The character 儿 — “child”: how to write it and what it means
child, son
The Chinese character 儿 is read ér and means “child, son”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 儿
儿 has 2 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 儿, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 儿 is made of
At the end of a word it turns into an “r” sound: 一点儿.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 儿
- 儿子sonHSK 1
- 女儿daughterHSK 1
- 哪儿whereHSK 1
- 这儿hereHSK 1
- 那儿thereHSK 1
- 一点儿a littleHSK 1
- 面条儿noodlesHSK 1
- 有点儿a bit (negative)HSK 1
- 好玩儿funHSK 1
- 小孩儿child, kidHSK 2
- 男孩儿boyHSK 2
- 女孩儿girlHSK 2
- 一会儿a moment; soonHSK 2
- 一块儿together (colloq.)HSK 3
- 聊天儿chat, talkHSK 3
- 儿童childrenHSK 4
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 儿?
儿 has 2 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 儿 mean?
儿 means “child, son”. It appears in 儿子 (“son”), 女儿 (“daughter”), 哪儿 (“where”), 这儿 (“here”).
How do you pronounce 儿?
儿 is read ér. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 儿 have?
2 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 儿 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
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