How to Write 矢 (shǐ) — Meaning “arrow; to vow”

Picture the character as an arrow pointing to the right: the first stroke (丿) is the arrowhead, the two horizontal lines (一) form the shaft, and the final two strokes (ノ and 捺) are the feathers at the end. If you imagine the arrow flying toward a target, it becomes easy to recall its shape and meaning.

The stroke order is: left-falling stroke (丿), then horizontal (一), another horizontal (一), left-falling (ノ), and finally right-falling (捺). A common mistake is making the top too wide or confusing the last two strokes with a single stroke — remember the bottom is two separate strokes that angle outward like feathers.

The character 矣 consists of 矢 on top and 已 (yǐ) below, while 矢 stands alone. 矢 means 'arrow' or 'to vow', but 矣 is a classical Chinese particle meaning 'already' or used at the end of a sentence to indicate a completed action. Visually, 矣 has an extra enclosed component under 矢, making it slightly taller.

矢 appears mainly in formal or literary idioms, such as 有的放矢 (yǒu dì fàng shǐ, 'to shoot the arrow at the target'), meaning to act with a clear purpose, and 众矢之的 (zhòng shǐ zhī dì, 'the target of everyone's arrows'), meaning a person under public criticism. It is not commonly used alone in everyday speech, but its arrow imagery is strong in Chinese cultural expressions of focus and determination.

Common words containing 矢 include: 矢志 (shǐ zhì) — to vow; to be determined; 众矢之的 (zhòng shǐ zhī dì) — The target of public criticism.; 有的放矢 (yǒu dì fàng shǐ) — to have a definite object in view; targeted.