How to Write 叔 (shū) — Meaning “uncle (father's younger brother)”

Imagine the left part 又 as a hand reaching out to pat the head of a small person (the right part 尗 looks like a little person with two dots for eyes). This visual trick helps you remember that 叔 means "uncle" — the older man who pats a younger child. The pinyin "shū" sounds like "shoe," so picture an uncle holding a shoe.

The top part of the right side (尗) is a small 上 (shàng) with a vertical stroke that goes through it, and the bottom is 小 (xiǎo) without the dots — write the vertical stroke first, then the two horizontal lines, then the two dots below. A common mistake is making the left radical 又 too large or writing the right side with three dots instead of two. Keep the left side compact and the right side balanced.

叔 means "uncle" and is a common modern character, while 叒 (ruò) is a rare ancient character meaning "again" or used as a variant of 若, and 叕 (zhuó / yǐ) means "to connect" or appears in classical texts. Visually, 叔 has the hand radical 又 on the left, while 叒 and 叕 both repeat the 又 component multiple times — 叒 has three 又 stacked, and 叕 has four 又 in a grid. You will almost never need 叒 or 叕 in daily Chinese, but 叔 is essential.

叔 is most often used in the reduplicated form 叔叔 to address one's father's younger brother or any older male friend/neighbor politely, similar to "Uncle" in English. It also appears in 大叔 (dà shū), a casual term for a middle-aged man (like "mister") or in affectionate slang for a mature, handsome older man. In traditional Chinese families, the specific terms for uncles (叔 for younger brother of father, 伯 for elder brother of father) reflect the importance of age hierarchy.

Common words containing 叔 include: 叔叔 (shū shū) — uncle (father's younger brother or general term for older male); 大叔 (dà shū) — Uncle (middle-aged man); 叔父 (shū fù) — uncle (father's younger brother).