仁 meaning and stroke order
Benevolent, humane, kind
How to write 仁, 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 仁
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- humane
- kernel
How 仁 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A caring relationship between two 二 people 亻.
Radical: 亻 (man), shared by 277 characters on this site.
How to remember 仁
仁 is a person 亻 next to the number two 二. Think of it as how one person should treat a second person: with kindness and humanity.
仁 appears mostly in words and formal or classical contexts, such as 仁慈 (réncí, benevolent) and the idiom 一视同仁 (yīshìtóngrén, treat everyone equally). It also means a kernel or nut inside a shell, as in 杏仁 (xìngrén, almond). Example: 老师对学生一视同仁。(Lǎoshī duì xuéshēng yīshìtóngrén.) The teacher treats all students equally.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 仁 with 人 (rén, person) and 认 (rèn, to recognize) because they sound almost the same. 仁 is second tone like 人, but it means kindness or kernel, not person. Write the 亻 radical plus 二, not 讠.
Common words with 仁
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 仁慈 | réncí | benevolent; charitable | HSK 7-9 |
| 见仁见智 | jiànrén-jiànzhì | opinions differ (idiom) | HSK 7-9 |
| 杏仁 | xìngrén | almond; apricot kernel | |
| 果仁 | guǒrén | fruit kernel | |
| 同仁 | Tóngrén | (formal) colleague; fellow member (of an organization or profession) | |
| 一视同仁 | yīshìtóngrén | to treat everyone equally favorably (idiom); not to discriminate between people | |
| 仁兄 | rénxiōng | (honorific written address) My dear friend |
仁 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 仁
How many strokes are in 仁?
仁 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 仁 mean?
仁 (rén) means benevolent, humane, kind. A common word with it is 仁慈 (réncí), meaning "benevolent; charitable".
How do you pronounce 仁?
仁 is pronounced rén, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 仁?
The radical of 仁 is 亻, which carries the idea of "man". Dictionaries list 仁 under this radical.
Is 仁 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 仁 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why does 仁 mean both kindness and a nut kernel?
The dictionary lists both senses for 仁. In everyday speech the kernel meaning shows up in food words like 杏仁 (xìngrén, almond) and 果仁 (guǒrén, fruit kernel), while the kindness meaning appears in words like 仁慈 (réncí).
What does 见仁见智 mean and when do people use it?
见仁见智 (jiànrén-jiànzhì) means opinions differ, and different people see the same thing in different ways. People say it when a question has no single right answer, for example about taste or style.