Meaning
book; letter
Chinese: 书本、文字或书信。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “shu” becomes a different word in each tone. 书 is the 1st tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 读书dú shūto read a book; to study; to attend school
- 图书馆tú shū guǎnlibrary
- 书店shū diànbookstore
- 书包shū bāoschoolbag; satchel; bookbag
- 书架shū jiàbookshelf
Example Sentence
图书馆里有很多书。Tú shū guǎn lǐ yǒu hěn duō shū.There are many books in the library.
图书馆Tú shū guǎnlibrary里lǐinside有yǒuto have很hěnvery多duōmany书shūbook。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
Simplified from 書: a hand gripping a brush, writing. From the act of writing it came to mean a ‘book / to write / a letter’.
A way to remember it
A brush in hand putting down words — a book.
Easy to confuse with
- 画‘Picture’: also about a brush, but drawing the bounds of a field (田).