How to Write 水 (shuǐ) — Meaning “Water”

Picture a river with a main current in the middle and three drops of water splashing outward—left, right, and bottom. The central stroke is the flowing river, the left stroke is a splash, and the right hook and final stroke are other ripples. This mental image helps you recall the four strokes.

Write strokes in this order: left-falling (丿), horizontal hook (⿱), left-falling (丿), and right-falling (捺). Keep the middle part narrow and balanced—the left and right strokes should be symmetrical. A common mistake is making the right stroke too short or the horizontal hook too wide.

氵 is the water radical and is never used alone; it appears in characters like 河 (river). 氶 (zhěng) is a rare character meaning 'to rescue' or a surname, and it has a different shape with a horizontal stroke and a hook. In contrast, 水 is a standalone character with exactly four strokes representing water.

水 appears in common words like 喝水 (to drink water), 水果 (fruit), and 开水 (boiled water). It is also one of the five basic elements in Chinese philosophy (五行, wǔxíng), symbolizing flow and adaptability. You'll see it in idioms such as 水到渠成, meaning 'when conditions are ready, success comes naturally'.

Common words containing 水 include: 喝水 (hē shuǐ) — To drink water; 水果 (shuǐ guǒ) — Fruit; 开水 (kāi shuǐ) — boiled water.