序

xù
noun HSK 7-9 #18,957

Meanings

  1. 1 order; sequence
  2. 2 preface; foreword

Examples

HSK 2
Zhè běn shū de xù xiě de hěn hǎo.
The preface of this book is well written.
HSK 4
Qǐng àn shùnxù pái hǎo duì.
Please line up in order.

Tips

usage
序 is in 顺序 (order/sequence), 秩序 (order/discipline), 序言 (preface), 程序 (program/procedure).

Components

radical
广 yǎn
shelter; house with one wall open
Lean-to-shelter radical wrapping the upper-left - the indexing radical, picturing a roof with one side open to the wall. It marks 序 as something belonging to a building: the side-walls of a hall, where guests were seated in order of rank. Same radical heads 庭 (courtyard), 庙 (temple), 床 (bed).
phonetic
予 yǔ
to give; I (here phonetic)
Inside 予 supplies the sound (yǔ to xù with a y/x palatalisation). 予 originally pictured two hands passing an object, and that 'giving in turn' image is a faint semantic bonus: a sequence is one thing handed to the next. Same phonetic seeds 预 (in advance), 抒 (express), 舒 (relaxed).

Stroke Order

序 xù