五 meaning and stroke order
Five; 5
How to write 五, stroke by stroke
4 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Meaning of 五
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- five
- 5
How 五 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. Five elements (the cross with the extra stroke) between heaven 一 and earth 一 .
Radical: 二 (two), shared by 14 characters on this site.
How to remember 五
Look at 五 (wǔ) as two horizontal lines, heaven 一 on top and earth 一 at the bottom, with a crossing shape in between. The data describes that middle part as the five elements meeting between heaven and earth, so picture five forces crossing in the middle.
五 (wǔ) is the everyday word for the number five and appears in dates, prices, and many idioms. Example: 我五点下班。(Wǒ wǔ diǎn xiàbān.) I get off work at five o'clock.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 五 (wǔ) with 午 (wǔ, noon). They sound the same, but 午 appears in 中午 and 下午, not in numbers. Also keep the third tone in 五, though it changes to a second tone before another third tone, as in 五百 (wúbǎi).
Common words with 五
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 五颜六色 | wǔyán-liùsè | multicolored; every color under the sun | HSK 4 |
| 五星级 | wǔxīngjí | five-star (hotel) | HSK 7-9 |
| 三番五次 | sānfān-wǔcì | over and over again (idiom) | HSK 7-9 |
| 五花八门 | wǔhuā-bāmén | myriad; all kinds of | HSK 7-9 |
| 第五 | dìwǔ | fifth | |
| 五十 | wǔshí | fifty | |
| 十五 | shíwǔ | fifteen; 15 | |
| 五号 | wǔhào | the fifth; fifth day of a month | |
| 五金店 | wǔjīndiàn | hardware store; ironmonger's store | |
| 四分五裂 | sìfēnwǔliè | (idiom) fragmented; scattered; in disarray; at sixes and sevens | |
| 一五一十 | yīwǔyīshí | lit. count by fives and tens (idiom); to narrate systematically and in full detail | |
| 五星 | wǔxīng | the five visible planets, namely: Mercury 水星, Venus 金星, Mars 火星, Jupiter 木星, Saturn 土星 | |
| 五分之一 | wǔfēnzhīyī | one fifth |
五 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 五
Learning 五 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 五
How many strokes are in 五?
五 is written with 4 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 五 mean?
五 (wǔ) means five; 5. A common word with it is 五颜六色 (wǔyán-liùsè), meaning "multicolored; every color under the sun".
How do you pronounce 五?
五 is pronounced wǔ, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 五?
The radical of 五 is 二, which carries the idea of "two". Dictionaries list 五 under this radical.
Is 五 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 五 is part of the HSK 1 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 1.
How do you write the stroke order of 五?
Start with the top horizontal stroke. Next comes the vertical stroke that bends at the bottom, then the horizontal-vertical turn that forms the right side. The long bottom horizontal stroke comes last.
What does 五花八门 mean and when is it used?
五花八门 (wǔhuā-bāmén) means all kinds of, a wide and varied mix. It describes things like goods, opinions, or methods, for example 商店里的东西五花八门 (Shāngdiàn lǐ de dōngxi wǔhuā-bāmén), the store has all sorts of things.