舍 (shè) is a Chinese character meaning “house”. It is written from 人 (person) and 干 (dry) and 口 (mouth), and takes 8 strokes. It has a second reading, shě, which turns up in 舍得 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.
Build the character for “house; dwelling”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
人 + 干 + 口
Top–middle–bottom structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分，按 hanzi-writer-data 笔画逐笔核验（人 2 笔 + 干 3 笔 + 口 3 笔 = 8 笔；第 3–5 笔为短横、长横、竖，与「干」笔序及长短比例一致）
Memory aid
A person (人) shelters under a pole (干) raised above a doorway (口) — that is the house where travellers stay.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 宿舍sù shèdormitory舍 = shèHSK 4
Go deeper
All readings
house; dwelling
house; dwelling; quarters where people are put up
供人居住的房子；住处。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 宿舍sù shèdormitory舍 = shèHSK 4
to give up
to give up; to part with; to let go of
放弃；舍弃；愿意付出。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 舍得shě deto be willing to part with舍 = shě
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 舍 mean?
舍 (shè) means house; dwelling; quarters where people are put up.
How do you pronounce 舍?
Its main reading is shè. It also has a second reading, shě, which only shows up in certain words such as 舍得 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.
Why is 舍 sometimes pronounced shě?
Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 舍得 it is read shě.
What parts is 舍 made of?
人 (person) and 干 (dry) and 口 (mouth). The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分，按 hanzi-writer-data 笔画逐笔核验（人 2 笔 + 干 3 笔 + 口 3 笔 = 8 笔；第 3–5 笔为短横、长横、竖，与「干」笔序及长短比例一致）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 舍 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 舍?
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 舍?
Common ones are 宿舍. The reading of 舍 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.