The character 甥 — “nephew”: how to write it and what it means

甥
shēng

nephew (sister's son)

12 strokes · HSK 6

The Chinese character 甥 is read shēng and means “nephew (sister's 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 甥

甥 has 12 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 甥, with strokes to trace and empty squares.

What 甥 is made of

On the left, 生 shēng hints at the reading; on the right, 男 “man”. In 外甥 it takes the neutral tone: sheng.

The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.

Words with 甥

Frequently asked questions

How do you write the character 甥?

甥 has 12 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 甥 mean?

甥 means “nephew (sister's son)”. It appears in 外甥 (“nephew”).

How do you pronounce 甥?

甥 is read shēng. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.

How many strokes does 甥 have?

12 strokes.

← 侄 nephew娶 marry →

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 甥 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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