表 (biǎo) is a Chinese character meaning “the outside surface of something”. It is written from 龶 (three horizontal strokes crossed by a short vertical that stops at the last stroke) and 𧘇 (lower part of 衣 (flowing robe strokes)), one above the other, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “surface; to show”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
龶 + 𧘇
Top–bottom structure
- 龶 three horizontal strokes crossed by a short vertical that stops at the last stroke unknown
- 𧘇 lower part of 衣 (flowing robe strokes) unknown
Structure from: Unicode U+8868; modern decomposition candidate checked against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke geometry (strokes 1-4 match 龶, strokes 5-8 match the lower part of 衣)
Memory aid
The crossed strokes of 龶 lie flat across the top, and the robe 𧘇 spreads out underneath — the side of the garment everyone sees is its surface.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 表示biǎo shìto express; to indicate表 = biǎoHSK 3
- 表扬biǎo yángto praise; to commend表 = biǎo
- 表格biǎo géform; table (with rows and columns)表 = biǎo
Go deeper
All readings
surface; to show
the outside surface of something; to show or express outwardly; a table or chart
外面的一面；把意思显露出来；也指分栏排列的表格。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 表示biǎo shìto express; to indicate表 = biǎoHSK 3
- 表扬biǎo yángto praise; to commend表 = biǎo
- 表格biǎo géform; table (with rows and columns)表 = biǎo
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 表 mean?
表 (biǎo) means the outside surface of something; to show or express outwardly; a table or chart.
How do you pronounce 表?
It is pronounced biǎo.
What parts is 表 made of?
龶 (three horizontal strokes crossed by a short vertical that stops at the last stroke) and 𧘇 (lower part of 衣 (flowing robe strokes)), one above the other. The recorded source is: Unicode U+8868; modern decomposition candidate checked against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke geometry (strokes 1-4 match 龶, strokes 5-8 match the lower part of 衣). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 表 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 表?
衣. 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 表?
Common ones are 表示 and 表扬. The reading of 表 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.