梳 (shū) is a Chinese character meaning “a comb”. It is written from 木 (tree; wood) and 㐬 (the right-hand part of 流 (亠 over 厶 over three short strokes)), side by side, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “comb”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
木 + 㐬
Left–right structure
- 木 tree; wood · mù meaning
- 㐬 the right-hand part of 流 (亠 over 厶 over three short strokes) · liú sound
Structure from: 说文解字「梳，理髮也。从木，疏省聲」；IDS 拆分 ⿰木㐬，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–3 为「木」，笔画 4–10 与「㐬」7 画逐笔对应（4+7=11画）
Memory aid
Wood (木) on the left; on the right, 㐬 ends in three short strokes hanging down like the teeth of a comb. A wooden comb — to comb.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 梳子shū zǐcomb梳 = shūspoken asshū zi
- 梳头shū tóuto comb one’s hair梳 = shū
Go deeper
All readings
comb; to comb
a comb; to comb (hair); to sort out
梳子；用梳子整理头发；比喻整理、理清。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 梳子shū zǐcomb梳 = shūspoken asshū zi
- 梳头shū tóuto comb one’s hair梳 = shū
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 梳 mean?
梳 (shū) means a comb; to comb (hair); to sort out.
How do you pronounce 梳?
It is pronounced shū.
What parts is 梳 made of?
木 (tree; wood) and 㐬 (the right-hand part of 流 (亠 over 厶 over three short strokes)), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字「梳，理髮也。从木，疏省聲」；IDS 拆分 ⿰木㐬，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–3 为「木」，笔画 4–10 与「㐬」7 画逐笔对应（4+7=11画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 梳 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 梳?
木. 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 梳?
Common ones are 梳子 and 梳头. The reading of 梳 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.