优 (yōu) — HSK 4 Recognition Character: Meaning, Radical & Stroke Order

yōu superior; elegant 6 strokes · Radical 亻 (man) · HSK 4 recognition character (认读字)
👁 Recognition only: the official HSK 4 syllabus asks you to recognize 优 when reading — handwriting it is not required (that applies to the 150 writing characters). The stroke animation below is optional but helps memory.

Pronunciation & meaning

Pronounced yōu.

Stroke Order & Practice

Click Animate to see the correct stroke order, then Practice to trace it yourself.

1 2 3 4 5 6
优 — 6 strokes, numbered in writing order. 笔顺图（数字为下笔顺序）。

Decomposition

优 breaks down into 2 components arranged as Left + Right. Recognizing the components makes the character easier to remember and write.

优 =
亻 left man
尤 right especially

Radical

The radical of 优 is 亻 — meaning man. Radicals are the indexing components used in Chinese dictionaries; they often hint at a character's broad meaning category.

Other HSK 4 characters that share this radical: 保任使倒低例俩份停傲倍付.

How the character is built

优 is a phono-semantic compound. The semantic component 亻 (person) carries the meaning, while the phonetic component 尤 originally indicated the sound.

HSK 4 Words Containing 优

优点 yōudiǎn strong point; advantage; merit
他最大的优点是认真负责。
Tā zuì dà de yōudiǎn shì rènzhēn fùzé.
His greatest strength is being serious and responsible.
优秀 yōuxiù excellent; outstandi ng
她是一名优秀的学生。
Tā shì yì míng yōuxiù de xuéshēng.
She is an outstanding student.

Seen in the Real Exams / 真题例句

优 appears in 25 questions across the 19 mock & official HSK 4 exams on this site. Real exam sentences using it:

每个人都有自己的优点和缺点。
From Mock Exam 08 →
每个人都有缺点，再优秀的人也一样。
From Mock Exam 15 →
优点多不一定值得骄傲，有缺点也很正常。
From Mock Exam 08 →

Tasks Featuring 优 / 相关任务

Words containing 优 appear in these official HSK 4 task scenarios — study the character in context:

📚 谈论某个人物
Describe a Person · 优秀

FAQ

What does 优 mean in Chinese?

优 (yōu) means superior; elegant. It is one of the 441 characters HSK 4 requires you to recognize when reading (认读字).

How many strokes does 优 have?

优 is written in 6 strokes. Use the practice tool above to see the correct stroke order and trace it yourself.

What is the radical of 优?

The radical of 优 is 亻 (man). Other HSK 4 characters with the same radical include 保, 任, 使, 倒, 低.

What is the pinyin for 优?

优 is pronounced yōu.

What HSK 4 words use 优?

In our HSK 4 vocabulary, 优 appears in 2 words, including 优点 (yōudiǎn), 优秀 (yōuxiù). See the full list above.

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