出

chū

Pinyin
chū
Pinyin (Plain)
chu
Tone
1
Strokes
5
Radical
凵
Readings
chūchuTone: 1to go out; to come out; to arise; to occur; to produce; to yield; to go beyond; to exceed; (used after a verb to indicate an outward direction or a positive result); classifier for dramas, plays, operas etcOrder: 0Primary
Stroke Order Code
Speed
Stroke Order Data
["M 562 435 Q 655 460 729 458 C 759 458 769 501 739 498 Q 646 489 563 474 L 505 464 Q 411 449 330 425 Q 306 421 312 448 Q 327 554 317 572 Q 281 615 250 611 Q 237 607 246 585 Q 268 533 260 479 Q 254 430 233 407 Q 212 388 220 372 Q 233 356 251 343 Q 267 333 278 343 Q 308 376 505 422 L 562 435 Z", "M 729 458 Q 728 458 729 457 Q 732 421 741 397 Q 750 376 766 389 Q 799 416 812 514 Q 836 572 843 581 Q 853 597 843 616 Q 822 637 786 662 Q 773 672 757 667 Q 747 663 749 647 Q 777 599 741 501 Q 740 501 739 498 L 729 458 Z", "M 551 133 Q 557 289 562 435 L 563 474 Q 564 639 592 778 Q 596 793 570 812 Q 522 837 490 842 Q 468 846 458 835 Q 448 825 459 805 Q 499 747 499 707 Q 503 590 505 464 L 505 422 Q 504 280 495 123 C 493 93 550 103 551 133 Z", "M 255 9 Q 274 -7 284 -7 Q 291 -7 299 0 Q 335 45 588 96 Q 595 99 755 123 Q 765 124 775 127 C 804 133 801 162 771 161 Q 677 158 551 133 L 495 123 Q 380 105 341 88 Q 332 85 329 89 Q 326 92 339 215 Q 340 257 288 280 Q 281 283 274 283 Q 259 284 254 281 Q 250 274 263 252 Q 302 179 257 86 Q 250 76 241 66 Q 225 53 228 41 Q 232 29 255 9 Z", "M 775 127 Q 779 28 796 3 Q 815 -31 827 -10 Q 840 12 840 66 Q 841 208 844 237 Q 845 258 839 265 Q 824 278 774 294 Q 758 301 751 295 Q 741 288 750 263 Q 763 220 771 161 L 775 127 Z"]
Meaning
“出” basically means “to go out, come out, or exit” from an inside place to an outside place. It can also mean “to produce/appear” (like an idea or result coming out) or “to put forth” (as in to issue money, effort, or something visible).
Metadata
Locale: en
Cached At: 3/24/2026, 7:16:51 PM

Usage

The character 出 (chū) basically means “to go out” or “to come out,” and learners first see it in very concrete, physical situations. It appears in words like 出口 (chūkǒu, “exit”), 出发 (chūfā, “set off; depart”), 出现 (chūxiàn, “to appear”), and 出去 / 出来 (chūqù / chūlái, “go out / come out”). It’s also used for movement from inside to outside in simple verbs: 出门 (“go out the door”), 出国 (“go abroad”), 出差 (“go on a business trip”). In these contexts, 出 keeps its core idea of leaving or emerging from a place. From there, learners encounter more abstract uses that still keep the basic “coming out” idea, but applied to results or production. For example, 出问题 (“a problem comes up”), 出主意 (“to come up with an idea”), 出汗 (“to sweat,” literally “sweat comes out”), 出钱 (“to put up money”), and 出成绩 (“to produce good results”). It’s also common in patterns like V-出来 to mean “to figure out / make out” something, such as 看出来 (“to see/figure out by looking”) or 想出来 (“to think of [an idea]”). Across these uses, 出 usually implies something moving from hidden to visible, from inside to outside, or from potential to actual.

Handwriting Notes

出 is visually quite compact and symmetrical: it looks like two similar “mountain-like” components stacked vertically, with the lower one slightly wider and more stable-looking. In handwriting, people usually emphasize a clear vertical orientation and keep the top and bottom parts well aligned, so it doesn’t collapse into a single messy block. The central vertical line tends to be a visual “spine,” and the small horizontal touches often get simplified or shortened, especially in quick writing. Some writers draw the top part a bit smaller and lighter, and the bottom part broader, to give the sense of “standing out” or “emerging,” which matches its meaning. Handwritten forms can vary in how straight or curved the strokes are and how much space is left between the upper and lower parts: in neat notebook writing, the two “layers” are clearly separated; in faster, casual writing, they may get closer together, and the side lines can slant slightly. Printed fonts are very regular and erect, but handwritten 出 may lean a bit or have slightly uneven stroke lengths while still being easily recognized by humans. Modern AI handwriting recognition systems are trained on many such variations in stroke shape, spacing, and slant, so they can reliably detect 出 even when individual handwriting styles differ significantly from standard printed forms.

Description

出 is a common Chinese character meaning “to go out,” “to exit,” or “to come out.” It is used in words and phrases about leaving, appearing, producing, or happening (e.g., 出口 “exit,” 出现 “to appear”). In modern Mandarin, it is pronounced chū (first tone).

Common Words

  • 出chu1to go out; to come out
  • 喷出pen1 chu1spout
  • 使出shi3 chu1to use
  • 出乎chu1 hu1due to
  • 出价chu1 jia4to bid

Example Sentences

我喜欢出。

wo3 xi3 huan5 chu1

I like to go out; to come out.

喷出很常见。

pen1 chu1 hen3 chang2 jian4

喷出 is very common.

我们在学习使出。

wo3 men5 zai4 xue2 xi2 shi3 chu1

We are learning to use.

这个出乎很重要。

zhe4 ge5 chu1 hu1 hen3 zhong4 yao4

This due to is important.

请写一下“出”。

qing3 xie3 yi1 xia4 chu1

Please write '出'.

Try writing this character