Meaning of 谁
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- who
- also pr. [shui2]
How to use 谁
谁 (shéi) means "who" and sits where the answer would go in the sentence, so the word order does not change in a question. Example: 他是谁？(Tā shì shéi?) Who is he?
谁 combines the speech radical 讠 with 隹 (zhuī), a short-tailed bird. Picture someone hearing a bird chirp outside and calling out, "Who is speaking?"
Common mistake: Learners often add 吗 (ma) to a question that already has 谁, as in 他是谁吗, which is wrong because 谁 already makes it a question. Also watch the shape: 谁 has the speech radical 讠, so do not confuse it with 难 (nán), which has 又 on the left.
谁 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
谁 shéi · who · 10 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 谁.
Questions about 谁
What does 谁 mean?
谁 (shéi) means "who; also pr. [shui2]" and is used as a pr.
How do you write 谁?
谁 is made of 1 character: 谁 (10 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.
Is 谁 an HSK word?
Yes. 谁 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 谁 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 谁 is written 誰.
Should I say shéi or shuí?
Both are correct readings. Shéi is far more common in everyday speech, while shuí sounds more formal or literary.
How do I say "whose" in Chinese?
Add 的 (de) after 谁 to make 谁的 (shéi de). For example, 这是谁的书？(Zhè shì shéi de shū?) means "Whose book is this?"