形 (xíng) is a Chinese character meaning “shape”. It is written from 开 (to open) and 彡 (three slanting strokes (bristles, hair, light or pattern)), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “shape”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
开 + 彡
Left–right structure
Structure from: hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（形 7 画 = 左侧 4 画「开」形 + 右侧 3 画「彡」）；部首依 Unicode CJKRadicals 第 59 部「彡」。仅记录现代字形拆分，未采信任何字源说解。
Memory aid
Push the gate open (开) and three slanting strokes of light (彡) fall across whatever stands inside. Before you know what it is, you already see its shape.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 形状xíng zhuàngshape; form形 = xíng
- 图形tú xíngfigure; graph; geometric shape形 = xíng
- 圆形yuán xíngcircle; circular shape形 = xíng
- 弧形hú xíngarc shape; curved shape形 = xíng
- 彪形大汉biāo xíng dà hàna big, burly man形 = xíng
- 矩形jǔ xíngrectangle形 = xíng
- 菱形líng xíngrhombus; diamond shape形 = xíng
Go deeper
All readings
shape
shape; form; appearance; to take shape; to show
物体的样子、外貌；也指显露出来、表现出来。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 形状xíng zhuàngshape; form形 = xíng
- 图形tú xíngfigure; graph; geometric shape形 = xíng
- 圆形yuán xíngcircle; circular shape形 = xíng
- 弧形hú xíngarc shape; curved shape形 = xíng
- 彪形大汉biāo xíng dà hàna big, burly man形 = xíng
- 矩形jǔ xíngrectangle形 = xíng
- 菱形líng xíngrhombus; diamond shape形 = xíng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 形 mean?
形 (xíng) means shape; form; appearance; to take shape; to show.
How do you pronounce 形?
It is pronounced xíng.
What parts is 形 made of?
开 (to open) and 彡 (three slanting strokes (bristles, hair, light or pattern)), side by side. The recorded source is: hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（形 7 画 = 左侧 4 画「开」形 + 右侧 3 画「彡」）；部首依 Unicode CJKRadicals 第 59 部「彡」。仅记录现代字形拆分，未采信任何字源说解。. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 形 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 形?
彡. 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 形?
Common ones are 形状 and 图形. The reading of 形 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.