How to write 事 (shì, “matter”)
事 (shì), an HSK 1 character, means “matter”, “thing” and “item”. As an overlapping character it splits into 一口彐, strokes 1–7; 亅 (“hook”, the radical), stroke 8, written the first part first. On its own it is an HSK 1 word; it also forms 没事 (“it's not important”), 事情 (“affair”) and 同事 (“colleague”). Japanese reads it ji, “matter”, as a JLPT N4 kanji.
- Pinyin
- shì
- Strokes
- 8
- HSK
- 1
- Radical
- 亅 (“hook”)
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- Horizontal ㇐top leftrightwards
- Vertical ㇑top leftdown and right
- Horizontal-turn ㇕top leftrightwards → down and left
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Horizontal-turn ㇕leftrightwards → downwards
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Horizontal ㇐bottom leftrightwards
- Vertical hook ㇚topdownwards
Japanese and Chinese
Japanese and Chinese draw all 8 strokes in the same order and direction, by our stroke-by-stroke comparison.
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Pinyin and meaning
| Pinyin | Meanings | Traditional | In words |
|---|---|---|---|
| shì fourth tone | matter; thing; item; work; affair | — | 没事 事情 同事 办事 |
- HSK 2025 syllabus
- level 1
- 2021 standard
- level 1
- HSK 2.0
- in a level 2 word
- Words with it
- 419 in CC-CEDICT
Words with 事
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 事 | shì | matter; thing HSK 1 |
| 没事 沒事 | méishì | it's not important; it's nothing HSK 1 |
| 事情 | shìqing | affair; matter HSK 2 |
| 同事 | tóngshì | colleague; co-worker HSK 3 |
| 故事 | gùshi | narrative; story HSK 3 |
| 办事 辦事 | bànshì | to handle (affairs); to work HSK 4 |
| 事件 | shìjiàn | incident; event HSK 5 |
| 事先 | shìxiān | in advance; before the event HSK 5 |
| 大事 | dàshì | major event; major political event (war or change of regime) HSK 5 |
| 从事 從事 | cóngshì | to go for; to engage in HSK 5 |
HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).
Practice sheet
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Keep going
HSK 1, in list order: