首 (shǒu) is a Chinese character meaning “head”. It is written from 丷 (two spreading strokes) and 一 (one) and 自 (self; nose), and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “head; first”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
丷 + 一 + 自
Top–middle–bottom structure
Structure from: 现代字形 IDS 拆分 ⿳丷一自，已逐笔核对 hanzi-writer-data 笔顺（2+1+6=9 画）
Memory aid
Two tufts of hair (丷) over the browline (一), sitting on top of 自, a face seen head-on. Hair, brow, face — that is a 首, a head, and the head is what comes first.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 首都shǒu dūcapital city首 = shǒu
- 首先shǒu xiānfirst of all; firstly首 = shǒu
- 匕首bǐ shǒudagger首 = shǒu
- 首页shǒu yèhomepage; front page首 = shǒu
Go deeper
All readings
head; first
head; chief, leader; first, foremost
头；引申为领头的、第一的。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 首都shǒu dūcapital city首 = shǒu
- 首先shǒu xiānfirst of all; firstly首 = shǒu
- 匕首bǐ shǒudagger首 = shǒu
- 首页shǒu yèhomepage; front page首 = shǒu
Origin
A pictograph of a head. The Shuowen Jiezi treats 首 as the later form of 𦣻 and says the marks on top depict hair (巛象髮); the part below draws the face with its eye.
Source: 说文解字·首部：「首，古文𦣻也。巛象髮，謂之鬢，鬢即巛也。」
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 首 mean?
首 (shǒu) means head; chief, leader; first, foremost.
How do you pronounce 首?
It is pronounced shǒu.
What parts is 首 made of?
丷 (two spreading strokes) and 一 (one) and 自 (self; nose). The recorded source is: 现代字形 IDS 拆分 ⿳丷一自，已逐笔核对 hanzi-writer-data 笔顺（2+1+6=9 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 首 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 首?
首. 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 首?
Common ones are 首都 and 首先. The reading of 首 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.