How to Write 神 (shén) — Meaning “God; spirit; deity”

Imagine a divine figure standing at an altar (礻) and extending their arms downward (申) to bless people. The vertical line in 申 represents the god's outstretched hand, and the two dots on 礻 are offerings on the altar. This visual helps link the shape to the meaning of a spirit or deity.

The left radical 礻 has exactly two dots, not three — the clothing radical 衤 has three dots, so do not confuse them. The right part 申 has a long vertical stroke through the center, and the three horizontal strokes should be parallel and evenly spaced. A common mistake is making the 申 too wide or squashing the left radical.

社 (shè) uses the same radical 礻 but adds 土 (earth), meaning "society" or "community shrine," focusing on earthly groups. 祀 (sì) uses 礻 and 巳 (a snake-like or child symbol), meaning "to worship" or "to sacrifice." In contrast, 神 (shén) refers to a god or spirit in a general sense, not a specific ritual or community.

神 appears in common words like 精神 (spirit, energy) and 神奇 (magical, miraculous), and is used in religious contexts such as 神像 (statue of a god) or 天神 (heavenly god). Culturally, 神 is central to Chinese folk religion and Taoism, where many natural forces and ancestors are considered spirits — for example, the Kitchen God (灶神) is a household deity.

Common words containing 神 include: 精神 (jīng shén) — Spirit; mind; energy; vitality.; 神奇 (shén qí) — Magical; miraculous; 眼神 (yǎn shén) — expression in one's eyes.