绅 (shēn) is a Chinese character meaning “gentry”. It is written from 纟 (silk; thread (left-side form)) and 申 (a boxed 日 with one vertical stroke driven straight through it; used as the sound part in 伸 / 神), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “gentry”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
纟 + 申
Left–right structure
- 纟 silk; thread (left-side form) · sī meaning
- 申 a boxed 日 with one vertical stroke driven straight through it; used as the sound part in 伸 / 神 · shēn sound
Structure from: 现代字形构形分析（笔画数据核验：⿰纟申，3+5=8 画；右侧读音与 申 shēn 完全一致，故记为声符）；只描述今形，不追溯古字来源
Memory aid
Silk 纟 on the left, and 申 on the right — a box with one long vertical stroke pushed all the way through, top to bottom. 申 is also the sound: 申 is shēn and 绅 is shēn, the same syllable and tone. Remember the man dressed in silk: a gentleman.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 绅士shēn shìgentleman绅 = shēn
Go deeper
All readings
gentry
gentry; a man of standing — today used almost only in 绅士 "gentleman"
旧时指地方上有地位的人；今天几乎只用在「绅士」里，指有教养、举止得体的男子。 — studyhanzi 编写（现代常用义，未追溯古义）
Words with this reading
- 绅士shēn shìgentleman绅 = shēn
Sound component
申 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 绅 mean?
绅 (shēn) means gentry; a man of standing — today used almost only in 绅士 "gentleman".
How do you pronounce 绅?
It is pronounced shēn.
What parts is 绅 made of?
纟 (silk; thread (left-side form)) and 申 (a boxed 日 with one vertical stroke driven straight through it; used as the sound part in 伸 / 神), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形构形分析（笔画数据核验：⿰纟申，3+5=8 画；右侧读音与 申 shēn 完全一致，故记为声符）；只描述今形，不追溯古字来源. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 绅 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 绅?
纟. 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 绅?
Common ones are 绅士. The reading of 绅 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.