The character 日 — “sun”: how to write it and what it means
sun, day
The Chinese character 日 is read rì and means “sun, day”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 日
日 has 4 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 日, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 日 is made of
A picture of the sun.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 日
- 星期日Sunday (written)HSK 1
- 生日birthdayHSK 2
- 节日holiday, festivalHSK 3
- 工作日workday, weekdayHSK 3
- 日子day, days; lifeHSK 4
- 假日day off, holidayHSK 4
- 日常daily, everydayHSK 4
- 日期dateHSK 4
- 日记diaryHSK 4
- 节假日holidays and weekendsHSK 4
- 今日today (lit.)HSK 5
- 日历calendarHSK 5
- 近日recently, in a few daysHSK 5
- 日用品everyday itemsHSK 5
- 纪念日commemoration day, anniversaryHSK 5
- 日益more and more each dayHSK 6
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 日?
日 has 4 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 日 mean?
日 means “sun, day”. It appears in 星期日 (“Sunday”), 生日 (“birthday”), 节日 (“holiday”), 工作日 (“workday”).
How do you pronounce 日?
日 is read rì. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 日 have?
4 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 日 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.
Start for free