How to Write 页 (yè) — Meaning “page; leaf”

Think of the character 页 as a simple drawing of a person’s head with a hat (the horizontal line on top) and a neck (the vertical line below). Then imagine that person reading a book, and each page is like a flat, rectangular ‘head’ – so 页 means 'page'.

The top stroke is a short horizontal line, then a left-falling stroke (like a small 丿) on the left side, and finally the inner part is a horizontal stroke followed by two short strokes and a long vertical downward stroke. Make sure the last vertical stroke is straight and ends at the bottom, not curving to the left.

The character 顶 adds the radical 丁 on top of 页, meaning 'top' or 'apex'. 顷 has a different left component (匕) and means 'moment' or 'area'. Visually, 页 is a standalone character, while 顶 and 顷 have extra parts on the left side that change the meaning and pronunciation.

页 is commonly used in words like 网页 (webpage) and 书页 (book page). In traditional Chinese culture, pages were once made of bamboo or silk, but today 页 is simply the standard word for 'page' in books, documents, and digital screens. It is also a measure word for pages (e.g., 一页纸 – one sheet of paper).

Common words containing 页 include: 第一页 (dì yī yè) — Page 1; 书页 (shū yè) — page of a book; 网页 (wǎng yè) — Webpage.