The character 你 — “you”: how to write it and what it means
you
The Chinese character 你 is read nǐ and means “you”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 你
你 has 7 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 你, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 你 is made of
On the left, 亻 is a compressed “person”. It appears in many words about people.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 你
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 你?
你 has 7 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 你 mean?
你 means “you”. It appears in 你好 (“hi”), 你们 (“you”).
How do you pronounce 你?
你 is read nǐ. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 你 have?
7 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 你 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