How to Write 税 (shuì) — Meaning “tax; duty”

Picture a farmer holding up a bunch of grain (禾) and saying "I exchange this for tax." The right side 兑 sounds like "doo-eh" and can remind you of "due" as in tax due.

Make sure the left radical 禾 is narrower than the right side 兑. A common mistake is writing the right side like 兄 (older brother) without the two dots on top — remember the two dots (丷) at the start of 兑.

税 has 兑 (exchange) on the right and means tax. 秘 has 必 (must/secret) on the right and means secret; it is also read mì. 秝 is very rare and means two stalks of grain or weeds — it is almost never used in modern Chinese.

You will see 税 on receipts, government forms, and shopping signs — for example, 免税 (miǎn shuì) means duty-free or tax-free. In daily life, people talk about 交税 (jiāo shuì) when paying income tax or customs duties.

Common words containing 税 include: 交税 (jiāo shuì) — to pay taxes; 税收 (shuì shōu) — tax revenue; taxation; 免税 (miǎn shuì) — tax-free, duty-free.