冊 meaning and stroke order
Book, volume, register, list
How to write 冊, stroke by stroke
5 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
- 5
Meaning of 冊
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- book
- booklet
- classifier for books
How 冊 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. Bamboo strips 冂 tied together to form a book; compare 册.
Radical: 冂 (wide), shared by 13 characters on this site.
How to remember 冊
Picture the vertical strokes as bamboo strips standing side by side, with a cord running across to tie them together. That bundle of tied strips is an old-style book, so 冊 (cè) means book or volume.
冊 is a variant form of 册, and the common words are usually written with 册, as in 手册 (shǒucè, handbook) and 注册 (zhùcè, to register). It also works as a measure word for books or volumes. Example: 这套书一共有三册。(Zhè tào shū yígòng yǒu sān cè.) This set of books has three volumes in total.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes misread 冊 as 用 (yòng) or 再 (zài) because of the similar frame shape, but 冊 has separate upright strips crossed by one horizontal line. Also note the fourth tone: cè, not cē or cě.
Common words with 冊
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
Characters that contain 冊
Learning 冊 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 冊
How many strokes are in 冊?
冊 is written with 5 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 冊 mean?
冊 (cè) means book, volume, register, list. A common word with it is 注册 (zhùcè), meaning "to register; to enroll".
How do you pronounce 冊?
冊 is pronounced cè, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 冊?
The radical of 冊 is 冂, which carries the idea of "wide". Dictionaries list 冊 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 冊?
冊 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 册, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What is the difference between 冊 and 册?
They are the same character with the same sound and meaning. 冊 is a variant shape, while 册 is the form you will usually see in modern texts, so words like 相册 (xiàngcè, photo album) are normally written with 册.
How is 冊 different from 本 as a measure word for books?
本 (běn) is the everyday measure word for a single book, as in 一本书. 冊 is more formal and often refers to one volume within a set or series, as in 第二册 (dì èr cè, volume two).