猜 meaning and stroke order
To guess
How to write 猜, stroke by stroke
11 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 猜
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to guess
How 猜 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Dog.
犭 gives the meaning and 青 hints at the sound.
Radical: 犭 (dog), shared by 88 characters on this site.
How to remember 猜
猜 is made of the dog radical 犭 (meaning) and 青 (qīng, sound). Picture a dog sniffing around, trying to guess where the bone is hidden.
猜 (cāi) is a common verb for guessing, often used on its own in speech, as in 你猜 (nǐ cāi) "guess what." It also appears in words like 猜测 (cāicè) and 猜中 (cāizhòng). Example: 你猜我今天见到谁了？ (Nǐ cāi wǒ jīntiān jiàndào shéi le?) Guess who I saw today.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes read 猜 as qīng because of 青, but it is cāi, first tone. Also do not confuse it with 情 (qíng, feeling) or 清 (qīng, clear), which share the same right side.
Common words with 猜
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 猜测 | cāicè | to guess; to conjecture | HSK 5 |
| 猜想 | cāixiǎng | to guess; to conjecture; to suppose; (math.) conjecture; hypothesis | HSK 7-9 |
| 猜谜 | cāimí | to answer a riddle; to guess (i.e. form an opinion without much evidence) | HSK 7-9 |
| 猜中 | cāizhòng | to guess correctly; to figure out the right answer | |
| 猜疑 | cāiyí | to suspect; to have misgivings | |
| 瞎猜 | xiācāi | to make a wild guess; blind guess | |
| 猜拳 | cāiquán | finger-guessing game; rock-paper-scissors game |
猜 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 猜
How many strokes are in 猜?
猜 is written with 11 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 猜 mean?
猜 (cāi) means to guess. A common word with it is 猜测 (cāicè), meaning "to guess; to conjecture".
How do you pronounce 猜?
猜 is pronounced cāi, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 猜?
The radical of 猜 is 犭, which carries the idea of "dog". Dictionaries list 猜 under this radical.
Is 猜 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 猜 is part of the HSK 5 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
What is the difference between 猜 and 猜测?
猜 is the everyday spoken verb, as in 你猜 (nǐ cāi). 猜测 (cāicè) is more formal and is often used as a noun for a guess or speculation, as in 这只是猜测 (zhè zhǐshì cāicè), this is only speculation.
Does 猜 mean to suspect someone?
On its own it usually just means to guess. To say suspect or distrust, Chinese uses 猜疑 (cāiyí), as in 他们互相猜疑 (tāmen hùxiāng cāiyí), they suspect each other.