熟 meaning and stroke order
Ripe; mature; thoroughly cooked; done; familiar; acquainted
How to write 熟, 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 熟
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- ripe; mature
- thoroughly cooked; done
- familiar; acquainted
- experienced; skilled
- (of sleep etc) deep; profound
- also pr. [shou2]
How 熟 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Fire.
灬 gives the meaning and 孰 hints at the sound.
Radical: 灬 (fire), shared by 28 characters on this site.
How to remember 熟
熟 is fire 灬 under 孰 (shú), which gives the sound. Food sits over the fire until it is done, and anything you go over again and again becomes familiar.
熟 describes cooked food, ripe fruit, and people or things you know well, as in 熟人 (shúrén, acquaintance) and 熟悉 (shúxi, to be familiar with). It also appears in 成熟 (chéngshú, mature) and 熟练 (shúliàn, skilled). Example: 我跟他很熟。(Wǒ gēn tā hěn shú.) I know him well.
Common mistake: Learners often drop the four fire dots and write 孰, a different and mostly literary character meaning "who" or "which". Also note that in everyday speech many people say shóu instead of shú, especially when the word stands alone, as in 饭熟了 (fàn shóu le).
Common words with 熟
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 成熟 | chéngshú | mature; ripe; to mature; to ripen | HSK 3 |
| 熟人 | shúrén | acquaintance; friend | HSK 3 |
| 熟练 | shúliàn | practiced; proficient | HSK 4 |
| 熟悉 | shúxi | to be familiar with; to know well | HSK 5 |
| 耳熟能详 | ěrshú-néngxiáng | what's frequently heard can be repeated in detail (idiom) | HSK 7-9 |
| 眼熟 | yǎnshú | familiar-looking; to seem familiar | |
| 面熟 | miànshú | to look familiar; familiar-looking | |
| 熟知 | shúzhī | to be well acquainted with | |
| 深思熟虑 | shēnsīshúlǜ | mature reflection; after careful deliberations | |
| 熟睡 | shúshuì | asleep; sleeping soundly | |
| 耳熟 | ěrshú | to sound familiar; familiar-sounding | |
| 煮熟 | zhǔshóu | to boil thoroughly; to cook thoroughly | |
| 熟识 | shúshi | to be well acquainted with; to know well | |
| 熟食店 | shúshídiàn | deli; delicatessen |
熟 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 熟
How many strokes are in 熟?
熟 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 熟 mean?
熟 (shú) means ripe; mature; thoroughly cooked; done; familiar; acquainted. A common word with it is 成熟 (chéngshú), meaning "mature; ripe; to mature; to ripen".
How do you pronounce 熟?
熟 is pronounced shú, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 熟?
The radical of 熟 is 灬, which carries the idea of "fire". Dictionaries list 熟 under this radical.
Is 熟 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 熟 is part of the HSK 2 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 2.
Is 熟 pronounced shú or shóu?
Both are standard. Shú is the formal reading used in most compound words like 成熟 and 熟悉, while shóu is common in casual speech when 熟 is used by itself, such as 熟了 (shóu le).
What is the opposite of 熟?
The opposite is 生 (shēng). It can mean raw or unripe, as in 生肉 (shēngròu, raw meat), or unfamiliar, as in 陌生 (mòshēng, strange).