How to Write 什 (shén/shí) — Meaning “What; assorted”

Imagine a person (亻) standing next to the number ten (十) and asking “What?” because they see ten people instead of one. This visual helps link the person radical and the “ten” shape to the common meaning of “what” in 什么.

Write 亻 as a left-falling stroke (撇) then a vertical stroke (竖); next write 十 as a horizontal stroke (横) and a vertical stroke (竖) crossing it. A common mistake is making the person radical too wide or the 十 part too small, so keep both balanced and the total at exactly four strokes.

All three have the person radical 亻, but the right side differs: 什 uses 十 (ten), 亿 uses 乙 (a bent line), and 仁 uses 二 (two). Their meanings are also distinct—什 appears in “what” words, 亿 means “hundred million,” and 仁 means “benevolence.”

什 appears most often in the word 什么 (shén me), which means “what” and is used in everyday questions and expressions like 没什么 (nothing). It also appears in 什锦 (shí jǐn, assorted) for food, and 什物 (shí wù, sundries), but these have a different pronunciation (shí) and are less common.

Common words containing 什 include: 什么 (shén me) — What; 什物 (shí wù) — Sundries; miscellaneous items.; 什锦 (shí jǐn) — Assorted or mixed.