物 meaning and stroke order
Thing, substance, matter; creature
How to write 物, stroke by stroke
8 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
- 7
- 8
Meaning of 物
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) thing
- (literary) the outside world as distinct from oneself; people other than oneself
How 物 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Ox.
牛 gives the meaning and 勿 hints at the sound.
Radical: 牛 (ox), shared by 34 characters on this site.
How to remember 物
物 is pictophonetic: 牛 (niú, ox) on the left gives the meaning and 勿 (wù) on the right gives the sound. Picture an ox as the most valuable thing a farmer owns, so ox plus wù means "thing" or "creature."
物 is a bound form, so it almost always appears inside words like 动物 (dòngwù, animal), 食物 (shíwù, food) and 礼物 (lǐwù, gift). Example: 我给妈妈买了一个礼物。(Wǒ gěi māma mǎile yí ge lǐwù.) I bought my mom a gift.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes write the right side as 匆 or 勾, but it is 勿 with two short strokes inside. Also note the ox radical on the left is squeezed into 牛 with a rising last stroke, not a full 牛.
Common words with 物
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 食物 | shíwù | food | HSK 2 |
| 动物 | dòngwù | animal | HSK 2 |
| 礼物 | lǐwù | gift; present | HSK 2 |
| 动物园 | dòngwùyuán | zoo | HSK 2 |
| 事物 | shìwù | thing; object | HSK 4 |
| 药物 | yàowù | medicaments; pharmaceuticals | HSK 4 |
| 植物 | zhíwù | plant; vegetation | HSK 4 |
| 购物 | gòuwù | shopping | HSK 4 |
| 人物 | rénwù | person; personage; figure (esp. sb of importance); character (in a play, novel etc) | HSK 5 |
| 博物馆 | bówùguǎn | museum | HSK 5 |
| 物质 | wùzhì | matter; substance | HSK 5 |
| 物业 | wùyè | property; real estate | HSK 5 |
| 物价 | wùjià | (commodity) prices | HSK 5 |
| 物品 | wùpǐn | articles; goods | HSK 6 |
物 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 物
How many strokes are in 物?
物 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 物 mean?
物 (wù) means thing, substance, matter; creature. A common word with it is 食物 (shíwù), meaning "food".
How do you pronounce 物?
物 is pronounced wù, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 物?
The radical of 物 is 牛, which carries the idea of "ox". Dictionaries list 物 under this radical.
Is 物 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 物 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.
What is the difference between 东西 and 物 for "thing"?
东西 (dōngxi) is the everyday standalone word for a thing. 物 cannot stand alone in speech and is used inside compounds like 物品 or 购物.
Does 物 only mean objects, or living things too?
It covers both. 动物 (animal) and 植物 (plant) are living things, while 药物 (medicine) and 食物 (food) are substances.