帅 meaning and stroke order
(bound form) commander-in-chief; (bound form) to lead; to command; handsome; graceful; dashing; elegant
How to write 帅, 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 帅
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) commander-in-chief
- (bound form) to lead; to command
- handsome; graceful; dashing; elegant
- (coll.) cool!; sweet!
- (Chinese chess) general (on the red side, equivalent to a king in Western chess)
How 帅 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. An army officer carrying a weapon 刂 and a flag 巾.
Radical: 巾 (cloth), shared by 53 characters on this site.
How to remember 帅
Picture an army officer holding a weapon 刂 on the left and a flag 巾 on the right. A commander who leads with blade and banner looks impressive, which is why 帅 (shuài) also means handsome or cool.
In everyday speech 帅 (shuài) is used to praise how someone looks or what they did, often for men, and 帅哥 (shuàigē) is a common casual way to address a young man. The military sense survives in words like 元帅 (yuánshuài) and 统帅 (tǒngshuài). Example: 你今天真帅。(Nǐ jīntiān zhēn shuài.) You look really handsome today.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 帅 (shuài) with 师 (shī, teacher), which looks almost the same but has an extra horizontal stroke on top of the right side. Also keep the fourth tone in shuài, since a flat shuāi sounds like 摔 (shuāi, to fall).
Common words with 帅
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
帅 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 帅
How many strokes are in 帅?
帅 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 帅 mean?
帅 (shuài) means (bound form) commander-in-chief; (bound form) to lead; to command; handsome; graceful; dashing; elegant. A common word with it is 帅哥 (shuàigē), meaning "handsome guy; lady-killer".
How do you pronounce 帅?
帅 is pronounced shuài, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 帅?
The radical of 帅 is 巾, which carries the idea of "cloth". Dictionaries list 帅 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 帅?
The traditional form of 帅 is 帥. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 帅 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 帅 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 帅 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.
Can 帅 be used to describe women?
It is mainly used for men, but people do call a woman 帅 when she looks cool, confident, or stylish in a tomboyish way. For general beauty, 漂亮 (piàoliang) or 美 (měi) are more typical for women.
Can 帅 describe actions, not just looks?
Yes. In casual speech you can say a move, a goal, or a decision is 帅, meaning cool or impressive. For example, 这个球进得太帅了 (Zhège qiú jìn de tài shuài le) means that goal was so cool, and 帅呆了 (shuàidāile) is an even stronger way to say awesome.