徐 (xú) is a Chinese character meaning “slowly”. It is written from 彳 (a short step; the “double-person” left side) and 余 (surplus; remaining; I (literary)), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “slowly”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
彳 + 余
Left–right structure
- 彳 a short step; the “double-person” left side · chì unknown
- 余 surplus; remaining; I (literary) · yú unknown
Structure from: Unicode U+5F90; modern decomposition ⿰彳余 checked against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke geometry (3 + 7 = 10 strokes)
Memory aid
Take small steps (彳) with time to spare (余) — no hurry, you move slowly and gently.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 徐徐xú xúslowly; gently徐 = xú
- 徐州Xú zhōuXuzhou (city in Jiangsu)徐 = xú
Go deeper
All readings
slowly
slowly; gently; a Chinese surname
慢慢地，缓缓地；也用作姓氏。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 徐徐xú xúslowly; gently徐 = xú
- 徐州Xú zhōuXuzhou (city in Jiangsu)徐 = xú
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 徐 mean?
徐 (xú) means slowly; gently; a Chinese surname.
How do you pronounce 徐?
It is pronounced xú.
What parts is 徐 made of?
彳 (a short step; the “double-person” left side) and 余 (surplus; remaining; I (literary)), side by side. The recorded source is: Unicode U+5F90; modern decomposition ⿰彳余 checked against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke geometry (3 + 7 = 10 strokes). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 徐 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 徐?
彳. 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 徐?
Common ones are 徐徐 and 徐州. The reading of 徐 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.