详 (xiáng) is a Chinese character meaning “detailed”. It is written from 讠 (speech radical) and 羊 (sheep; goat), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “detailed; to explain in detail”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
讠 + 羊
Left–right structure
Structure from: Unicode U+8BE6 现代字形与笔顺数据（8 画 = 讠 2 画 + 羊 6 画）；繁体 詳 见 说文解字·言部「詳，審議也。从言羊聲」，简化只改言旁为讠
Memory aid
Speech (讠) next to a sheep (羊): a buyer talks the seller through every part of the animal before paying — nothing is left out, everything is told in detail.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 详细xiáng xìdetailed; in detail详 = xiáng
- 详情xiáng qíngdetails; detailed information详 = xiáng
Go deeper
All readings
detailed; to explain in detail
detailed; minute; to state in detail; to know clearly
细密完备；把情况说清楚；也表示知道得清楚。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 详细xiáng xìdetailed; in detail详 = xiáng
- 详情xiáng qíngdetails; detailed information详 = xiáng
Origin
The Shuowen Jiezi analyses the traditional form 詳 as "from 言 (speech), with 羊 as the sound part", glossing it as weighing a matter carefully. The simplified 详 only replaces 言 with the radical form 讠.
Source: 说文解字·言部：詳，審議也。从言羊聲
Sound component
羊 family onset shift
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 详 mean?
详 (xiáng) means detailed; minute; to state in detail; to know clearly.
How do you pronounce 详?
It is pronounced xiáng.
What parts is 详 made of?
讠 (speech radical) and 羊 (sheep; goat), side by side. The recorded source is: Unicode U+8BE6 现代字形与笔顺数据（8 画 = 讠 2 画 + 羊 6 画）；繁体 詳 见 说文解字·言部「詳，審議也。从言羊聲」，简化只改言旁为讠. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 详 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 详?
讠. 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 详?
Common ones are 详细 and 详情. The reading of 详 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.