舌 (shé) is a Chinese character meaning “tongue”. It is written from 千 (thousand) and 口 (mouth), one above the other, and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “tongue”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
千 + 口
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分：hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（第 1–3 笔＝千，第 4–6 笔＝口）
Memory aid
A thousand (千) words coming out of one mouth (口) — that is what a tongue does all day.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 舌头shé toutongue舌 = shé
- 舌尖shé jiāntip of the tongue舌 = shé
Go deeper
All readings
tongue
tongue; the organ of taste and speech; a tongue-shaped part of something
舌头，口腔里辨别味道、帮助发音的器官；也指形状像舌头的东西。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 舌头shé toutongue舌 = shé
- 舌尖shé jiāntip of the tongue舌 = shé
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 舌 mean?
舌 (shé) means tongue; the organ of taste and speech; a tongue-shaped part of something.
How do you pronounce 舌?
It is pronounced shé.
What parts is 舌 made of?
千 (thousand) and 口 (mouth), one above the other. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分：hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（第 1–3 笔＝千，第 4–6 笔＝口）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 舌 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 舌?
舌. 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 舌?
Common ones are 舌头 and 舌尖. The reading of 舌 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.