屑 meaning and stroke order
Bits, crumbs, scraps; fragments; not worthwhile
How to write 屑, stroke by stroke
10 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 屑
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- bits
- fragments
- crumbs
- filings
- trifling
- trivial
How 屑 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Body.
尸 gives the meaning and 肖 hints at the sound.
Radical: 尸 (body), shared by 40 characters on this site.
How to remember 屑
屑 is built from 尸 (body) on top and 肖 (xiào) underneath, which gives the sound. Picture tiny flakes falling off a body, like crumbs or skin bits, and you have the idea of small scraps.
屑 appears mostly in compounds for small leftover bits, such as 面包屑 (miànbāoxiè, breadcrumbs) and 碎屑 (suìxiè, fragments). Its most common use is in 不屑 (bùxiè), meaning to think something is not worth doing. Example: 他不屑回答这个问题。(Tā bùxiè huídá zhège wèntí.) He couldn't be bothered to answer this question.
Common mistake: Learners often read 屑 as xiāo or xiào because of the phonetic part 肖, but it is pronounced xiè with a falling fourth tone. Also do not confuse it with 削 (xuē/xiāo, to peel), which shares 肖 but has the knife radical 刂.
Common words with 屑
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
屑 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 屑
How many strokes are in 屑?
屑 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 屑 mean?
屑 (xiè) means bits, crumbs, scraps; fragments; not worthwhile. A common word with it is 不屑 (bùxiè), meaning "to disdain to do sth; to think sth not worth doing".
How do you pronounce 屑?
屑 is pronounced xiè, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 屑?
The radical of 屑 is 尸, which carries the idea of "body". Dictionaries list 屑 under this radical.
Is 屑 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 屑 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Is 屑 used on its own in modern Chinese?
Rarely. It usually appears inside words like 面包屑, 木屑 (mùxiè, sawdust) or 不屑. When used alone it tends to sound literary.
What is the difference between 不屑 and 不屑一顾?
不屑 means to disdain doing something and is often followed by a verb, as in 不屑解释 (not deign to explain). 不屑一顾 is an idiom meaning something is not even worth a glance, and it usually stands at the end of a sentence.