水 (shuǐ) is a Chinese character meaning “water”. It is written from ㇚ (vertical stroke with hook) and ㇇ (horizontal-turning stroke) and ㇒ (left-falling stroke) and ㇏ (right-falling stroke), and takes 4 strokes.
Build the character for “water”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
㇚ + ㇇ + ㇒ + ㇏
Overlapping structure
- ㇚ vertical stroke with hook unknown
- ㇇ horizontal-turning stroke unknown
- ㇒ left-falling stroke unknown
- ㇏ falling-right stroke unknown
Structure from: stroke-level decomposition verified against hanzi-writer-data medians (4 strokes); no reliable component IDS available
Memory aid
One hooked stroke (㇚) runs down the middle like the main current; a bend (㇇) breaks away on the left, and on the right a sweep (㇒) and a spreading stroke (㇏) run off the other way — four lines of moving water.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
4 strokes
In real words
- 水井shuǐ jǐngwater well水 = shuǐspoken asshuí jǐng
- 山水shān shuǐmountains and waters; landscape水 = shuǐ
- 冰水bīng shuǐice water; iced water水 = shuǐ
- 冷水lěng shuǐcold water; unboiled water水 = shuǐspoken asléng shuǐ
- 分水岭fēn shuǐ lǐngwatershed; a dividing line between two stages or outcomes水 = shuǐ
- 卤水lǔ shuǐbrine; the spiced stock used for braising水 = shuǐspoken aslú shuǐ
- 呛水qiāng shuǐto choke on water; to get water down the wrong pipe水 = shuǐ
- 水坑shuǐ kēngpuddle水 = shuǐ
- 水坝shuǐ bàdam; weir水 = shuǐ
- 水杉shuǐ shāndawn redwood (Metasequoia)水 = shuǐ
- 水池shuǐ chípool; pond; basin水 = shuǐ
- 汗水hàn shuǐsweat水 = shuǐ
- 污水wū shuǐsewage; dirty water水 = shuǐ
- 汽水qì shuǐsoda; fizzy drink水 = shuǐ
- 矿泉水kuàng quán shuǐmineral water水 = shuǐHSK 4
- 饮水yǐn shuǐto drink water; drinking water水 = shuǐspoken asyín shuǐ
- 倒水dào shuǐto pour water水 = shuǐ
- 凉水liáng shuǐcold water; unboiled water水 = shuǐ
- 咸水xián shuǐsalt water; salty water水 = shuǐ
- 大禹治水Dà Yǔ zhì shuǐYu the Great tames the floods水 = shuǐ
- 氨水ān shuǐammonia solution; aqueous ammonia水 = shuǐ
- 水壶shuǐ húkettle; water bottle水 = shuǐ
- 水泵shuǐ bèngwater pump水 = shuǐ
- 水洼shuǐ wāpuddle; pool of water水 = shuǐ
- 水渠shuǐ qúirrigation ditch; canal水 = shuǐ
- 水缸shuǐ gāngwater vat; water jar水 = shuǐ
- 水饺shuǐ jiǎoboiled dumplings水 = shuǐspoken asshuí jiǎo
- 沸水fèi shuǐboiling water水 = shuǐ
- 泉水quán shuǐspring water水 = shuǐ
- 泼水pō shuǐto splash water; to throw water水 = shuǐ
- 洒水sǎ shuǐto sprinkle water水 = shuǐ
- 洪水hóng shuǐflood; floodwater水 = shuǐHSK 5
- 浇水jiāo shuǐto water (plants)水 = shuǐ
- 清水qīng shuǐclear water; fresh water水 = shuǐ
- 热水rè shuǐhot water水 = shuǐ
- 盐水yán shuǐsalt water; brine水 = shuǐ
- 胶水jiāo shuǐglue (liquid)水 = shuǐ
- 舀水yǎo shuǐto ladle out water水 = shuǐspoken asyáo shuǐ
- 萍水相逢píng shuǐ xiāng féngto meet by chance, like duckweed drifting together on water水 = shuǐ
Go deeper
All readings
water
water; liquid; river or body of water
无色无味的液体；也指江河湖海等水域。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 水井shuǐ jǐngwater well水 = shuǐspoken asshuí jǐng
- 山水shān shuǐmountains and waters; landscape水 = shuǐ
- 冰水bīng shuǐice water; iced water水 = shuǐ
- 冷水lěng shuǐcold water; unboiled water水 = shuǐspoken asléng shuǐ
- 分水岭fēn shuǐ lǐngwatershed; a dividing line between two stages or outcomes水 = shuǐ
- 卤水lǔ shuǐbrine; the spiced stock used for braising水 = shuǐspoken aslú shuǐ
- 呛水qiāng shuǐto choke on water; to get water down the wrong pipe水 = shuǐ
- 水坑shuǐ kēngpuddle水 = shuǐ
- 水坝shuǐ bàdam; weir水 = shuǐ
- 水杉shuǐ shāndawn redwood (Metasequoia)水 = shuǐ
- 水池shuǐ chípool; pond; basin水 = shuǐ
- 汗水hàn shuǐsweat水 = shuǐ
- 污水wū shuǐsewage; dirty water水 = shuǐ
- 汽水qì shuǐsoda; fizzy drink水 = shuǐ
- 矿泉水kuàng quán shuǐmineral water水 = shuǐHSK 4
- 饮水yǐn shuǐto drink water; drinking water水 = shuǐspoken asyín shuǐ
- 倒水dào shuǐto pour water水 = shuǐ
- 凉水liáng shuǐcold water; unboiled water水 = shuǐ
- 咸水xián shuǐsalt water; salty water水 = shuǐ
- 大禹治水Dà Yǔ zhì shuǐYu the Great tames the floods水 = shuǐ
- 氨水ān shuǐammonia solution; aqueous ammonia水 = shuǐ
- 水壶shuǐ húkettle; water bottle水 = shuǐ
- 水泵shuǐ bèngwater pump水 = shuǐ
- 水洼shuǐ wāpuddle; pool of water水 = shuǐ
- 水渠shuǐ qúirrigation ditch; canal水 = shuǐ
- 水缸shuǐ gāngwater vat; water jar水 = shuǐ
- 水饺shuǐ jiǎoboiled dumplings水 = shuǐspoken asshuí jiǎo
- 沸水fèi shuǐboiling water水 = shuǐ
- 泉水quán shuǐspring water水 = shuǐ
- 泼水pō shuǐto splash water; to throw water水 = shuǐ
- 洒水sǎ shuǐto sprinkle water水 = shuǐ
- 洪水hóng shuǐflood; floodwater水 = shuǐHSK 5
- 浇水jiāo shuǐto water (plants)水 = shuǐ
- 清水qīng shuǐclear water; fresh water水 = shuǐ
- 热水rè shuǐhot water水 = shuǐ
- 盐水yán shuǐsalt water; brine水 = shuǐ
- 胶水jiāo shuǐglue (liquid)水 = shuǐ
- 舀水yǎo shuǐto ladle out water水 = shuǐspoken asyáo shuǐ
- 萍水相逢píng shuǐ xiāng féngto meet by chance, like duckweed drifting together on water水 = shuǐ
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 水 mean?
水 (shuǐ) means water; liquid; river or body of water.
How do you pronounce 水?
It is pronounced shuǐ.
What parts is 水 made of?
㇚ (vertical stroke with hook) and ㇇ (horizontal-turning stroke) and ㇒ (left-falling stroke) and ㇏ (right-falling stroke). The recorded source is: stroke-level decomposition verified against hanzi-writer-data medians (4 strokes); no reliable component IDS available. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 水 have?
4. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 水?
水. 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 水?
Common ones are 水井 and 山水. The reading of 水 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.