瘦 meaning and stroke order
Thin; to lose weight; (of clothing) tight
How to write 瘦, stroke by stroke
14 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 瘦
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- thin
- to lose weight
- (of clothing) tight
- (of meat) lean
- (of land) unproductive
How 瘦 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Sickness.
疒 gives the meaning and 叟 hints at the sound.
Radical: 疒 (sickness), shared by 127 characters on this site.
How to remember 瘦
瘦 sits under the sickness radical 疒, with 叟 (sǒu, old man) giving the sound. Picture an old man 叟 lying sick in bed 疒, growing thinner by the day.
瘦 describes people or animals that are thin, and it also means "lean" for meat and "tight" for clothes. With 了 it means someone has lost weight: 你瘦了。(Nǐ shòu le.) You've lost weight.
Common mistake: Learners often write 瘦 with the plain roof 广 instead of 疒, which has two extra dots on the left. Also keep the fourth tone shòu so it does not sound like 收 (shōu, to receive) or 手 (shǒu, hand).
Common words with 瘦
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 瘦小 | shòuxiǎo | slightly-built; petite | |
| 瘦弱 | shòuruò | thin and weak | |
| 消瘦 | xiāoshòu | to waste away; to become thin | |
| 骨瘦如柴 | gǔshòurúchái | (idiom) as thin as a match; emaciated |
瘦 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 瘦
How many strokes are in 瘦?
瘦 is written with 14 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 瘦 mean?
瘦 (shòu) means thin; to lose weight; (of clothing) tight. A common word with it is 瘦小 (shòuxiǎo), meaning "slightly-built; petite".
How do you pronounce 瘦?
瘦 is pronounced shòu, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 瘦?
The radical of 瘦 is 疒, which carries the idea of "sickness". Dictionaries list 瘦 under this radical.
Is 瘦 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 瘦 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 opposite of 瘦?
For people the opposite is 胖 (pàng, fat, chubby). For meat the opposite is 肥 (féi, fatty), as in 肥肉 (féiròu) fatty meat versus 瘦肉 (shòuròu) lean meat. Using 肥 for people sounds rude.
Is it polite to tell someone they are 瘦?
Usually yes. In Chinese culture 你瘦了 (nǐ shòu le) is often a compliment or a sign of concern. However, 太瘦了 (tài shòu le, too thin) can suggest the person looks unhealthy.