The character 势 — “force”: how to write it and what it means
force, power; situation
The Chinese character 势 is read shì and means “force, power; situation”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 势
势 has 8 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 势, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 势 is made of
Below, 力 “strength”; on top, 执.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 势
- 趋势trendHSK 5
- 形势situationHSK 5
- 优势advantageHSK 5
- 姿势posture, poseHSK 5
- 手势gestureHSK 6
- 势力influence, (political) forcesHSK 6
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 势?
势 has 8 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 势 mean?
势 means “force, power; situation”. It appears in 趋势 (“trend”), 形势 (“situation”), 优势 (“advantage”), 姿势 (“posture”).
How do you pronounce 势?
势 is read shì. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 势 have?
8 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 势 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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