寿 meaning and stroke order
Old age, longevity; lifespan
How to write 寿, stroke by stroke
7 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
- 7
Meaning of 寿
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- long life
- old age
- age
- life
- birthday
- funerary
How 寿 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. Altered form of 老.
Radical: 寸 (inch), shared by 18 characters on this site.
How to remember 寿
Picture 丰 (fēng, abundant) sitting on top of 寸 (cùn, an inch): a life full and abundant, measured out inch by inch over many years. The etymology notes that 寿 is an altered form of 老 (lǎo, old), so link it to growing old and living long.
寿 rarely stands alone in modern speech. It appears in words like 长寿 (chángshòu, longevity), 寿命 (shòumìng, lifespan) and birthday phrases for elders. Example: 祝您健康长寿。(Zhù nín jiànkāng chángshòu.) I wish you good health and a long life.
Common mistake: Learners often write the top part as 丰 with only two horizontal strokes, or confuse 寿 with 春 (chūn, spring), which has a similar top but 日 below instead of 寸. Also remember the tone is fourth, shòu, not shōu like 收 (to receive).
Common words with 寿
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
寿 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 寿
Learning 寿 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 寿
How many strokes are in 寿?
寿 is written with 7 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 寿 mean?
寿 (shòu) means old age, longevity; lifespan. A common word with it is 寿司 (shòusī), meaning "sushi".
How do you pronounce 寿?
寿 is pronounced shòu, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 寿?
The radical of 寿 is 寸, which carries the idea of "inch". Dictionaries list 寿 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 寿?
The traditional form of 寿 is 壽. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 寿 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 寿 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 寿 is part of the HSK 5 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
Why is sushi written 寿司 in Chinese?
寿司 (shòusī) is borrowed from Japanese, where these characters were chosen for their sound and lucky meaning. In Chinese it simply means sushi and has nothing to do with longevity in everyday use.
Can I use 寿 for anyone's birthday?
Words like 祝寿 (zhùshòu, to celebrate a birthday) and 寿星 (shòuxīng, the birthday person) are mainly used for older people. For a young friend, just say 生日快乐 (shēngrì kuàilè).