虽

雖
suī
conjunction HSK 6 #6,955

Meanings

  1. 1 although; even though
  2. 2 even if

Examples

HSK 2
Suīrán xiàyǔ le, tā háishi lái le.
Although it rained, he still came.
HSK 3
Suīrán hěn lèi, dàn wǒ hěn kāixīn.
Although I'm tired, I'm very happy.
HSK 5
Suīshuō rúcǐ, wǒ háishi xiǎng shìshi.
That said, I still want to give it a try.

Tips

grammar
虽 is almost always used as 虽然 (although). It pairs with 但是/可是/不过 (but): 虽然...但是... is a key grammar pattern. 虽说 is a more colloquial variant.

Components

radical
虫 chóng
insect; small creature
Bottom 虫 - the indexing radical. Originally 雖 named a small lizard or insect; the 'although' meaning was a phonetic loan that took over. The radical pins this character to its biological origin even though no learner today thinks of bugs when reading 虽然. A reminder that grammar words often started life as concrete nouns.
phonetic
口 kǒu
mouth (here phonetic remnant)
Top 口 - originally part of the phonetic 唯 that supplied the sound for older 雖. The 1956 simplification kept only the 口 plus bottom 虫, dropping the middle 隹 (bird). So 口 here is a phonetic residue more than a real 'mouth'; the yi/sui phonetic link is now invisible without history.

Stroke Order

虽 suī