苏 (sū) is a Chinese character meaning “to revive”. It is written from 艹 (grass / plant radical) and 办 (to handle; to manage), one above the other, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “to revive”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
艹 + 办
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: studyhanzi 现代简化字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画：艹 3 画 + 办 4 画 = 7 画）
Memory aid
Grass (艹) sitting on top of 办 "to handle it". Cut the plant back and it still handles it — new shoots push up and it revives.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 苏醒sū xǐngto regain consciousness; to come to; to revive苏 = sū
- 江苏jiāng sūJiangsu (a province in eastern China)苏 = sū
Go deeper
All readings
to revive
to revive; to come to; to regain consciousness; also short for Jiangsu province and Suzhou
从昏迷、沉睡中醒过来；恢复生机。也是江苏、苏州的简称。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 苏醒sū xǐngto regain consciousness; to come to; to revive苏 = sū
- 江苏jiāng sūJiangsu (a province in eastern China)苏 = sū
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 苏 mean?
苏 (sū) means to revive; to come to; to regain consciousness; also short for Jiangsu province and Suzhou.
How do you pronounce 苏?
It is pronounced sū.
What parts is 苏 made of?
艹 (grass / plant radical) and 办 (to handle; to manage), one above the other. The recorded source is: studyhanzi 现代简化字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画：艹 3 画 + 办 4 画 = 7 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 苏 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 苏?
艹. 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 苏?
Common ones are 苏醒 and 江苏. The reading of 苏 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.