
- 廿 twenty · niàn unknown
- 灬 fire dots (bottom form of 火) · huǒ unknown
Structure from: 现代简化字形拆分（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：0-2 广 / 3-6 廿 / 7-10 灬）
Memory aid
Under one wide roof (广), twenty (廿) cooking fires (灬) are burning — so many households: the numerous common people.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 庶民shù mínthe common people; ordinary citizens庶 = shù
- 富庶fù shùrich and populous; prosperous庶 = shù
Go deeper
All readings
numerous; common people
numerous; the common people; (of offspring) born of a concubine
众多；平民百姓；旧时指妾所生的（子女）。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 庶民shù mínthe common people; ordinary citizens庶 = shù
- 富庶fù shùrich and populous; prosperous庶 = shù
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 庶 mean?
庶 (shù) means numerous; the common people; (of offspring) born of a concubine.
How do you pronounce 庶?
It is pronounced shù.
What parts is 庶 made of?
广 (wide; dotted cliff radical) and 廿 (twenty) and 灬 (fire dots (bottom form of 火)), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: 现代简化字形拆分（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：0-2 广 / 3-6 廿 / 7-10 灬）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 庶 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 庶?
广. 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 庶?
Common ones are 庶民 and 富庶. The reading of 庶 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.