• 481st most frequent character
  • Adds ~0.04% to your reading coverage
  • 1 dictionary entry
  • Appears in 140 words
  • Component in 5 characters

Decomposition

1Once
2Radical
3Graphical

Pinyin & Meaning

1. shǒu (shou3)head • chief • first (occasion, thing etc) • classifier for poems, songs etc

Pronunciation Clues

1. Pronunciation clue for shǒu (shou3)The component is pronounced as 'shǒu' (shou3). It has the exact same pronunciation as the character.
📚Save to a study list and track your progressSign up to create custom character lists, mark characters as learned, and build your knowledge step by step.

Appears In

also appears in:

Example Words

Common

回首 
首先 
首都 
首页 (首頁)

Uncommon

元首 
匕首 
昂首 
榜首 
为首 (為首)
罪魁祸首 (罪魁禍首)
翘首 (翹首)
聚首 
自首 
首富 
首席 
首映 
首次 
首尔 (首爾)
首发 (首發)
首相 
首要 
首选 (首選)
首长 (首長)
首领 (首領)
首饰 (首飾)

RareShow 115

#Back to top
  • 26th most frequent character
  • Adds ~0.42% to your reading coverage
  • 2 dictionary entries
  • Appears in 138 words
  • Component in 2 characters

Decomposition

1Once
2Radical
3Graphical
丿

Pinyin & Meaning

1. yāo (yao1)to demand • to request • to coerce
2. yào (yao4)important • vital • to want • will • going to (as future auxiliary) • may • must • (used in a comparison) must be • probably

Pronunciation Clues

1. Pronunciation clue for yāo (yao1)The component is pronounced as '' (ya2). It has the same pinyin initial.
2. Pronunciation clue for yào (yao4)The component is pronounced as '' (ya2). It has the same pinyin initial.
📚Save to a study list and track your progressSign up to create custom character lists, mark characters as learned, and build your knowledge step by step.

Appears In

also appears in:

Example Words

Common

只要 
想要 
重要 
需要 

Uncommon

主要 
必要 
快要 
紧要 (緊要)
要命 
要是 
要求 
要么 (要麼)
非要 

RareShow 125

Decomposition Levels:
Level 1 - Once: Only divided once. So only two components.
Level 2 - Radical: Radical Decomposition. The character gets decomposed into its lowest radical components. For the complete list visit the Radical wikipedia page.
Level 3 - Graphical: Graphical Decomposition. Shows all the strokes & lowest level of components that make up the character.
If you see questions marks or too many "block" characters, especially when it comes to level 3 decomposition you might need the correct font.