嗜 meaning and stroke order
Addicted to, fond of, with a weakness for
How to write 嗜, stroke by stroke
13 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 嗜
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) to have a strong liking for; to be addicted to
How 嗜 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Mouth.
口 gives the meaning and 耆 hints at the sound.
Radical: 口 (mouth), shared by 428 characters on this site.
How to remember 嗜
嗜 has a mouth 口 on the left and 耆 (qí, elderly) on the right, which gives the sound. Picture an old person whose mouth keeps craving the same favorite food year after year.
嗜 is a bound form, so it appears inside words like 嗜好 (shìhào, habit, indulgence) and 嗜血 (shìxuè, bloodthirsty) rather than on its own in speech. It often carries a sense of strong or excessive liking. Example: 他嗜酒如命。(Tā shì jiǔ rú mìng.) He loves drinking more than life itself.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes read 嗜 as qí because of the phonetic part 耆, but it is pronounced shì with a falling fourth tone. Also do not use 嗜 alone the way you would use 喜欢 (xǐhuan) in everyday talk, since it sounds formal or literary.
Common words with 嗜
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 嗜好 | shìhào | hobby; indulgence; habit; addiction | HSK 7-9 |
| 嗜血 | shìxuè | bloodthirsty; bloodsucking |
嗜 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 嗜
How many strokes are in 嗜?
嗜 is written with 13 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 嗜 mean?
嗜 (shì) means addicted to, fond of, with a weakness for. A common word with it is 嗜好 (shìhào), meaning "hobby; indulgence; habit; addiction".
How do you pronounce 嗜?
嗜 is pronounced shì, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 嗜?
The radical of 嗜 is 口, which carries the idea of "mouth". Dictionaries list 嗜 under this radical.
Is 嗜 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 嗜 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Is 嗜好 positive or negative?
嗜好 can be neutral, like a habit or hobby, but it often hints at an indulgence or vice such as smoking or drinking. For a plain hobby, 爱好 (àihào) is the more natural, positive choice.
What does 嗜睡 mean?
嗜睡 (shìshuì) means always sleepy or having excessive sleepiness. It is common in medical or health contexts, for example describing a side effect of medicine.