诵 meaning and stroke order
To chant, to recite, to repeat, to read aloud
How to write 诵, 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
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
Meaning of 诵
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to read aloud
- to recite
How 诵 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Speech.
讠 gives the meaning and 甬 hints at the sound.
Radical: 讠 (words), shared by 144 characters on this site.
How to remember 诵
诵 combines the speech radical 讠 with 甬 (yǒng), which gives the sound. Picture words flowing steadily out of your mouth as you recite a text aloud.
诵 is rarely used alone in modern Chinese and usually appears in words like 朗诵 (lǎngsòng, to read aloud with expression) and 背诵 (bèisòng, to recite from memory). Example: 老师让我们背诵这首诗。(Lǎoshī ràng wǒmen bèisòng zhè shǒu shī.) The teacher asked us to recite this poem from memory.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 诵 (sòng) with 通 (tōng, to go through), which shares the 甬 part but uses the walking radical 辶 instead of 讠. Also keep the fourth tone: it is sòng, not yǒng like its sound component.
Common words with 诵
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
诵 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 诵
How many strokes are in 诵?
诵 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 诵 mean?
诵 (sòng) means to chant, to recite, to repeat, to read aloud. A common word with it is 朗诵 (lǎngsòng), meaning "to read aloud with expression; to recite".
How do you pronounce 诵?
诵 is pronounced sòng, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 诵?
The radical of 诵 is 讠, which carries the idea of "words". Dictionaries list 诵 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 诵?
The traditional form of 诵 is 誦. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 诵 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 诵 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 诵 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 朗诵 and 背诵?
朗诵 (lǎngsòng) means reading aloud with feeling, often on stage, and you may be looking at the text. 背诵 (bèisòng) means reciting from memory without the text.
Can 诵 be used with religious texts?
Yes. 诵经 (sòngjīng) means to chant scriptures, as monks do with Buddhist sutras. This fits the sense of chanting in the definition.