物

wù

Pinyin
wù
Pinyin (Plain)
wu
Tone
4
Strokes
8
Radical
牛
Readings
wùwuTone: 4(bound form) thing; (literary) the outside world as distinct from oneself; people other than oneselfOrder: 0Primary
Stroke Order Code
Speed
Stroke Order Data
["M 219 521 Q 238 561 259 593 Q 268 606 252 620 Q 206 648 182 643 Q 172 639 175 625 Q 193 549 120 440 Q 113 437 88 396 Q 81 380 96 386 Q 150 402 207 499 L 219 521 Z", "M 364 511 Q 455 541 457 541 Q 464 548 460 557 Q 453 567 423 573 Q 395 576 366 562 L 325 546 Q 312 543 301 539 Q 264 529 219 521 C 189 516 179 509 207 499 Q 255 480 314 498 Q 318 499 323 500 L 364 511 Z", "M 316 319 Q 310 178 288 105 Q 275 63 301 6 Q 307 -12 315 -15 Q 321 -21 328 -13 Q 335 -9 346 11 Q 356 36 355 66 Q 355 103 360 349 L 361 381 Q 361 442 364 511 L 366 562 Q 366 685 389 762 Q 404 787 374 807 Q 359 819 334 833 Q 312 851 291 835 Q 287 831 292 815 Q 325 767 325 686 Q 325 617 325 546 L 323 500 Q 320 431 317 358 L 316 319 Z", "M 317 358 Q 223 312 142 266 Q 106 248 82 242 Q 69 238 67 229 Q 66 219 79 205 Q 98 189 121 179 Q 137 175 148 186 Q 217 250 316 319 L 360 349 Q 372 359 386 367 Q 405 377 416 392 Q 423 405 412 405 Q 399 405 361 381 L 317 358 Z", "M 530 519 Q 590 610 626 683 Q 642 720 657 739 Q 664 751 659 763 Q 653 776 622 794 Q 594 809 575 807 Q 557 803 568 782 Q 581 760 576 739 Q 560 667 527 599 Q 496 533 451 459 Q 442 449 441 441 Q 440 431 452 434 Q 471 443 521 506 L 530 519 Z", "M 727 518 Q 757 527 803 528 Q 815 528 820 523 Q 838 483 812 292 Q 794 184 757 116 Q 741 85 721 83 Q 706 80 629 110 Q 619 114 619 108 Q 618 104 629 94 Q 674 48 693 13 Q 703 -8 718 -7 Q 737 -10 757 10 Q 829 61 855 202 Q 874 298 889 443 Q 890 477 913 501 Q 926 514 926 522 Q 925 531 906 544 Q 879 565 844 577 Q 823 584 747 562 Q 738 561 728 557 Q 644 538 530 519 C 500 514 498 514 521 506 Q 530 497 567 495 L 605 498 Q 605 499 606 499 Q 649 506 690 512 L 727 518 Z", "M 567 495 Q 567 494 569 489 Q 587 431 446 269 Q 440 265 440 259 Q 440 255 445 255 Q 515 273 603 413 Q 606 419 628 450 Q 634 459 627 471 Q 617 490 605 498 C 582 517 558 524 567 495 Z", "M 690 512 Q 706 455 594 273 Q 581 254 568 236 Q 508 164 434 106 Q 427 102 424 97 Q 418 87 428 86 Q 474 86 570 171 Q 571 175 576 177 Q 651 258 734 421 Q 740 434 751 449 Q 764 459 761 473 Q 752 494 729 516 Q 728 517 727 518 C 706 539 687 542 690 512 Z"]
Meaning
“物” most commonly means “thing” or “object,” referring to any concrete item or stuff (for example, 动物 “animals,” 食物 “food”). It can also more generally mean “matter” or “anything that exists,” not limited to physical objects.
Metadata
Locale: en
Cached At: 5/9/2026, 2:28:49 AM

Usage

In modern Chinese, 物 (wù) broadly means “thing” or “object,” and appears very often in compound words rather than on its own. Learners quickly meet it in everyday nouns like 东西 / 東西 (dōngxi, “thing; stuff”), 动物 / 動物 (dòngwù, “animal,” literally “moving thing”), 植物 (zhíwù, “plant”), and 食物 (shíwù, “food”). It also turns up in words about physical items or substances, such as 礼物 / 禮物 (lǐwù, “gift”), 物品 (wùpǐn, “article; goods”), and 礼物 (gift) is especially common in beginner dialogues about birthdays and holidays. In these combinations, 物 usually carries the sense of a concrete “thing” or “creature.” Learners also see 物 in more abstract or academic vocabulary where it still keeps the idea of “thing” or “matter,” but in a broader sense. For example, 物理 (wùlǐ, “physics,” literally “principles of things”), 物质 / 物質 (wùzhì, “matter; substance”), and 人物 (rénwù, “figure; character,” literally “person-thing”) all use 物 to talk about people or things as objects of study or description. Everyday phrases like 生物 (shēngwù, “living thing; organism”) and 生物学 / 生物學 (shēngwùxué, “biology”) are common in school-related contexts. Overall, learners mainly experience 物 as a productive component in compound words that categorize kinds of “things,” both concrete and abstract.

Handwriting Notes

物 in handwriting usually appears as a compact, slightly wider-than-tall character composed of two main parts: the left “cow/ox” component (牜) and the right “not/yet” component (勿). In casual writing, the left side is often simplified into three quick strokes that merge slightly, with the vertical and diagonal strokes not perfectly separate, while the right side tends to become more rounded and compressed, especially in the lower hook and the small inner stroke, which can look like a short dash or even a tiny dot. Stroke angles and proportions vary from person to person: some writers make the left part taller and more vertical, others make the right side larger so the character leans slightly; sharp corners may become curves, and gaps between strokes can shrink so elements almost touch or join. Because handwritten 物 can be quite stylized or messy, AI handwriting recognition systems play an important role in correctly identifying it: they are trained to handle these common variations in stroke thickness, curvature, and spacing, and to distinguish 物 from visually similar characters that share components or overall layout.

Description

物 is a common Chinese character meaning “thing,” “object,” or “matter,” often referring to physical items or general stuff. It is frequently used in words like 动物 (dòngwù, “animal”) and 食物 (shíwù, “food”).

Common Words

  • 物wu4(bound form) thing
  • 作物zuo4 wu4crop
  • 造物zao4 wu4luck
  • 杂物za2 wu4junk
  • 食物shi2 wu4food

Example Sentences

我喜欢物。

wo3 xi3 huan5 wu4

I like (bound form) thing.

作物很常见。

zuo4 wu4 hen3 chang2 jian4

作物 is very common.

我们在学习造物。

wo3 men5 zai4 xue2 xi2 zao4 wu4

We are learning luck.

这个杂物很重要。

zhe4 ge5 za2 wu4 hen3 zhong4 yao4

This junk is important.

请写一下“物”。

qing3 xie3 yi1 xia4 wu4

Please write '物'.

Try writing this character