事 (shì) means "matter, thing" with 8 strokes, radical 亅 (hook), HSK 1 on the new exam.
Pronunciation
Meaning
Primary: matter
Other meanings:
- thing
Etymology
Oracle-bone origin
Oracle-bone 事 shows a hand holding a forked implement, usually read as a banner, hunting fork, or ceremonial staff. The graph is closely related to 吏 (official) and 史 (scribe, historian), all three starting as pictures of a hand grasping an object used in administrative or ritual duties. The original reference was therefore to the work or office held by such a person.
Form evolution
Bronze forms keep the hand at the bottom and the forked implement above, sometimes with an added mouth-like element. Seal script stylised the fork into the cross-hatched top and fixed the hand as the bottom hook. Clerical script flattened the strokes into the familiar grid shape, and 楷书 inherited that structure unchanged.
How the meaning evolved
The earliest sense was official duty or the task assigned to an officer. From there it broadened to any matter, affair, or piece of business, giving modern words like 事情 (matter), 工作 (contrast with 事业 career), and 没事 (no problem). The narrow administrative meaning survives mainly in compounds such as 公事 (official business) and 事务 (affairs).
Cultural note
The cognate set 事 / 吏 / 史 is worth knowing because all three grew from the same hand-with-implement picture, reflecting a very early Chinese administrative vocabulary. The idiom 事半功倍 (half the work, double the result) is a common HSK encounter.
Mnemonic
A hand holding a writing brush — a matter, affair
Basic info
| Pinyin | shì |
| Meanings | matter, thing |
| Stroke count | 8 strokes |
| Radical | 亅 (#6: hook) |
| New HSK exam | Recognise at HSK 1 |
| Frequency | #46 most common |
Example sentences
Words containing 事
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 事 | shì | matter, thing | HSK 1 |
| 事情 | shìqing | matter | HSK 2 |
| 同事 | tóngshì | Colleague | HSK 3 |
| 故事 | gùshi | Story | HSK 3 |
| 军事 | jūnshì | Military | HSK 7-9 |
| 事物 | shìwù | Thing | HSK 5 |
| 从事 | cóngshì | Be engaged in | HSK 5 |
| 人事 | rénshì | Personnel matters | HSK 6 |
| 事实 | shìshí | Fact | HSK 5 |
| 事先 | shìxiān | Prior | HSK 5 |
| 本事 | běnshi | ability, skill | HSK 7-9 |
| 出事 | chūshì | to have an accident | |
| 大事 | dàshì | big event, major event | HSK 5 |
| 当事人 | dāngshìrén | persons involved or concerned | HSK 7-9 |
| 董事 | dǒngshì | board member, director | HSK 7-9 |
| 董事长 | dǒngshìzhǎng | chairman of the board | HSK 7-9 |
| 懂事 | dǒngshì | sensible, thoughtful | HSK 7-9 |
| 费事 | fèishì | troublesome, to take a lot of trouble | |
| 干事 | gànshì | secretary, to work | HSK 7-9 |
Related characters
Similar meaning (abstract)
On the new HSK 1 exam
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Frequently Asked Questions
Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.