寻 meaning and stroke order
To search; to look for; to seek
How to write 寻, stroke by stroke
6 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
- 6
Meaning of 寻
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to search
- to look for
- to seek
How 寻 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Snout.
彐 gives the meaning and 寸 hints at the sound.
Radical: 彐 (snout), shared by 9 characters on this site.
How to remember 寻
寻 (xún) stacks 彐, a component whose hint is "snout," on top of 寸 (cùn), which also gives the sound. Picture an animal's snout sniffing low to the ground, searching inch by inch (寸 means "inch").
寻 rarely stands alone in modern speech. It usually appears in compounds like 寻找 (xúnzhǎo) and 寻求 (xúnqiú), which sound a bit more formal than 找 (zhǎo). Example: 他在寻找丢失的钥匙。 (Tā zài xúnzhǎo diūshī de yàoshi.) He is looking for his lost keys.
Common mistake: Learners often write the top as 3 strokes that cross over, or confuse 彐 with 크-like shapes. The middle horizontal of 彐 does not stick out on the left. Also note that 寸 (cùn) is fourth tone, but 寻 is second tone xún.
Common words with 寻
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 寻找 | xúnzhǎo | to seek; to look for | HSK 4 |
| 寻求 | xúnqiú | to seek; to look for | HSK 5 |
| 寻常 | xúncháng | usual; common; ordinary | HSK 7-9 |
| 搜寻 | sōuxún | to search; to look for | HSK 7-9 |
| 不同寻常 | bùtóng-xúncháng | out of the ordinary; unusual | HSK 7-9 |
| 寻觅 | xúnmì | to look for | HSK 7-9 |
| 耐人寻味 | nàirénxúnwèi | (idiom) thought-provoking; to provide food for thought | HSK 7-9 |
| 追寻 | zhuīxún | to pursue; to track down | |
| 找寻 | zhǎoxún | to look for; to seek | |
| 寻宝 | xúnbǎo | treasure hunt | |
| 非同寻常 | fēitóngxúncháng | (idiom) extraordinary | |
| 探寻 | tànxún | to search; to seek | |
| 自寻死路 | zìxúnsǐlù | to follow the path to one's own doom (idiom); to bring about one's own destruction | |
| 非比寻常 | fēibǐxúncháng | extraordinary |
寻 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 寻
How many strokes are in 寻?
寻 is written with 6 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 寻 mean?
寻 (xún) means to search; to look for; to seek. A common word with it is 寻找 (xúnzhǎo), meaning "to seek; to look for".
How do you pronounce 寻?
寻 is pronounced xún, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 寻?
The radical of 寻 is 彐, which carries the idea of "snout". Dictionaries list 寻 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 寻?
The traditional form of 寻 is 尋. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 寻 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 寻 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 寻 is part of the HSK 4 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
What is the difference between 寻找 and 找?
找 (zhǎo) is the everyday word for looking for something, like your phone. 寻找 (xúnzhǎo) is more formal or literary and often goes with abstract or serious goals, such as 寻找答案 (xúnzhǎo dá'àn), to search for an answer.
Why does 寻常 mean ordinary if 寻 means to search?
In 寻常 (xúncháng), 寻 keeps an old sense as a unit of length, which explains the dictionary gloss "ancient." Together with 常, it came to mean something common or usual. The negative 不同寻常 (bùtóng-xúncháng) means unusual.