How to write 五 (wǔ, “five”)
五 (wǔ), an HSK 1 character, means “five” and “5”. It is the number 5. On its own it is an HSK 1 word; it also forms 五颜六色 (“multicolored”), 五花八门 (“myriad”) and 三番五次 (“over and over again (idiom)”). Japanese reads it go, “five”, as a JLPT N5 kanji.
- Pinyin
- wǔ
- Strokes
- 4
- HSK
- 1
- Radical
- 二 (“two”)
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Horizontal ㇐top leftrightwards
- Vertical ㇑topdownwards
- Horizontal-turn ㇕leftrightwards → downwards
- Horizontal ㇐bottom leftrightwards
Japanese and Chinese
Japanese and Chinese draw all 4 strokes in the same order and direction, by our stroke-by-stroke comparison.
五 in numbers
- 五颜六色 — multicolored
- 五花八门 — myriad
- 三番五次 — over and over again (idiom)
- 五湖四海 — all parts of the country
- 五官 — five sense organs of TCM…
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Pinyin and meaning
| Pinyin | Meanings | Traditional | In words |
|---|---|---|---|
| wǔ third tone | five; 5 | — | 五颜六色 五花八门 三番五次 五湖四海 |
- HSK 2025 syllabus
- level 1
- 2021 standard
- level 1
- HSK 2.0
- in a level 1 word
- Words with it
- 143 in CC-CEDICT
Words with 五
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 五 | wǔ | five; 5 HSK 1 |
| 五颜六色 五顏六色 | wǔyán-liùsè | multicolored; every color under the sun HSK 5 |
| 五花八门 五花八門 | wǔhuā-bāmén | myriad; all kinds of HSK 7-9 |
| 三番五次 | sānfān-wǔcì | over and over again (idiom) HSK 7-9 |
| 五湖四海 | wǔhú-sìhǎi | all parts of the country HSK 7-9 |
| 五官 | wǔguān | five sense organs of TCM (nose, eyes, lips, tongue, ears 鼻目口舌耳)… HSK 7-9 |
| 三五 | sānwǔ | several; three or five |
| 五一 | wǔyī | 5-1 (May 1st) |
| 五七 | wǔqī | memorial activity 35 days after a person's death |
| 五十 | wǔshí | fifty |
HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).
Practice sheet
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HSK 1, in list order: