shù
kangxi_radical

Meanings

  1. 1 vertical stroke radical (Kangxi #2)
  2. 2 indexing radical for characters built around a central downstroke
  3. 3 classically also called gǔn when referenced as a radical name

Tips

usage
is not a standalone word — it is the basic vertical stroke () and a Kangxi indexing slot. You meet it as the spine of characters like , , and rather than as something you write or say on its own.
history
In modern Chinese it survives only as a stroke name and a dictionary header.

Radical

Line Kangxi #2

The vertical-line radical. A pure structural slot for indexing characters whose dominant feature is a single downstroke piercing or anchoring the form (, , ). Not productive in modern coining but useful when looking up otherwise hard-to-classify shapes.

Used in

View all 9 →
Showing 6 of 9 · default form 丨
general measure word · individual
zhōng
middle; center · within; among; in
zhòng
to hit (a target) · to be struck by (a bullet, illness, etc.)
shū
book · letter
chuàn
string; skewer · to string together
lín
to face · to arrive; to be about to

Stroke Order

shù