殊 meaning and stroke order
Different, special, unusual
How to write 殊, stroke by stroke
10 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 殊
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (literary) to kill; to behead; to sever; to separate; to surpass
- (bound form) different
- (bound form) special; remarkable
- (literary) very; extremely
How 殊 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Depraved.
歹 gives the meaning and 朱 hints at the sound.
Radical: 歹 (corpse), shared by 29 characters on this site.
How to remember 殊
殊 combines 歹 (dǎi, bad, death) with 朱 (zhū), which gives the sound. Think of 歹 as a reminder of its old meaning "to kill or sever," and of something cut off and set apart until it becomes different and special.
In modern Chinese 殊 almost always appears inside fixed words, not on its own. The most common word is 特殊 (tèshū), meaning special or particular. Example: 这是一个特殊的情况。(Zhè shì yí gè tèshū de qíngkuàng.) This is a special situation.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes misread 殊 as zhū because of its phonetic part 朱 (zhū), but 殊 is pronounced shū with an sh sound. Also, 殊 does not mean special when used alone in everyday speech, so say 特殊 (tèshū), not just 殊.
Common words with 殊
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
殊 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 殊
How many strokes are in 殊?
殊 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 殊 mean?
殊 (shū) means different, special, unusual. A common word with it is 特殊 (tèshū), meaning "special; particular".
How do you pronounce 殊?
殊 is pronounced shū, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 殊?
The radical of 殊 is 歹, which carries the idea of "corpse". Dictionaries list 殊 under this radical.
Is 殊 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 殊 is part of the HSK 4 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 特殊 and 特别?
特别 (tèbié) is more casual and can also mean "especially" as an adverb, as in 特别好 (tèbié hǎo). 特殊 (tèshū) is an adjective for things that are out of the ordinary, like special cases or special needs, and it is not used as an adverb.
What does 殊 mean in 殊途同归?
殊途同归 (shū tú tóng guī) means "different roads lead to the same destination." Here 殊 keeps its literary meaning of "different," in contrast with 同 (tóng), meaning same.