尋 meaning and stroke order
To seek; to search for, to look for; ancient
How to write 尋, stroke by stroke
12 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
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
Meaning of 尋
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to search
- to look for
- to seek
How 尋 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A hand 彐 looking 工 for an item 口; 寸 provides the pronunciation.
Radical: 寸 (inch), shared by 18 characters on this site.
How to remember 尋
A hand 彐 at the top works 工 to dig out an item 口, and 寸 (cùn) at the bottom gives the sound. Picture a hand rummaging through things until it finds what it is seeking.
尋 is the traditional form, and 寻 is the simplified form used in mainland China. It rarely stands alone in modern speech and usually appears in words like 尋找 (xúnzhǎo, to look for) and 尋常 (xúncháng, ordinary). Example: 我在尋找我的鑰匙。(Wǒ zài xúnzhǎo wǒ de yàoshi.) I am looking for my keys.
Common mistake: Learners often write the middle row as 口工 instead of 工口, with 工 on the left and 口 on the right. Also remember the tone is second tone xún, not xùn like 訊 (xùn, message).
Common words with 尋
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 尋找 | xúnzhǎo | to seek; to look for | HSK 4 |
| 尋求 | xúnqiú | to seek; to look for | HSK 5 |
| 尋常 | xúncháng | usual; common; ordinary | HSK 7-9 |
| 搜尋 | sōuxún | to search; to look for | HSK 7-9 |
| 不同尋常 | bùtóng-xúncháng | out of the ordinary; unusual | HSK 7-9 |
| 尋覓 | xúnmì | to look for | HSK 7-9 |
| 耐人尋味 | nàirénxúnwèi | (idiom) thought-provoking; to provide food for thought | HSK 7-9 |
| 追尋 | zhuīxún | to pursue; to track down | |
| 找尋 | zhǎoxún | to look for; to seek | |
| 尋寶 | xúnbǎo | treasure hunt | |
| 非同尋常 | fēitóngxúncháng | (idiom) extraordinary | |
| 探尋 | tànxún | to search; to seek | |
| 自尋死路 | zìxúnsǐlù | to follow the path to one's own doom (idiom); to bring about one's own destruction | |
| 非比尋常 | fēibǐxúncháng | extraordinary |
Questions about 尋
How many strokes are in 尋?
尋 is written with 12 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 尋 mean?
尋 (xún) means to seek; to search for, to look for; ancient. A common word with it is 寻找 (xúnzhǎo), meaning "to seek; to look for".
How do you pronounce 尋?
尋 is pronounced xún, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 尋?
The radical of 尋 is 寸, which carries the idea of "inch". Dictionaries list 尋 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 尋?
尋 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 寻, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What is the difference between 尋找 and 找?
找 (zhǎo) is the everyday word for looking for something. 尋找 (xúnzhǎo) sounds more formal or literary and often suggests a longer, more serious search, such as 尋找答案 (looking for answers).
Why does 尋常 mean ordinary if 尋 means to seek?
In this word 尋 keeps an ancient sense tied to a unit of length, and 尋常 came to mean something of normal size, then usual or common. That is why 不同尋常 (bùtóng-xúncháng) means out of the ordinary.