晒 (shài) is a Chinese character meaning “to dry in the sun”. It is written from 日 (sun; day) and 西 (west), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “to dry in the sun”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
日 + 西
Left–right structure
Structure from: IDS ⿰日西，笔画核验 4+6=10（hanzi-writer-data）：笔画 0–3 为「日」，笔画 4–9 为「西」；现代规范简化字形（繁体作「曬」）
Memory aid
Even as the sun (日) sinks in the west (西), its heat keeps pouring onto the laundry — that is drying things in the sun.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 晒太阳shài tài yángto bask in the sun; to sunbathe晒 = shài
- 晒干shài gānto dry in the sun晒 = shài
Go deeper
All readings
to dry in the sun
to dry in the sun; to bask; (of the sun) to shine on; (colloquial) to show off / post online
在阳光下使东西变干，或让人、物受阳光照射；口语也指把东西公开展示出来。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 晒太阳shài tài yángto bask in the sun; to sunbathe晒 = shài
- 晒干shài gānto dry in the sun晒 = shài
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 晒 mean?
晒 (shài) means to dry in the sun; to bask; (of the sun) to shine on; (colloquial) to show off / post online.
How do you pronounce 晒?
It is pronounced shài.
What parts is 晒 made of?
日 (sun; day) and 西 (west), side by side. The recorded source is: IDS ⿰日西，笔画核验 4+6=10（hanzi-writer-data）：笔画 0–3 为「日」，笔画 4–9 为「西」；现代规范简化字形（繁体作「曬」）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 晒 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 晒?
日. 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 晒?
Common ones are 晒太阳 and 晒干. The reading of 晒 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.