The character 息 — “breath”: how to write it and what it means
breath, rest
The Chinese character 息 is read xī and means “breath, rest”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 息
息 has 10 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 息, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 息 is made of
Below, 心 “heart”. In 休息 it is read with the neutral tone.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 息
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 息?
息 has 10 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 息 mean?
息 means “breath, rest”. It appears in 休息 (“rest”), 信息 (“information”), 消息 (“news”), 利息 (“interest”).
How do you pronounce 息?
息 is read xī. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 息 have?
10 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 息 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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