汝 meaning and stroke order
You
How to write 汝, stroke by stroke
6 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
- 5
- 6
Meaning of 汝
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- thou
How 汝 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Water.
氵 gives the meaning and 女 hints at the sound.
Radical: 氵 (water), shared by 467 characters on this site.
How to remember 汝
汝 combines the water radical 氵 with 女 (nǚ), which gives the sound. Picture speaking to someone across a river: "you" over the water, with 女 hinting at the rǔ sound.
汝 is a classical word for "you", similar to English "thou". Today you see it in classical texts, idioms, historical dramas and some names, not in everyday speech. Example: 吾与汝 (wú yǔ rǔ) "I and you".
Common mistake: Learners often read 汝 as nǚ because of the 女 component, but it is rǔ with a third tone. Also do not confuse it with 如 (rú, "like, as"), which has 女 on the left and 口 on the right.
Questions about 汝
How many strokes are in 汝?
汝 is written with 6 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 汝 mean?
汝 (rǔ) means you.
How do you pronounce 汝?
汝 is pronounced rǔ, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 汝?
The radical of 汝 is 氵, which carries the idea of "water". Dictionaries list 汝 under this radical.
Can I use 汝 instead of 你 in modern Chinese?
Not in normal conversation. 你 (nǐ) is the everyday word, and 汝 sounds archaic or literary. People sometimes use 汝 jokingly or for a classical flavor.
Is 汝 used in any place names?
Yes. It appears in names like 汝河 (Rǔ Hé), a river in Henan, and 汝州 (Rǔzhōu), a city there. This fits the water radical, since the character was also a river name.