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

filthy, dirty; polluted, impure 6 strokes · Radical (water) · HSK 4 recognition character (认读字)
👁 Recognition only: the official HSK 4 syllabus asks you to recognize 污 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 .

Stroke Order & Practice

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

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

Decomposition

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

=
left water
right to lose

Radical

The radical of is — meaning water. 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: .

How the character is built

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

HSK 4 Words Containing 污

wūrǎn to pollute; pollution
工厂排放的废气污染了空气。
Gōngchǎng páifàng de fèiqì wūrǎn le kōngqì.
Factory emissions polluted the air.

Seen in the Real Exams / 真题例句

appears in 16 questions across the 19 mock & official HSK 4 exams on this site. Real exam sentences using it:

这样做可以减少塑料袋的使用数量,降低白色垃圾带来的染。
From Mock Exam 19 →

Tasks Featuring 污 / 相关任务

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

📚 谈论生活中的环保情况
Environmental Protection · 污染

FAQ

What does 污 mean in Chinese?

污 (wū) means filthy, dirty; polluted, impure. It is one of the 441 characters HSK 4 requires you to recognize when reading (认读字).

How many strokes does 污 have?

污 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 污?

The radical of 污 is 氵 (water). Other HSK 4 characters with the same radical include 济, 江, 深, 油, 汤.

What is the pinyin for 污?

污 is pronounced wū.

What HSK 4 words use 污?

In our HSK 4 vocabulary, 污 appears in 1 word, including 污染 (wūrǎn). See the full list above.

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