How to write 士 (shì, “bachelor”)
士 (shì), an HSK 1 character, means “bachelor”, “honorific” and “soldier”. It is HSK 1 in the 2025 syllabus, down from level 4 in the 2021 standard. Make Me a Hanzi uses it in 22 other characters, such as 仕 (“to serve as an official”), 吉 (“lucky”) and 垂 (“to hang”). Among the HSK words it appears in 女士 (“lady”), 男士 (“man”) and 护士 (“nurse”). Japanese reads it shi, “gentleman”, as a JLPT N1 kanji.
- Pinyin
- shì
- Strokes
- 3
- HSK
- 1
- Radical
- 士 (“bachelor”)
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Vertical ㇑topdownwards
- Horizontal ㇐bottom leftrightwards
Japanese and Chinese
Japanese and Chinese draw all 3 strokes in the same order and direction, by our stroke-by-stroke comparison.
士 inside other characters
Make Me a Hanzi count: 22 characters.
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Pinyin and meaning
| Pinyin | Meanings | Traditional | In words |
|---|---|---|---|
| shì fourth tone | bachelor; honorific; soldier; noncommissioned officer; specialist worker | — | 女士 男士 博士 硕士 |
- HSK 2025 syllabus
- level 1
- 2021 standard
- level 4
- HSK 2.0
- in a level 4 word
- Words with it
- 169 in CC-CEDICT
Words with 士
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 女士 | nǚshì | lady; madam HSK 1 |
| 男士 | nánshì | man; gentleman HSK 4 |
| 护士 護士 | hùshi | nurse HSK 4 |
| 博士 | bóshì | doctor; person specialized in a skill or trade HSK 4 |
| 硕士 碩士 | shuòshì | master's degree; person who has a master's degree HSK 4 |
| 人士 | rénshì | person; figure HSK 6 |
| 士兵 | shìbīng | soldier HSK 6 |
| 士气 士氣 | shìqì | morale HSK 7-9 |
| 学士 學士 | xuéshì | bachelor's degree; person holding a university degree HSK 7-9 |
| 院士 | yuànshì | member of a national academy HSK 7-9 |
HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).
Practice sheet
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HSK 1, in list order: