求 (qiú) is a Chinese character meaning “to seek”. It is written from 一 (one) and 氺 (water (form used at the bottom of a character)) and 丶 (dot stroke), and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “to seek; to ask for”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
一 + 氺 + 丶
Overlapping structure
- 一 one · yī unknown
- 氺 water (form used at the bottom of a character) · shuǐ unknown
- 丶 dot stroke · zhǔ unknown
Structure from: Unicode U+6C42; modern decomposition candidate checked against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke geometry (strokes 2-6 of 求 match the five strokes of 氺)
Memory aid
A line (一) laid across the water form (氺), with one dot (丶) held up at the top right — you reach across the water asking for that last drop.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 乞求qǐ qiúto beg; to implore求 = qiú
- 央求yāng qiúto beg; to plead with someone求 = qiú
- 寻求xún qiúto seek; to pursue求 = qiú
- 苛求kē qiúto make excessive demands求 = qiú
- 哀求āi qiúto beg piteously; to implore求 = qiú
- 恳求kěn qiúto implore; to beg earnestly求 = qiú
- 求饶qiú ráoto beg for mercy求 = qiú
- 祈求qí qiúto beseech; to pray for求 = qiú
- 要求yāo qiúto ask for; to demand; a requirement求 = qiú
- 追求zhuī qiúto pursue; to seek after; to strive for求 = qiú
Go deeper
All readings
to seek
to seek; to ask for; to request; to strive for
向别人请求给予；也指努力寻找、追求。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 乞求qǐ qiúto beg; to implore求 = qiú
- 央求yāng qiúto beg; to plead with someone求 = qiú
- 寻求xún qiúto seek; to pursue求 = qiú
- 苛求kē qiúto make excessive demands求 = qiú
- 哀求āi qiúto beg piteously; to implore求 = qiú
- 恳求kěn qiúto implore; to beg earnestly求 = qiú
- 求饶qiú ráoto beg for mercy求 = qiú
- 祈求qí qiúto beseech; to pray for求 = qiú
- 要求yāo qiúto ask for; to demand; a requirement求 = qiú
- 追求zhuī qiúto pursue; to seek after; to strive for求 = qiú
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 求 mean?
求 (qiú) means to seek; to ask for; to request; to strive for.
How do you pronounce 求?
It is pronounced qiú.
What parts is 求 made of?
一 (one) and 氺 (water (form used at the bottom of a character)) and 丶 (dot stroke). The recorded source is: Unicode U+6C42; modern decomposition candidate checked against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke geometry (strokes 2-6 of 求 match the five strokes of 氺). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 求 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 求?
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 求?
Common ones are 乞求, 央求, 寻求. The reading of 求 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.