The character 竖 — “vertical”: how to write it and what it means

竖
shù

vertical; stand upright

9 strokes · HSK 6 · word page

The Chinese character 竖 is read shù and means “vertical; stand upright”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.

Stroke order: how to write 竖

竖 has 9 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 竖, with strokes to trace and empty squares.

What 竖 is made of

Below, 立 “stand”. The opposite of 横 “horizontal”.

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

Frequently asked questions

How do you write the character 竖?

竖 has 9 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 竖 mean?

竖 means “vertical; stand upright”.

How do you pronounce 竖?

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

How many strokes does 竖 have?

9 strokes.

← 横 horizontal晰 clear →

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 竖 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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