耍 (shuǎ) is a Chinese character meaning “to play”. It is written from 而 (and; yet (function word); originally a beard) and 女 (woman; female), one above the other, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “to play”
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Structure
而 + 女
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: modern glyph decomposition, cross-checked against hanzi-writer-data stroke counts (而 6 + 女 3 = 9)
Memory aid
A flat fringe of whiskers (而) worn over a woman (女) — a costume, not a face. She is messing about, putting on a show.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 玩耍wán shuǎto play; to frolic耍 = shuǎ
- 杂耍zá shuǎvariety show; acrobatics耍 = shuǎ
Go deeper
All readings
to play; to play with
to play; to frolic; to play with (something); to perform (tricks, acrobatics)
玩；游戏。也指舞动、表演某种技艺。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 玩耍wán shuǎto play; to frolic耍 = shuǎ
- 杂耍zá shuǎvariety show; acrobatics耍 = shuǎ
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 耍 mean?
耍 (shuǎ) means to play; to frolic; to play with (something); to perform (tricks, acrobatics).
How do you pronounce 耍?
It is pronounced shuǎ.
What parts is 耍 made of?
而 (and; yet (function word); originally a beard) and 女 (woman; female), one above the other. The recorded source is: modern glyph decomposition, cross-checked against hanzi-writer-data stroke counts (而 6 + 女 3 = 9). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 耍 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 耍?
而. 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 耍?
Common ones are 玩耍 and 杂耍. The reading of 耍 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.