How to write 舞 (wǔ, “to dance”)
舞 (wǔ), an HSK 2 character, means “to dance”, “to wield” and “to brandish”. It is HSK 2 in the 2025 syllabus, down from level 3 in the 2021 standard. China writes it with 14 strokes and Japan with 15 strokes. On its own it is an HSK 7-9 word; it also forms 跳舞 (“to dance”), 舞台 (“stage”) and 舞蹈 (“dance”). Japanese reads it bu, “dance”, as a JLPT N3 kanji.
- Pinyin
- wǔ
- Strokes
- 14
- HSK
- 2
- Radical
- 舛 (“mistaken”)
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
As a top-bottom character it splits into 無 (“no”), strokes 1–8; 舛 (“mistaken”, the radical), strokes 9–14, written the top first.
- topdownwards → down and left
- toprightwards
- top leftrightwards
- top leftdownwards
- topdownwards
- topdownwards
- top rightdownwards
- leftrightwards
- leftdown and left
- leftrightwards → down and left
- Dotlefta dot
- centerrightwards
- centerdownwards → rightwards
- centerdownwards
Japanese and Chinese
Japan writes it with 15 strokes and China with 14 strokes, and both counts match the reference lists (KANJIDIC2, Unihan).
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Pinyin and meaning
| Pinyin | Meanings | Traditional | In words |
|---|---|---|---|
| wǔ third tone | to dance; to wield; to brandish | — | 跳舞 舞台 舞蹈 鼓舞 |
- HSK 2025 syllabus
- level 2
- 2021 standard
- level 3
- HSK 2.0
- in a level 2 word
- Words with it
- 99 in CC-CEDICT
Words with 舞
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 舞 | wǔ | to dance; to wield HSK 7-9 |
| 跳舞 | tiàowǔ | to dance HSK 2 |
| 舞台 舞臺 | wǔtái | stage; arena HSK 5 |
| 舞蹈 | wǔdǎo | dance (performance art); dancing HSK 5 |
| 鼓舞 | gǔwǔ | to inspire; to encourage HSK 6 |
| 歌舞 | gēwǔ | singing and dancing HSK 7-9 |
| 挥舞 揮舞 | huīwǔ | to brandish; to wave sth HSK 7-9 |
| 舞会 舞會 | wǔhuì | dance; ball |
| 飞舞 飛舞 | fēiwǔ | to flutter; to dance in the breeze |
| 舞会舞 舞會舞 | wǔhuìwǔ | party dancing |
HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).
Practice sheet
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Keep going
HSK 2, in list order: