首 meaning and stroke order
Head; chief; first (occasion, thing etc)
How to write 首, 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 首
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- head
- chief
- first (occasion, thing etc)
- classifier for poems, songs etc
How 首 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A deer's head 自 adorned with antlers 丷.
How to remember 首
Picture a deer's head 自 with two antlers 丷 sticking up on top. The head is the top part of the body, so 首 (shǒu) means head, chief, or first.
首 rarely appears alone as "head" in modern speech. It shows up in words like 首都 (shǒudū, capital) and 首先 (shǒuxiān, first of all), and as a classifier for songs and poems. Example: 我很喜欢这首歌。(Wǒ hěn xǐhuan zhè shǒu gē.) I really like this song.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 首 (shǒu) with 手 (shǒu, hand) because they sound identical, writing 手都 instead of 首都. Another slip is writing 自 as 白 or 目 at the bottom; it is 自, with two horizontal lines inside.
Common words with 首
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 首先 | shǒuxiān | first of all; in the first place | HSK 3 |
| 首都 | shǒudū | capital (city) | HSK 3 |
| 首相 | shǒuxiàng | prime minister (of Japan or UK etc) | HSK 6 |
| 首席 | shǒuxí | seat of honor; chief (representative, correspondent etc) | HSK 6 |
| 首次 | shǒucì | first; first time | HSK 6 |
| 首脑 | shǒunǎo | head (of state); summit (meeting) | HSK 6 |
| 元首 | yuánshǒu | head of state | HSK 7-9 |
| 首要 | shǒuyào | the most important; of chief importance | HSK 7-9 |
| 首饰 | shǒushì | jewelry; head ornament | HSK 7-9 |
| 罪魁祸首 | zuìkuí-huòshǒu | (idiom) criminal ringleader; main offender; main culprit; main cause of a disaster | HSK 7-9 |
| 首府 | shǒufǔ | capital city of an autonomous region | HSK 7-9 |
| 回首 | huíshǒu | to turn around; to look back; (fig.) to recall the past | HSK 7-9 |
| 首批 | shǒupī | first batch | HSK 7-9 |
| 俯首 | fǔshǒu | to bend one's head | HSK 7-9 |
首 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 首
Learning 首 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 首
How many strokes are in 首?
首 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 首 mean?
首 (shǒu) means head; chief; first (occasion, thing etc). A common word with it is 首先 (shǒuxiān), meaning "first of all; in the first place".
How do you pronounce 首?
首 is pronounced shǒu, in the third tone (dipping).
Is 首 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 首 is part of the HSK 3 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
Can I use 首 to mean the head on my body?
In everyday speech, use 头 (tóu) for your physical head. 首 as "head" survives mainly in formal or set words like 首脑 (shǒunǎo) and 元首 (yuánshǒu).
What is the difference between 首先 and 首次?
首先 (shǒuxiān) means "first of all" and orders steps in speech or writing. 首次 (shǒucì) means "the first time" something happens, as in 首次访问 (shǒucì fǎngwèn), a first visit.