书/書 shū — book; to write; a letter, a written document

Pinyin

• shū (first tone, high and level)

book; to write; a letter, a written document

Character breakdown

• 书shape partThe traditional 書 is 聿, a hand gripping a writing brush, above 者 for the sound. The simplified form is the cursive shorthand for the whole thing, so no part of it can be read separately any more.

Mnemonic

The traditional 書 stands on 聿, a hand gripping a brush — writing, drawn as the tool in use. Simplification reduced the whole character to the four strokes the cursive hand actually made, and the brush disappeared with it; that is why 书 is now filed under the hooked stroke 乙 rather than under anything meaningful. It gives 书 a book, 书店 a bookshop and 图书馆 a library.

A memory aid written by HSK Guide editors. It is not an etymology and does not describe the historical origin of the character.

Words containing 书

• 书/書shū (first tone, high and level)book
• 图书馆/圖書館túshūguǎn (second tone, rising)library

Radical 乙 — other characters

• 买/買mǎi (third tone, dipping)to buy, to purchase