守 meaning in English

shǒu

to guard; to defend

HSK 4verb6 strokes

Meaning of 守

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

shǒu

to guard
to defend
to keep watch
to abide by the law
to observe (rules or ritual)
nearby
adjoining

How to use 守

守 means to guard something or to keep to a rule or promise. It often appears in two-character words like 遵守 (zūnshǒu) for obeying rules and 防守 (fángshǒu) for defending in sports. Example: 我们要遵守交通规则。(Wǒmen yào zūnshǒu jiāotōng guīzé.) We must obey traffic rules.

守 (shǒu) has a roof 宀 on top and 寸 (cùn), a hand with a dot, below. Picture a hand keeping watch under a roof, guarding the house.

Common mistake: Learners often confuse 守 (shǒu) with 字 (zì), which has the same roof but 子 underneath instead of 寸. Also keep the third tone in 守 distinct from the third-tone 手 (shǒu, hand). They sound the same but are different words.

守 in example sentences

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

她tā不bù喜xǐ欢huān不bù守shǒu时shí的de人rén。

She doesn't like people being late.

城chéng市shì由yóu一yī支zhī大dà军jūn守shǒu卫wèi。

The town was defended by a large army.

对duì不bù起qǐ，我wǒ没méi有yǒu守shǒu承chéng诺nuò。

I'm sorry I didn't keep my promise.

你nǐ很hěn好hǎo地dì守shǒu住zhù了le秘mì密mì。

You did well to keep the secret.

我wǒ们men不bù能néng一yì直zhí把bǎ它tā当dāng秘mì密mì守shǒu著zhù。

We can't keep this a secret forever.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

守 shǒu · to guard · 6 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 守.

保守	bǎoshǒu	conservative; to guard
遵守	zūnshǒu	to comply with; to abide by; to respect (an agreement)
防守	fángshǒu	to defend; to protect (against)
守护	shǒuhù	to guard; to protect
坚守	jiānshǒu	to hold fast to; to stick to
守候	shǒuhòu	to wait for; to expect
守株待兔	shǒuzhū-dàitù	lit. to guard a tree-stump, waiting for rabbits (idiom); to wait idly for opportunities
守卫	shǒuwèi	to guard; to defend
看守	kānshǒu	to guard; to watch over
守住	shǒuzhu	to hold on to; to defend
守则	shǒuzé	rules; regulations
守口如瓶	shǒukǒurúpíng	lit. to guard one's mouth like a closed bottle (idiom); tight-lipped; reticent

Questions about 守

What does 守 mean?

守 (shǒu) means "to guard; to defend" and is used as a verb.

How do you write 守?

守 is made of 1 character: 守 (6 strokes). That is 6 strokes in total.

Is 守 an HSK word?

Yes. 守 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How do you say keep a promise with 守?

Say 守信 (shǒuxìn) or 守约 (shǒuyuē). For example, 他很守信 (tā hěn shǒuxìn) means he keeps his word.

What is the difference between 守护 and 保护?

保护 (bǎohù) is the general word for protect. 守护 (shǒuhù) sounds more personal and lasting, like staying by someone's side to watch over them, and is common in songs and stories.