水 (shuǐ) means "water" with 4 strokes, radical 水 (water), HSK 1 on the new exam.
Pronunciation
Meaning
Primary: water
Etymology
Oracle-bone origin
The oracle-bone form is a flowing stream drawn vertically, with a central wavy line for the main current and droplets or eddies curling off on either side. It is one of the clearest pictographs in the script and is the ancestor of the three-dot water radical 氵.
Form evolution
Bronze forms kept the flowing central line with flanking droplets, often very fluid and calligraphic. Seal script regularised the shape into a symmetrical central vertical with two paired side strokes, and the clerical script broke those curves into the straight hook and four diagonal strokes of modern 水. The three-dot radical 氵, used on the left of compounds like 河 and 海, is a compressed version of the same picture.
How the meaning evolved
The core meaning 'water' has been stable for over three thousand years, covering rivers, bodies of water, and water as substance. It extended to 'liquid' generally (墨水 ink, 汽水 soda), to 'river' as a noun ending in names like 汉水, and to figurative senses such as 水平 (level, standard) from the flatness of still water. The five-elements sense 'water' as cosmological phase is also ancient.
Cultural note
水 is the 85th Kangxi radical and appears in hundreds of characters related to liquid, washing, or bodies of water. The saying 上善若水 ('the highest good is like water') from the Daodejing uses water as the model virtue because it benefits all things while seeking the lowest place.
Mnemonic
A flowing stream with splashes — water
Basic info
| Pinyin | shuǐ |
| Meanings | water |
| Stroke count | 4 strokes |
| Radical | 水 (#85: water) |
| New HSK exam | Recognise at HSK 1 |
| Frequency | #268 most common |
Example sentences
Words containing 水
Related characters
On the new HSK 1 exam
Studying for HSK 1? Keep 水 with the rest of your level.
HSK Lord schedules your reviews so each character comes back right before you would forget it. Free to start, and it picks up where you are.
Frequently Asked Questions
Appears in these articles
- Chinese Alphabet: Does It Exist? Everything Beginners Need to Know
- Chinese Tones Explained: The Complete Guide for Beginners
- Chinese Vocabulary Learning: Complete Guide to Mastering Chinese Words
- Chinese Writing Practice: From First Strokes to Full Sentences
- How Many Chinese Characters Are There? (And How Many Do You Need?)
Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.