使

shǐ

Pinyin
shǐ
Pinyin (Plain)
shi
Tone
3
Strokes
8
Radical
人
Readings
shǐshiTone: 3to make; to cause; to enable; to use; to employ; to send; to instruct sb to do sth; envoy; messengerOrder: 0Primary
Stroke Order Code
Speed
Stroke Order Data
["M 230 513 Q 270 571 313 646 Q 338 697 361 722 Q 371 732 365 747 Q 361 760 330 783 Q 302 801 281 800 Q 262 797 271 775 Q 287 744 276 715 Q 242 621 187 532 Q 135 447 62 352 Q 52 342 50 335 Q 46 323 61 326 Q 101 336 195 466 Q 199 473 206 481 L 230 513 Z", "M 206 481 Q 231 421 232 362 Q 232 233 205 119 Q 190 70 227 22 Q 228 19 232 16 Q 251 0 263 28 Q 278 70 278 118 Q 278 365 286 421 Q 293 449 283 460 Q 265 482 251 496 Q 242 506 230 513 C 205 530 195 509 206 481 Z", "M 629 632 Q 678 645 732 655 Q 777 667 783 673 Q 792 680 787 689 Q 780 699 752 707 Q 725 711 631 678 L 586 666 Q 525 653 456 644 Q 422 638 447 622 Q 489 598 544 614 Q 563 620 587 622 L 629 632 Z", "M 449 523 Q 439 527 409 532 Q 397 533 395 529 Q 389 523 398 508 Q 425 459 445 375 Q 449 350 464 334 Q 482 315 486 329 Q 487 336 489 346 L 486 377 Q 476 410 463 490 C 458 520 458 520 449 523 Z", "M 772 413 Q 802 492 831 508 Q 847 527 833 545 Q 760 605 698 575 Q 661 563 627 553 L 587 544 Q 520 532 449 523 C 419 519 434 485 463 490 Q 473 491 486 495 Q 535 505 586 513 L 626 521 Q 660 528 698 535 Q 725 542 735 530 Q 744 523 741 506 Q 732 457 721 417 C 713 388 761 385 772 413 Z", "M 622 365 Q 691 374 784 380 Q 794 381 795 389 Q 795 396 772 413 C 758 424 750 423 721 417 Q 669 407 623 397 L 581 389 Q 530 383 486 377 C 456 373 459 345 489 346 Q 496 346 504 347 Q 534 354 578 359 L 622 365 Z", "M 599 195 Q 620 258 622 365 L 623 397 Q 624 461 626 521 L 627 553 Q 628 593 629 632 L 631 678 Q 634 705 657 773 Q 664 786 653 798 Q 631 816 592 827 Q 567 833 559 826 Q 550 819 558 807 Q 580 771 584 725 Q 585 697 586 666 L 587 622 Q 587 583 587 544 L 586 513 Q 585 452 581 389 L 578 359 Q 572 275 560 229 L 547 192 Q 508 105 347 41 Q 334 35 333 31 Q 334 27 345 25 Q 364 22 408 35 Q 483 54 534 100 Q 562 125 583 158 L 599 195 Z", "M 583 158 Q 623 118 650 87 Q 693 42 751 -6 Q 776 -30 821 -27 Q 864 -23 913 -18 Q 949 -14 960 -7 Q 979 -1 962 8 Q 935 20 815 51 Q 749 69 599 195 L 560 229 Q 481 298 468 301 Q 440 310 408 301 Q 395 298 395 291 Q 396 284 409 281 Q 457 281 524 214 Q 536 204 547 192 L 583 158 Z"]
Meaning
The Chinese character “使” most commonly means “to make/cause (someone or something to do or become something)” and “to use.” It can also mean “to send someone on a mission” or “an envoy/messenger” in more formal or literary contexts.
Metadata
Locale: en
Cached At: 3/24/2026, 7:17:56 PM

Usage

The character 使 is most commonly used as a verb meaning “to make” or “to cause.” In this sense it introduces a result: 这件事使我很生气 (“This matter made me very angry”), 音乐使人放松 (“Music makes people relax”). It’s also used in the pattern 使 A 成为 B (“to make A become B”) and overlaps with 让 and 叫, though 使 often sounds a bit more formal or written. Learners often first meet it in written examples or graded readers where a more formal tone is used. A second common use is in nouns and fixed words. It appears in 使⽤ (“to use; usage”), one of the most frequent everyday verbs: 使用手机, 使用说明 (“to use a phone,” “user manual”). In modern Mandarin, its older literal meanings like “to send (someone on a mission)” survive mostly in set expressions such as 大使 (“ambassador”), 牧师/传教士 vs. 使徒 in religious contexts, or in historical/political terms. For most learners, the key takeaways are: 使 as “make/cause” in sentences describing effects, and 使⽤ as “to use.”

Handwriting Notes

使 is visually left-right structured: the left side is the “person” radical 亻, and the right side looks like a vertical rectangle with an extra horizontal stroke inside (史). In everyday handwriting, 亻 is usually written quite narrow and may lean slightly right, while the right side compresses vertically so the whole character fits into a tall, slim rectangle. The central vertical stroke on the right typically runs straight down and acts as a spine, with the other strokes attaching to it or crossing it, giving the character a clear central axis and a balanced feel. Handwritten forms vary in how tightly the strokes are packed and how angular or rounded they appear. The hook at the bottom of the center vertical can be long or very small; the top horizontal strokes may merge slightly or be written with a light curve; and the left 亻 component might be so compressed that the two strokes almost look like a single bent line. Despite these variations, the key cues are the obvious 亻 on the left and a “boxed” 史 shape with a central vertical line on the right. Modern AI handwriting recognition systems are trained to handle this range of personal styles, learning to recognize 使 even when the strokes are somewhat merged, slanted, or loosely written.

Description

使 is a common Chinese character meaning “to use,” “to make (someone do something),” or “to send (someone on an errand or mission).” It is also used in grammar patterns to indicate causing or letting something happen, similar to “make/let” in English.

Common Words

  • 使shi3to make
  • 假使jia3 shi3if
  • 天使tian1 shi3angel
  • 使出shi3 chu1to use
  • 使用shi3 yong4to use

Example Sentences

我喜欢使。

wo3 xi3 huan5 shi3

I like to make.

假使很常见。

jia3 shi3 hen3 chang2 jian4

假使 is very common.

我们在学习天使。

wo3 men5 zai4 xue2 xi2 tian1 shi3

We are learning angel.

这个使出很重要。

zhe4 ge5 shi3 chu1 hen3 zhong4 yao4

This to use is important.

请写一下“使”。

qing3 xie3 yi1 xia4 shi3

Please write '使'.

Try writing this character