水 (shuǐ): the Chinese character for water
水 (shuǐ) is the Chinese character for water. It is written with 4 strokes and pronounced shuǐ in the third tone. It began as a picture of flowing water, and you will meet it in everyday words such as 喝水 (drink water) and 水果 (fruit).
- Pinyin
- shuǐ
- Tone
- third tone (low, dipping)
- Meaning
- water
- Strokes
- 4
Video: 水 from picture to character
About 34 seconds, with sound. You will hear 水 read aloud, see the picture turn into the character, and get two example words to repeat.
Where the shape of 水 comes from
水 is a pictograph. The oldest forms, carved on oracle bones more than 3,000 years ago, show a curving line with short marks on each side. This is traditionally explained as a picture of flowing water.
Over time the curving line straightened into the hooked vertical stroke in the middle, and the marks beside it became the strokes on the left and right.
How to say 水
水 is pronounced shuǐ, in the third tone (low, dipping). Listen to it in the video above and say it out loud a few times.
How to write 水: stroke order
水 has 4 strokes. Write the hooked vertical stroke in the middle first, then the stroke on the left, then the two strokes on the right.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Common words with 水
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 喝水 | hē shuǐ | to drink water |
| 热水 | rè shuǐ | hot water |
| 开水 | kāishuǐ | boiled water |
| 水果 | shuǐguǒ | fruit (literally “water fruit”) |
| 山水 | shānshuǐ | landscape, scenery (literally “mountains and water”) |
Good to know
On the left side of another character, 水 is squeezed into three short strokes: 氵. Learners often call it "three drops of water". You can see it in 河 (hé, river), 海 (hǎi, sea) and 洗 (xǐ, to wash).
Quiz: test yourself on 水
5 quick questions. Pick one answer for each, then check your score.