尺 meaning and stroke order
A Chinese foot; one-third of a meter; a ruler
How to write 尺, stroke by stroke
4 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
Meaning of 尺
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- a Chinese foot
- one-third of a meter
- a ruler
- a tape-measure
- one of the three acupoints for measuring pulse in Chinese medicine
- one of the characters used to represent a musical note in gongche notation, 工尺譜|工尺谱[gong1 che3 pu3]
How 尺 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. Picture of a man measuring by pacing.
Radical: 尸 (body), shared by 40 characters on this site.
How to remember 尺
The etymology hint says 尺 pictures a man measuring by pacing. See 尸 as the person's body and the long hooked stroke 乚 as a leg striding out to measure one foot of distance.
尺 (chǐ) appears mostly in compounds like 尺子 (chǐzi, ruler), 尺寸 (chǐcùn, size) and 尺码 (chǐmǎ, clothing size). As a traditional unit, one 尺 is one-third of a meter. Example: 这件衣服的尺码太小了。(Zhè jiàn yīfu de chǐmǎ tài xiǎo le.) This piece of clothing is too small a size.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 尺 with 尽 (jìn), which adds two dots under the same frame. Also note that 尺 means a ruler only in words like 尺子. On its own it usually means the length unit.
Common words with 尺
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 尺寸 | chǐcùn | size; dimensions; measurements (esp. of clothes); (coll.) propriety | HSK 4 |
| 尺子 | chǐzi | ruler (measuring instrument) | HSK 4 |
| 尺度 | chǐdù | scale; yardstick | HSK 7-9 |
| 英尺 | yīngchǐ | foot (unit of length equal to 0.3048 m) | |
| 公尺 | gōngchǐ | (Tw) meter (unit of length) | |
| 尺码 | chǐmǎ | size; fitting (of apparel) | |
| 近在咫尺 | jìnzàizhǐchǐ | (idiom) very close; almost within reach; close at hand | |
| 得寸进尺 | décùnjìnchǐ | lit. win an inch, want a foot (idiom); fig. not satisfied with small gains; give him an in |
尺 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 尺
Learning 尺 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 尺
How many strokes are in 尺?
尺 is written with 4 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 尺 mean?
尺 (chǐ) means a Chinese foot; one-third of a meter; a ruler. A common word with it is 尺寸 (chǐcùn), meaning "size; dimensions; measurements (esp. of clothes); (coll.) propriety".
How do you pronounce 尺?
尺 is pronounced chǐ, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 尺?
The radical of 尺 is 尸, which carries the idea of "body". Dictionaries list 尺 under this radical.
Is 尺 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 尺 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.
Is 尺 the same as an English foot?
No. A Chinese 尺 (市尺) is one-third of a meter, about 33 cm. The imperial foot is 英尺 (yīngchǐ), which is 0.3048 m.
When is 尺 pronounced chě?
Only in traditional gongche music notation, as in 工尺谱 (gōngchěpǔ), where it names a musical note. In everyday Chinese it is always chǐ.