于

yú

Pinyin
yú
Pinyin (Plain)
yu
Tone
2
Strokes
3
Radical
二
Readings
yúyuTone: 2surname YuOrder: 0Primary
Stroke Order Code
Speed
Stroke Order Data
["M 500 709 Q 591 724 710 735 Q 722 734 732 747 Q 733 760 709 772 Q 673 794 598 775 Q 562 769 528 760 Q 449 745 302 731 Q 271 728 294 709 Q 330 678 360 686 Q 403 695 456 702 L 500 709 Z", "M 556 484 Q 634 490 898 491 Q 922 491 927 501 Q 934 514 914 531 Q 842 588 796 565 Q 699 549 552 525 L 502 518 Q 499 519 497 518 Q 322 497 115 474 Q 90 471 108 451 Q 124 435 146 428 Q 171 421 190 427 Q 328 463 506 480 L 556 484 Z", "M 506 480 Q 527 186 476 99 Q 473 90 464 87 Q 446 81 349 100 Q 340 101 338 97 Q 337 93 346 84 Q 416 30 455 -12 Q 468 -25 475 -23 Q 491 -22 517 6 Q 574 63 575 174 Q 576 234 556 484 L 552 525 Q 531 687 528 692 Q 519 701 500 709 C 474 724 442 729 456 702 Q 487 656 502 518 L 506 480 Z"]
Meaning
“于” is a common preposition that often means “at, in, on, to, from, than” depending on context (e.g., 在学校 → 于学校, bigger than A → 大于A). It’s mostly used in written or formal Chinese to show time, place, direction, comparison, or the target of an action.
Metadata
Locale: en
Cached At: 3/24/2026, 7:17:57 PM

Usage

The character "于" is a very common preposition in written and formal Chinese, often similar to "in/at/on/from/than" in English depending on context. Learners most often meet it in set phrases, formal sentences, and written news or documents rather than in everyday speech (where 在, 从, 比 etc. are more common). Typical patterns include 在于 (lie in, depend on), 用于 (be used for), 位于 (be located at), 关于 (about, regarding), 基于 (based on), 有利于 (be beneficial to), 不利于 (be harmful to), 注意于/专注于 (focus on), and 出于 (out of, due to). In these, "于" connects a verb or adjective to what follows, often marking a place, direction, target, basis, or comparison. It also appears in more concise or slightly formal alternatives to everyday phrases. For example, 多于/少于 (more than / less than) parallel 比…多/比…少; 早于/晚于 (earlier than / later than) parallel 比…早/比…晚; 优于 (better than) parallels 比…好; 生于/死于 (be born in / die of or in) are used in biographies and historical texts. Because many of these are high-frequency in written Chinese, learners quickly get used to recognizing 于 as a versatile linking word in more formal style, even if they don’t use it as much in casual speech.

Handwriting Notes

于 is a very simple, horizontally oriented character: it looks like a short vertical line with several horizontal strokes crossing or attached to it. In neat handwriting, the central vertical stroke is slightly longer than the crossing horizontals, and the whole character is wider than it is tall, giving it a low, stable feel on the page. The top horizontal is usually the shortest, the middle one a bit longer, and the bottom component can look like a longer, gently slanting stroke that “grounds” the character. In actual handwriting, people often write 于 quickly and loosely: the horizontals may tilt upward a bit, merge slightly with the vertical, or be written with different lengths; sometimes the lower part is almost one sweeping curve rather than clearly separated strokes. The proportions can vary from a nearly boxy, printed shape to a more cursive, flowing version that looks quite compressed. Despite these variations, the basic pattern of “one main vertical plus several horizontals” stays recognizable. Modern AI handwriting recognition systems are trained to handle these handwritten differences, so they learn the typical stroke layout and proportions of 于 and can usually identify it correctly even when stroke order, exact angles, or lengths vary from writer to writer.

Description

“于” is a common preposition in Chinese, often translated as “in,” “at,” “on,” “to,” or “from,” depending on context. It is used in both modern and classical Chinese, especially in formal or written style. Its pronunciation is “yú” in Mandarin.

Common Words

  • 于yu2to go
  • 出于chu1 yu2due to
  • 定于ding4 yu2set at
  • 由于you2 yu2due to
  • 至于zhi4 yu2as for

Example Sentences

我喜欢于。

wo3 xi3 huan5 yu2

I like to go.

出于很常见。

chu1 yu2 hen3 chang2 jian4

出于 is very common.

我们在学习定于。

wo3 men5 zai4 xue2 xi2 ding4 yu2

We are learning set at.

这个由于很重要。

zhe4 ge5 you2 yu2 hen3 zhong4 yao4

This due to is important.

请写一下“于”。

qing3 xie3 yi1 xia4 yu2

Please write '于'.

Try writing this character