What does 除 mean in Chinese?

除 (chú) means "except, to remove" in Chinese. The new HSK exam expects you to recognise it at HSK 3.

How do you write 除?

除 is written with 9 strokes, starting from the 阝 (mound) radical and following standard Chinese stroke order (top to bottom, left to right). See the interactive stroke-order tool for the full animation.

What is the radical of 除?

The radical of 除 is 阝 (mound, Kangxi radical #170). Other common HSK characters using the same radical include 险, 都, 院, 际.

How many strokes does 除 have?

The Chinese character 除 has 9 strokes.

What HSK level is 除?

On the new HSK exam syllabus, 除 is a character to recognise at HSK 3 and to write by hand at HSK 3.

除 (chú): Meaning, Stroke Order, Radical & Examples

除

chú

except, to remove

HSK 3 character 9 strokes Radical: 阝 (mound)

Quick Answer

除 (chú) means "except, to remove" with 9 strokes, radical 阝 (mound), HSK 3 on the new exam.

Full dictionary entry for 除 →Animated stroke-order for 除 →

Pronunciation

chú

Meaning

Primary: except

Other meanings:

to remove

Etymology

Removing the surplus from a hill — to divide, remove

Mnemonic hooks the visual decomposition to a memorable image. The full oracle-bone to modern evolution is being added character-by-character via the Phase 13 etymology pass.

Decomposition

除=阝radical+余component

Breaking a character into its components makes it far easier to recall. Each component above links to its own detail page.

Basic info

Pinyin	chú
Meanings	except, to remove
Stroke count	9 strokes
Radical	阝 (#170: mound)
New HSK exam	Recognise at HSK 3, write by hand at HSK 3
Frequency	#175 most common

Example sentences

除了我，大家都去了。
Chúle wǒ, dàjiā dōu qù le.
Everyone went except me.
From 除了 (HSK 3)
请把这段文字删除掉。
Qǐng bǎ zhè duàn wénzì shānchú diào.
Please delete this text.
From 删除 (HSK 5)
除夕夜家人团聚在一起吃年夜饭。
Chúxī yè jiārén tuánjù zài yīqǐ chī niányèfàn.
On New Year's Eve, families gather together for the reunion dinner.
From 除夕 (HSK 5)

Words containing 除

Word	Pinyin	Meaning	HSK
除了	chúle	except	HSK 3
除非	chúfēi	Unless	HSK 6
除夕	chúxī	the New Year’s Eve	HSK 5
删除	shānchú	delete	HSK 5
拆除	chāichú	to demolish, to remove	HSK 6
除	chú	except, to remove	HSK 6
除外	chúwài	to exclude, not including	HSK 7-9
废除	fèichú	to abolish, to abrogate	HSK 7-9