紳 meaning and stroke order
Girdle, tie; gentry; to bend
How to write 紳, 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.
- 1
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- 3
- 4
- 5
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- 9
- 10
- 11
Meaning of 紳
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- member of gentry
How 紳 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Silk.
糹 gives the meaning and 申 hints at the sound.
Radical: 糹 (silk), shared by 126 characters on this site.
How to remember 紳
紳 combines silk 糹 with 申 (shēn), which gives the sound. Picture the long silk sash that officials once tied around the waist, a sign that the wearer belonged to the gentry.
Today 紳 almost always appears in compounds about respectable people, especially 紳士 (shēnshì, gentleman) and 鄉紳 (xiāngshēn, local gentry). Example: 他是一位真正的紳士。(Tā shì yí wèi zhēnzhèng de shēnshì.) He is a true gentleman.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 紳 with 伸 (shēn, to stretch) and 神 (shén, god or spirit), because all three share 申. Check the left side: silk 糹 for gentry, person 亻 for stretching, and 礻 for spirit. Also note that 神 has a second tone.
Common words with 紳
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 紳士 | shēnshì | gentleman | HSK 7-9 |
Questions about 紳
How many strokes are in 紳?
紳 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 紳 mean?
紳 (shēn) means girdle, tie; gentry; to bend. A common word with it is 绅士 (shēnshì), meaning "gentleman".
How do you pronounce 紳?
紳 is pronounced shēn, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 紳?
The radical of 紳 is 糹, which carries the idea of "silk". Dictionaries list 紳 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 紳?
紳 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 绅, used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 紳 the same character as 绅?
Yes. 紳 is the form used in traditional writing, such as in Taiwan and Hong Kong, and 绅 is the simplified form used in mainland China. They mean the same thing and are both read shēn.
Can 紳 be used alone as a word?
Not usually in modern Chinese. It almost always appears inside words like 紳士 or 鄉紳, so it is best learned through those compounds.