How to write 右 (yòu, “right”)
右 (yòu), an HSK 2 character, means “right”, “right of center” and “west”. It is HSK 2 in the 2025 syllabus, up from level 1 in the 2021 standard. China and Japan order its strokes differently: Chinese stroke 1, going rightwards, is the 2nd in Japanese schools; Chinese stroke 2, going downwards then down and left, is the 1st in Japanese schools. Dictionaries list it under the radical 口 (“mouth”). On its own it is an HSK 2 word; it also forms 右边 (“right side”), 左右 (“left and right”) and 左顾右盼 (“glancing to left and right”). Japanese reads it u, “right”, as a JLPT N5 kanji.
- Pinyin
- yòu
- Strokes
- 5
- HSK
- 2
- Radical
- 口 (“mouth”)
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- leftrightwards
- topdownwards → down and left
- centerdownwards
- centerrightwards → downwards
- bottomrightwards
Two stroke orders
Japan and China order its strokes differently: 2 strokes sit in another place. Japanese 1 = Chinese 2; Japanese 2 = Chinese 1.
Trace it
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Pinyin and meaning
| Pinyin | Meanings | Traditional | In words |
|---|---|---|---|
| yòu fourth tone | (bound form) right; right-hand side; (bound form) (politics) right of center; (bound form) (old) west; (literary) the right side as the side of precedence | — | 右边 左右 左顾右盼 座右铭 |
- HSK 2025 syllabus
- level 2
- 2021 standard
- level 1
- HSK 2.0
- in a level 2 word
- Words with it
- 48 in CC-CEDICT
Words with 右
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 右 | yòu | right; right-hand side HSK 2 |
| 右边 右邊 | yòubian | right side; right, to the right HSK 2 |
| 左右 | zuǒyòu | left and right; nearby HSK 4 |
| 左顾右盼 左顧右盼 | zuǒgù-yòupàn | glancing to left and right (idiom); to look all around HSK 7-9 |
| 座右铭 座右銘 | zuòyòumíng | motto; maxim HSK 7-9 |
| 右上 | yòushàng | upper right |
| 右下 | yòuxià | lower right |
| 右手 | yòushǒu | right hand; right-hand side |
| 右面 | yòumiàn | right side |
| 左右手 | zuǒyòushǒu | left and right hands; capable assistant |
HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).
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HSK 2, in list order: