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

shēn to report; to extend; to explain; to declare 5 strokes · Radical 田 (field) · HSK 4 recognition character (认读字)

👁 Recognition only: the official HSK 4 syllabus asks you to recognize 申 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 shēn.

to report
to extend
to explain
to declare

Stroke Order & Practice

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

申 — 5 strokes, numbered in writing order. 笔顺图（数字为下笔顺序）。

Decomposition

申 breaks down into 2 components arranged as Overlap. Recognizing the components makes the character easier to remember and write.

申 =

日 back sun

丨 front number one

Radical

The radical of 申 is 田 — meaning field. 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: 由.

How the character is built

申 is a pictograph — a stylized image of the thing it names. It originally depicted A bolt of lightning.

HSK 4 Words Containing 申

申请 shēnqǐng to apply; applicatio n

他申请了一所美国的大学。

Tā shēnqǐng le yì suǒ Měiguó de dàxué.

He applied to an American university.

Tasks Featuring 申 / 相关任务

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

📚 交流、处理日常事务

Handle Daily Affairs · 申请

FAQ

What does 申 mean in Chinese?

申 (shēn) means to report; to extend; to explain; to declare. It is one of the 441 characters HSK 4 requires you to recognize when reading (认读字).

How many strokes does 申 have?

申 is written in 5 strokes. Use the practice tool above to see the correct stroke order and trace it yourself.

What is the radical of 申?

The radical of 申 is 田 (field). Other HSK 4 characters with the same radical include 由.

What is the pinyin for 申?

申 is pronounced shēn.

What HSK 4 words use 申?

In our HSK 4 vocabulary, 申 appears in 1 word, including 申请 (shēnqǐng). See the full list above.