搜 meaning and stroke order
To search; variant of 蒐|搜[sou1]
How to write 搜, 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.
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Meaning of 搜
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) to collect; to gather
- to search
- variant of 蒐|搜[sou1]
How 搜 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Hand.
扌 gives the meaning and 叟 hints at the sound.
Radical: 扌 (hand), shared by 342 characters on this site.
How to remember 搜
搜 is a hand 扌 next to 叟 (sǒu), which gives the sound. Picture your hand rummaging through a drawer as you search for something.
搜 usually appears in two-character words like 搜索 (sōusuǒ), 搜查 (sōuchá) and 搜集 (sōují). In casual speech, 搜 alone often means to look something up online. Example: 你上网搜一下。(Nǐ shàng wǎng sōu yíxià.) Just search for it online.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 搜 with 瘦 (shòu, thin) and 嫂 (sǎo, sister-in-law), which share the 叟 part. Only 搜 has the hand radical 扌, because searching is done with your hands. Also keep the first tone: sōu, not sǒu.
Common words with 搜
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 搜索 | sōusuǒ | to search (a place, a database, online etc); to search for (sth) | HSK 5 |
| 搜查 | sōuchá | to search | HSK 7-9 |
| 搜寻 | sōuxún | to search; to look for | HSK 7-9 |
| 搜集 | sōují | to gather; to collect | HSK 7-9 |
| 搜救 | sōujiù | search and rescue | HSK 7-9 |
| 搜捕 | sōubǔ | to hunt and arrest (fugitives); to track down and arrest | |
| 搜身 | sōushēn | to do a body search; to frisk | |
| 搜刮 | sōuguā | to rake in (money); to plunder; to milk people dry | |
| 搜索队 | sōusuǒduì | search party |
搜 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 搜
How many strokes are in 搜?
搜 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 搜 mean?
搜 (sōu) means to search; variant of 蒐|搜[sou1]. A common word with it is 搜索 (sōusuǒ), meaning "to search (a place, a database, online etc); to search for (sth)".
How do you pronounce 搜?
搜 is pronounced sōu, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 搜?
The radical of 搜 is 扌, which carries the idea of "hand". Dictionaries list 搜 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 搜?
The traditional form of 搜 is 蒐. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 搜 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 搜 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 搜 is part of the HSK 5 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 搜索 and 搜查?
搜索 (sōusuǒ) is the general word for searching, and it is the standard word for searching online or in a database. 搜查 (sōuchá) means an official search of a place or person, such as a police search of a house.
How do you say search engine in Chinese?
A search engine is 搜索引擎 (sōusuǒ yǐnqíng). People also use 搜 by itself in daily speech, as in 我搜了一下 (wǒ sōu le yíxià), I looked it up.