水 meaning and stroke order
Water; (after a name) ... River; to swim (used mostly in 會水|会水[hui4 shui3] and 水性[shui3 xing4])
How to write 水, stroke by stroke
4 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
Meaning of 水
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- water
- (after a name) ... River
- to swim (used mostly in 會水|会水[hui4 shui3] and 水性[shui3 xing4])
- (coll.) lacking in substance; shoddy
- (bound form) additional cost; extra income
- classifier for washings of a garment
How 水 is built
Pictographic character. A river running between two banks; compare 川.
How to remember 水
水 (shuǐ) is a picture of a river: the middle stroke is the main stream, and the strokes on each side are water splashing toward the banks. Compare 川 (chuān, river), which shows flowing water as three lines.
水 is the everyday word for water and appears in many drink and liquid words like 汽水 (qìshuǐ, soda), 药水 (yàoshuǐ, liquid medicine) and 矿泉水 (kuàngquánshuǐ, mineral water). It also shows up in abstract words like 水平 (shuǐpíng, level). Example: 我想喝一杯水。(Wǒ xiǎng hē yì bēi shuǐ.) I want to drink a glass of water.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 水 with 永 (yǒng, forever), which has an extra dot on top and a slightly different left side. Also remember the third tone: shuǐ, not shuī or shuì (睡, sleep).
Common words with 水
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 水果 | shuǐguǒ | fruit | HSK 1 |
| 水平 | shuǐpíng | horizontal; level; a standard; a level (of ability, development etc) | HSK 2 |
| 药水 | yàoshuǐ | medicine in liquid form; bottled medicine | HSK 2 |
| 凉水 | liángshuǐ | cool water; unboiled water | HSK 3 |
| 海水 | hǎishuǐ | seawater | HSK 4 |
| 汽水 | qìshuǐ | soda pop; carbonated soft drink | HSK 4 |
| 泪水 | lèishuǐ | teardrop; tears | HSK 4 |
| 矿泉水 | kuàngquánshuǐ | mineral water | HSK 4 |
| 开水 | kāishuǐ | boiled water; boiling water | HSK 4 |
| 纯净水 | chúnjìngshuǐ | purified water | HSK 4 |
| 雨水 | yǔshuǐ | rainwater; rainfall; rain | HSK 5 |
| 水分 | shuǐfèn | moisture content; (fig.) overstatement; padding | HSK 5 |
| 胶水 | jiāoshuǐ | glue | HSK 5 |
| 水库 | shuǐkù | reservoir | HSK 5 |
水 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 水
Learning 水 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 水
How many strokes are in 水?
水 is written with 4 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 水 mean?
水 (shuǐ) means water; (after a name) ... River; to swim (used mostly in 會水|会水[hui4 shui3] and 水性[shui3 xing4]). A common word with it is 水果 (shuǐguǒ), meaning "fruit".
How do you pronounce 水?
水 is pronounced shuǐ, in the third tone (dipping).
Is 水 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 水 is part of the HSK 1 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 1.
Why do so many characters have three dots on the left side?
The three dots 氵 are the compressed form of 水 used when it appears on the left of a character. Characters like 河 (hé, river), 海 (hǎi, sea) and 汤 (tāng, soup) use it to show a link to water or liquid.
Can 水 describe something as poor quality?
Yes, in casual speech 水 can mean shoddy or lacking in substance. For example, 这个电影很水 (zhège diànyǐng hěn shuǐ) means this movie is weak or has little real content.