TraceHanzi

撕 meaning and stroke order

sī

To tear

HSK 7-915 strokesRadical 扌
Strokes15
Pinyinsī
ToneTone 1
Frequency#1,971
Printable worksheetPractice all HSK 7-9 characters

How to write 撕, stroke by stroke

15 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 撕

Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.

sīfirst tone (high and level)
  1. to tear

How 撕 is built

Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Hand.

shǒuhand+sīthis

扌 gives the meaning and 斯 hints at the sound.

Radical: 扌 (hand), shared by 342 characters on this site.

How to remember 撕

The hand radical 扌 on the left shows an action done by hand, and 斯 (sī) on the right gives the sound. Picture your hand grabbing paper and tearing it with a sharp "sss" sound, sī.

撕 is the everyday verb for tearing paper, cloth, labels, or tape with your hands. It often takes a result word after it, like 撕掉, 撕破, or 撕碎. Example: 他把信撕了。(Tā bǎ xìn sī le.) He tore up the letter.

Common mistake: Learners often confuse 撕 with 斯 (sī) or 嘶 (sī, to neigh, hoarse). They sound the same, but only 撕 has the hand radical 扌, and it is the only one that means tearing. Also keep the first tone, sī, not sǐ like 死.

Common words with 撕

Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.

WordPinyinMeaningLevel
撕裂sīlièto tear; to rip apart
撕碎sīsuìto tear to shreds
撕掉sīdiàoto tear out (and throw away); to rip away
撕破sīpòto tear; to rip
撕毁sīhuǐto tear up; to rip up
撕烂sīlànto tear up; to tear to pieces

撕 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

小xiǎo心xīn地dì打dǎ开kāi信xìn封fēng，以yǐ免miǎn撕sī破pò。
Open the envelope carefully so it doesn't tear.
他tā把bǎ信xìn撕sī成chéng碎suì片piàn，扔rēng出chū了le窗chuāng外wài。
He tore up his letter into small bits and threw them out the window.
看kàn了le信xìn之zhī后hòu，她tā把bǎ它tā撕sī成chéng碎suì片piàn。
After she had read the letter, she tore it to pieces.
这zhè个ge钉dīng子zi撕sī破pò了le他tā的de夹jiá克kè。
The nail tore his jacket.
这zhè本běn书shū的de头tóu三sān页yè被bèi人rén撕sī掉diào了le。
Someone has ripped out the first three pages of this book.

Questions about 撕

How many strokes are in 撕?

撕 is written with 15 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.

What does 撕 mean?

撕 (sī) means to tear. A common word with it is 撕裂 (sīliè), meaning "to tear; to rip apart".

How do you pronounce 撕?

撕 is pronounced sī, in the first tone (high and level).

What is the radical of 撕?

The radical of 撕 is 扌, which carries the idea of "hand". Dictionaries list 撕 under this radical.

Is 撕 on the HSK exam?

Yes. 撕 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 撕 and 撕毁?

撕 is the basic action of tearing something by hand. 撕毁 (sīhuǐ) means to tear up and destroy, and it is often used figuratively for breaking agreements, as in 撕毁合同 (sīhuǐ hétong), to tear up a contract.

Is 撕 used in slang?

Yes. In online Chinese, 撕 or 撕逼 describes a public quarrel or bitter argument between people. The second form is crude, so use it carefully.

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