Meaning
to count; number; figure; to count; to calculate; several
Chinese: 数字、数量；读 shǔ 时表示计算。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “shu” becomes a different word in each tone. 数 is the 4th 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
- 数字shù zìnumeral; digit; number; figure
- 大多数dà duō shù(great) majority
- 人数rén shùnumber of people
- 多数duō shùmajority; most
- 少数shǎo shùsmall number; few; minority
Example Sentence
请数一数一共有多少个苹果。Qǐng shǔ yi shǔ yí gòng yǒu duō shao ge píng guǒ.Please count how many apples there are in total.
请Qǐngto ask数shǔto count一yione数shǔto count一共yí gòngin total有yǒuto have多少duō shaonumber个ge(measure word)苹果píng guǒApple (American tech compa。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
Simplified from 數. Read shù: ‘a number, figure; several, a few’ (数字, 数学); read shǔ: ‘to count; to be reckoned as’ (数一数); read shuò: ‘frequently’.
A way to remember it
shù = a number (数字); shǔ = to count (数一数).