谍 meaning and stroke order
To spy; an intelligence report
How to write 谍, 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 谍
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to spy
How 谍 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Speech.
讠 gives the meaning and 枼 hints at the sound.
Radical: 讠 (words), shared by 144 characters on this site.
How to remember 谍
谍 is pictophonetic: the speech radical 讠 gives the meaning and 枼 (yè) hints at the sound. Picture a spy whose job is gathering secret words and talk, so the character starts with speech.
谍 rarely stands alone in modern Chinese and mostly appears in compounds like 间谍 (jiàndié, spy) and 反间谍 (fǎnjiàndié, counterintelligence). Example: 他被怀疑是间谍。 (Tā bèi huáiyí shì jiàndié.) He is suspected of being a spy.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 谍 with 碟 (dié, dish or disc) and 蝶 (dié, butterfly), which share the same right side and the same pronunciation. Check the left part: 讠 for spying, 石 for discs, 虫 for butterflies.
Common words with 谍
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 间谍 | jiàndié | spy | HSK 7-9 |
| 反间谍 | fǎnjiàndié | counterintelligence; protection against espionage | |
| 间谍活动 | jiàndiéhuódòng | espionage; spying |
谍 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 谍
How many strokes are in 谍?
谍 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 谍 mean?
谍 (dié) means to spy; an intelligence report. A common word with it is 间谍 (jiàndié), meaning "spy".
How do you pronounce 谍?
谍 is pronounced dié, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 谍?
The radical of 谍 is 讠, which carries the idea of "words". Dictionaries list 谍 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 谍?
The traditional form of 谍 is 諜. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 谍 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 谍 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 谍 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 间谍 and 特务?
间谍 (jiàndié) is the neutral, general word for a spy, especially a foreign one. 特务 (tèwu) means secret agent and often sounds negative or old-fashioned, as in older films about enemy agents.
How do you say spy movie in Chinese?
A common term is 谍战片 (diézhànpiàn), literally spy war film. You may also hear 间谍片 (jiàndiépiàn), which means the same thing.