TraceHanzi

竖 meaning and stroke order

shù

To erect; vertical; vertical stroke (in Chinese characters)

HSK 7-99 strokesRadical 立Traditional 竪Traditional 豎
Strokes9
Pinyinshù
ToneTone 4
Frequency#3,337
Printable worksheetPractice all HSK 7-9 characters

How to write 竖, stroke by stroke

9 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. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9

Meaning of 竖

Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.

shùfourth tone (falling)
  1. to erect
  2. vertical
  3. vertical stroke (in Chinese characters)
  4. variant of 豎|竖[shu4]

How 竖 is built

Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A person 又 standing 立 as straight as a knife 刂.

dāoknife+yòuagain+lìto stand

Radical: 立 (to stand), shared by 14 characters on this site.

How to remember 竖

A hand 又 and a knife 刂 sit on top of 立 (lì, to stand). Picture a person standing as straight as a knife blade, which is what 竖 (shù) means: upright and vertical.

竖 (shù) describes something vertical or the act of setting something upright, and it is also the name of the vertical stroke in Chinese characters. It often pairs with 横 (héng, horizontal), as in 横七竖八 (héngqī-shùbā, in a mess). Example: 他竖起了耳朵。(Tā shùqǐ le ěrduo.) He pricked up his ears.

Common mistake: Learners sometimes write the top part as 坚 (jiān, firm), which has 土 at the bottom instead of 立. Also keep the fourth tone: shù, not shū (书, book).

Common words with 竖

Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.

WordPinyinMeaningLevel
横七竖八héngqī-shùbāin disorder; at sixes and sevens (idiom)HSK 7-9
竖起shùqǐto erect (a tent etc); to prick up (one's ears)
竖琴shùqínharp

竖 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

看kàn到dào鬼guǐ的de时shí候hòu，我wǒ吓xià得de汗hàn毛máo直zhí竖shù。
When I saw the ghost, I was so frightened that my hair stood on end.
我wǒ竖shù起qǐ了le耳ěr朵duǒ听tīng。
I pricked up my ears.
竖shù起qǐ你nǐ的de耳ěr朵duǒ。
Prick up your ears.
他tā开kāi始shǐ说shuō他tā的de秘mì密mì的de时shí候hòu，我wǒ们men都dōu竖shù起qǐ了le耳ěr朵duǒ来lái听tīng。
We were all ears when he started to tell us his secret.
我wǒ跟gēn那nà个ge芬fēn兰lán竖shù琴qín手shǒu怀huái孕yùn了le，他tā就jiù是shì我wǒ昨zuó晚wǎn告gào诉sù你nǐ的de那nà个ge人rén。
I got pregnant from the Finnish harpist that I told you about last night.

Questions about 竖

How many strokes are in 竖?

竖 is written with 9 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.

What does 竖 mean?

竖 (shù) means to erect; vertical; vertical stroke (in Chinese characters). A common word with it is 横七竖八 (héngqī-shùbā), meaning "in disorder; at sixes and sevens (idiom)".

How do you pronounce 竖?

竖 is pronounced shù, in the fourth tone (falling).

What is the radical of 竖?

The radical of 竖 is 立, which carries the idea of "to stand". Dictionaries list 竖 under this radical.

What is the traditional form of 竖?

The traditional form of 竖 is 竪 and 豎. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 竖 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.

Is 竖 on the HSK exam?

Yes. 竖 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 竖 and 直?

竖 (shù) specifically means vertical, in contrast to 横 (héng, horizontal). 直 (zhí) means straight in any direction, so a horizontal line can be 直 but not 竖.

How do you say thumbs up with 竖?

Chinese uses 竖起大拇指 (shùqǐ dà mǔzhǐ), literally to raise the thumb upright. It shows praise or approval, just like a thumbs up in English.

Keep going

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