硅 (guī) is a Chinese character meaning “silicon (chemical element Si)”. It is written from 石 (stone; rock) and 圭 (jade ceremonial tablet), side by side, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “silicon”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
石 + 圭
Left–right structure
Structure from: Unicode U+7845 radical 112 (石)；hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：0–4 笔为石，5–10 笔为圭；圭 为声符（圭 guī 与 硅 guī 同音）
Memory aid
A stone (石) cut into thin, flat tablets like a jade tablet (圭) — just like the thin silicon wafers used in computer chips.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 硅谷Guī gǔSilicon Valley硅 = guī
- 硅胶guī jiāosilica gel; silicone硅 = guī
Go deeper
All readings
silicon
silicon (chemical element Si)
一种非金属化学元素，符号 Si，是制造芯片和太阳能电池的重要材料。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 硅谷Guī gǔSilicon Valley硅 = guī
- 硅胶guī jiāosilica gel; silicone硅 = guī
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 硅 mean?
硅 (guī) means silicon (chemical element Si).
How do you pronounce 硅?
It is pronounced guī.
What parts is 硅 made of?
石 (stone; rock) and 圭 (jade ceremonial tablet), side by side. The recorded source is: Unicode U+7845 radical 112 (石)；hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：0–4 笔为石，5–10 笔为圭；圭 为声符（圭 guī 与 硅 guī 同音）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 硅 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 硅?
石. 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 硅?
Common ones are 硅谷 and 硅胶. The reading of 硅 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.