市 meaning and stroke order
Market; city; municipality (administrative unit)
How to write 市, stroke by stroke
5 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
Meaning of 市
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- market
- city
- municipality (administrative unit)
- (literary) to trade; to buy and sell goods
How 市 is built
Components of the character.
Radical: 巾 (cloth), shared by 53 characters on this site.
How to remember 市
Picture a market stall: the top 亠 is a little roof, and 巾 (jīn, cloth) below is a cloth banner hanging under it. A roof with a cloth sign out front is a place to trade, and many markets together make a 市 (shì), a city.
市 is used for markets and for cities, especially as an official administrative unit, as in 北京市 (Běijīng Shì). It appears in many everyday words like 超市 (chāoshì, supermarket) and 城市 (chéngshì, city). Example: 我去超市买水果。 (Wǒ qù chāoshì mǎi shuǐguǒ.) I am going to the supermarket to buy fruit.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 市 (shì) with 巿 (fú), an old character for a ceremonial apron. In 市 the top is a separate dot over a horizontal stroke, while in 巿 the vertical line runs straight through from top to bottom. Also do not mix up 市 (shì) with 是 (shì) or 事 (shì). They share the same sound but have different meanings.
Common words with 市
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 市长 | shìzhǎng | mayor | HSK 2 |
| 超市 | chāoshì | supermarket (abbr. for 超級市場|超级市场[chao1 ji2 shi4 chang3]) | HSK 2 |
| 城市 | chéngshì | city; town | HSK 3 |
| 市场 | shìchǎng | marketplace; market; bazaar; (economics) market | HSK 3 |
| 市区 | shìqū | urban district; downtown | HSK 4 |
| 市民 | shìmín | city resident; townspeople | HSK 6 |
| 都市 | dūshì | city; metropolis | HSK 6 |
| 上市 | shàngshì | to hit the market (of a new product); to float (a company on the stock market) | HSK 6 |
| 股市 | gǔshì | stock market | HSK 7-9 |
| 夜市 | yèshì | night market | HSK 7-9 |
| 菜市场 | càishìchǎng | food market | HSK 7-9 |
| 市场经济 | shìchǎng jīngjì | market economy | HSK 7-9 |
| 市中心 | shìzhōngxīn | city center; downtown | |
| 大城市 | dàchéngshì | major city; metropolis |
市 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 市
Learning 市 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 市
How many strokes are in 市?
市 is written with 5 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 市 mean?
市 (shì) means market; city; municipality (administrative unit). A common word with it is 市长 (shìzhǎng), meaning "mayor".
How do you pronounce 市?
市 is pronounced shì, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 市?
The radical of 市 is 巾, which carries the idea of "cloth". Dictionaries list 市 under this radical.
Is 市 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 市 is part of the HSK 2 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 2.
What is the difference between 市 and 城市?
城市 (chéngshì) is the general word for a city in everyday speech. 市 alone is mostly used after a place name as an official title, like 上海市 (Shànghǎi Shì), or inside compound words.
What does 上市 mean?
上市 (shàngshì) means a new product goes on sale, such as a new phone hitting the market. In business it also means a company is listed on the stock market.