椎 meaning and stroke order
Spine, vertebra; hammer, mallet
How to write 椎, 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 椎
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) vertebra
- hammer; mallet (variant of 槌[chui2])
- variant of 捶[chui2]
How 椎 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Wood.
木 gives the meaning and 隹 hints at the sound.
Radical: 木 (tree), shared by 388 characters on this site.
How to remember 椎
椎 combines 木 (wood) with 隹 (zhuī, a short-tailed bird), which gives the sound. Picture a wooden mallet or a stack of wooden blocks lined up like the bones of your back.
In modern Chinese 椎 is read zhuī almost every time and appears in words about the spine, such as 脊椎 (jǐzhuī) and 颈椎 (jǐngzhuī, neck vertebrae). Example: 他的颈椎不太好。(Tā de jǐngzhuī bú tài hǎo.) His neck vertebrae are not in good shape. The reading chuí, meaning hammer, is rare and is usually written 槌 or 捶 today.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 椎 (zhuī) with 锥 (zhuī, awl or cone), which has the metal radical 钅 instead of 木. Remember that bones in 脊椎 take 木, and a sharp awl 锥子 (zhuīzi) takes metal.
Common words with 椎
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 脊椎 | jǐzhuī | vertebra; backbone |
Questions about 椎
How many strokes are in 椎?
椎 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 椎 mean?
椎 (chuí) means spine, vertebra; hammer, mallet. A common word with it is 脊椎 (jǐzhuī), meaning "vertebra; backbone".
How do you pronounce 椎?
椎 is pronounced chuí, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 椎?
The radical of 椎 is 木, which carries the idea of "tree". Dictionaries list 椎 under this radical.
Should I say jǐzhuī or jǐchuí for spine?
Say 脊椎 (jǐzhuī). The chuí reading is only for the old meaning of hammer or beating, which is rarely used now.
What other common words use 椎 besides 脊椎?
You will often see 颈椎 (jǐngzhuī, cervical vertebrae), 腰椎 (yāozhuī, lumbar vertebrae), and 椎骨 (zhuīgǔ, vertebra). They come up a lot in health and medical contexts.