How many strokes does the Chinese character "水" (shuǐ) have?
"水" has 4 strokes in Simplified Chinese. Its primary dictionary radical is 水, and you can animate or practice writing every stroke in order using the interactive grid on this page.
Ready · 4 strokes
Speed:
Nature & Elements
Name: Use with Caution
Tattoo: Caution Alone
水 Water in Chinese (shuǐ)
Dictionary Summary
水 (shuǐ) means surname Shui; Shui ethnic group; water. Simplified form has 4 strokes under radical 水.
Pinyin & Toneshuǐ (Tone 3)
Simplified / Trad.水 / 水
Radical水
Total Strokes4 strokes
StructureIntegral (curving stream strokes)
Unicode / LevelU+6C34 · HSK 1
Native Naming & Tattoo Safety Review
🪪 Using “水” in a Chinese Name · Use with Caution (Unisex)
Wait before putting 水 literally in a modern given name—names like 水生 or 爱水 sound strongly rustic or dated. Instead, choose poetic water-radical characters like 沐, 清, 泽, or 涵!
✒️ Using “水” for a Tattoo · Caution Alone
Native Chinese speakers rarely tattoo plain 水 alone because it looks like a utility faucet label or basic vocabulary flashcard. If you love water symbolism, choose 若水 (like water, from Laozi) or 清泉.
Character Etymology & CC-CEDICT Meanings
Origin & Visual Logic: A direct pictograph of a flowing river stream with rippling droplets on either side.
| Traditional / Simplified | Pinyin | CC-CEDICT Definitions |
|---|---|---|
| 水 / 水 | Shuǐ | surname Shui; Shui ethnic group |
| 水 / 水 | shuǐ | water; (after a name) ... River; to swim (used mostly in 會水|会水[hui4 shui3] and 水性[shui3 xing4]) |
Lexical entries derived from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Make Me a Hanzi (APL / LGPL-3.0).
Common Words & Idioms Using “水”
| Chinese Word | Pinyin | English Meaning | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 山水 | shānshuǐ | landscape (mountains and rivers) | |
| 上善若水 | shàngshàn-ruòshuǐ | highest virtue is like water | |
| 水晶 | shuǐjīng | crystal |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is "水" good to use in a real Chinese name?
Rating: Use with Caution (Unisex). Wait before putting 水 literally in a modern given name—names like 水生 or 爱水 sound strongly rustic or dated. Instead, choose poetic water-radical characters like 沐, 清, 泽, or 涵!
Is "水" safe as a Chinese character tattoo?
Tattoo rating: Caution Alone. Native Chinese speakers rarely tattoo plain 水 alone because it looks like a utility faucet label or basic vocabulary flashcard. If you love water symbolism, choose 若水 (like water, from Laozi) or 清泉.