水
shuǐ
- Pinyin
- shuǐ
- Pinyin (Plain)
- shui
- Tone
- 3
- Strokes
- 4
- Radical
- 水
- Readings
- shuǐshuiTone: 3surname ShuiOrder: 0Primary
- Stroke Order Code
- Speed
- Stroke Order Data
- ["M 535 506 Q 538 699 560 762 Q 578 793 520 817 Q 486 836 465 830 Q 447 823 463 799 Q 485 771 486 736 Q 490 697 478 121 Q 477 97 463 88 Q 454 81 432 88 Q 407 94 382 99 Q 348 111 351 100 Q 352 93 373 78 Q 440 24 457 -5 Q 476 -41 493 -42 Q 508 -43 524 -7 Q 543 41 541 117 Q 531 294 534 470 L 535 506 Z", "M 154 501 Q 141 501 139 492 Q 138 485 153 477 Q 199 452 227 461 Q 333 489 343 489 Q 359 486 347 456 Q 296 326 249 262 Q 201 190 114 119 Q 99 106 110 103 Q 120 102 141 113 Q 217 153 281 224 Q 342 288 419 454 Q 429 478 441 489 Q 456 501 447 511 Q 437 524 399 537 Q 378 549 336 530 Q 270 509 154 501 Z", "M 590 446 Q 630 476 766 584 Q 787 603 814 615 Q 838 627 825 647 Q 809 666 779 681 Q 752 696 738 692 Q 723 691 729 675 Q 735 639 659 553 Q 620 508 577 459 C 557 436 566 428 590 446 Z", "M 577 459 Q 555 484 535 506 C 515 528 516 494 534 470 Q 756 161 817 160 Q 898 169 967 175 Q 995 178 996 185 Q 997 192 964 205 Q 810 253 753 295 Q 690 346 590 446 L 577 459 Z"]
- Meaning
- The character “水” (shuǐ) primarily means “water,” referring to liquid water like rivers, rain, and drinking water. By extension, it can also refer generally to liquids or things related to water (e.g., bodies of water, moisture).
- Metadata
- Locale: enCached At: 5/9/2026, 2:27:28 AM
Usage
The character 水 (shuǐ) literally means “water” and is one of the first characters learners encounter. By itself, it commonly refers to water as a substance (喝水 “drink water”), natural bodies of water (水里 “in the water”), and is used in everyday words like 水果 “fruit” (literally “water-fruit,” emphasizing juiciness) and 开水 “boiled water.” It also appears in many basic phrases and measure-word patterns, such as 一杯水 “a glass of water” and 没水了 “there’s no water (left).” Learners also meet 水 very often as a component in other characters or words. As the “water radical” 氵, it appears on the left side of many characters related to liquid, flow, or washing, such as 河 “river,” 洗 “wash,” and 海 “sea.” Beyond the literal sense, 水 can take on extended meanings like “skill level” (水平 “level; standard”) or “watery/diluted” (太水了 in informal speech, describing something as low-quality or too easy). These everyday, modern uses—both standalone and as a semantic component—are the main ways students encounter 水 in textbooks and beginner reading materials.
Handwriting Notes
水 in handwriting is typically a compact, slightly taller-than-wide shape with a central vertical element and two side components. Instead of the very straight, printed lines you see in typefaces, handwritten 水 often has more flowing, calligraphic curves: the main vertical stroke may lean slightly, the side strokes may curve gently inward or outward, and the bottom part often feels like a small hook or sweep rather than a rigid angle. The three main parts should still stay clearly separated so that the structure doesn’t collapse into a single blob of ink. Handwritten forms can vary by speed, personal style, and writing tool. Some people write it more squared and close to the printed form, while others prefer a cursive feel with more exaggeration of the lower sweep or more pronounced curves on the side strokes. In very fast or casual writing, the side elements may become shorter and the lower part might simplify into a quick flick, but the overall “central line with two side strokes and a base sweep” impression is preserved. Modern AI handwriting recognition systems are trained on many such varied samples so they can reliably recognize 水 even when it is written with different stroke thicknesses, angles, or degrees of simplification.
Description
“水” is a common Chinese character meaning “water.” It is used both on its own (as a noun for water) and as a component in many characters related to liquids, rivers, and related concepts. In Mandarin, it is pronounced shuǐ (third tone).